Decorating
7 Reasons to Consider Victorian-style Botanical Wallpaper
Adorn your walls with a detailed and delicate leaf print for a modern twist on Victorian home style
Houseplants have taken over our interiors at a rampant pace over the past few seasons, and in recent months they’ve also started to wind their tendrils onto wallpapers and fabrics. These botanical patterns owe little to the tropical craze of previous seasons and everything to the delicate botanical prints of the Victorian era. Forget large palms and pineapples and think instead of trailing ivy, intricate ferns and detailed leaves. Here are 7 rooms that show how to excel at this trend.
Mirror a leafy view
The tight-knit print on this wallpaper is pleasingly leafy in itself, but the effect is beautifully magnified thanks to the way it mirrors the leafy view beyond the window. It’s the perfect way to blur the boundary between indoors and out.
If you want to make a similar connection to the outside world, take a look at the view you currently have from your window and try to reflect that in your wallpaper choice, whether it’s a fern print, a trailing ivy design or a small flower and foliage motif.
The tight-knit print on this wallpaper is pleasingly leafy in itself, but the effect is beautifully magnified thanks to the way it mirrors the leafy view beyond the window. It’s the perfect way to blur the boundary between indoors and out.
If you want to make a similar connection to the outside world, take a look at the view you currently have from your window and try to reflect that in your wallpaper choice, whether it’s a fern print, a trailing ivy design or a small flower and foliage motif.
Abstract it
A beautifully modern take on the trend, this abstracted botanical print brings a hint of the outside into this tiny bathroom and is a lovely foil to the gold mirror and sunshine yellow door.
Cloakrooms are a good place to experiment with this look, and if you choose a splash-proof paper, or install a glass splashback behind the taps, it should stand up to the rigours of everyday use.
A beautifully modern take on the trend, this abstracted botanical print brings a hint of the outside into this tiny bathroom and is a lovely foil to the gold mirror and sunshine yellow door.
Cloakrooms are a good place to experiment with this look, and if you choose a splash-proof paper, or install a glass splashback behind the taps, it should stand up to the rigours of everyday use.
Paper a hallway
Stepping away from the trend for oversized tropical foliage, this paper champions the quiet beauty of the humble fern instead. With plenty of white space between the leaf repeats and a simple trio of shapes creating an uncluttered pattern, this wallpaper design shows how to apply a fresh take on the look.
Discover 10 Victorian details to enhance your home’s period appeal
Stepping away from the trend for oversized tropical foliage, this paper champions the quiet beauty of the humble fern instead. With plenty of white space between the leaf repeats and a simple trio of shapes creating an uncluttered pattern, this wallpaper design shows how to apply a fresh take on the look.
Discover 10 Victorian details to enhance your home’s period appeal
Take it 360
If you want to transform a small space into something really special, a botanical wallpaper like this could elevate a mini room into a magical one.
This cloakroom could have been an uninspiring little space, but by covering the walls in this leaf print paper, with its close pattern and saturated colour, the room is transformed into a fun forest nook.
Browse wallpapers in the Houzz shop
If you want to transform a small space into something really special, a botanical wallpaper like this could elevate a mini room into a magical one.
This cloakroom could have been an uninspiring little space, but by covering the walls in this leaf print paper, with its close pattern and saturated colour, the room is transformed into a fun forest nook.
Browse wallpapers in the Houzz shop
Team it with dark furniture
If you’re after an authentic William Morris vibe, team your botanical print with dark wood furniture and traditional styling for a room that oozes Victorian grandeur.
Even a small office nook like this one gains a more stately feel with this decorating treatment, so if you want to bring a little quiet drama to a corner of your home, team a traditional print with carved wooden furniture and traditional accessories in brass or chrome.
If you’re after an authentic William Morris vibe, team your botanical print with dark wood furniture and traditional styling for a room that oozes Victorian grandeur.
Even a small office nook like this one gains a more stately feel with this decorating treatment, so if you want to bring a little quiet drama to a corner of your home, team a traditional print with carved wooden furniture and traditional accessories in brass or chrome.
Celebrate palms
Palm trees and tropical motifs, such as flamingos, have been very visible recently, but the use of palms here is more in keeping with the quiet, detailed type of illustration popularised in the Victorian age.
The close-knit pattern repeat and single-colour treatment lend a soothing quality to the space when teamed with simple wooden furniture and crisp white skirting boards.
What do you think of these room schemes? Let us know in the Comments section.
Palm trees and tropical motifs, such as flamingos, have been very visible recently, but the use of palms here is more in keeping with the quiet, detailed type of illustration popularised in the Victorian age.
The close-knit pattern repeat and single-colour treatment lend a soothing quality to the space when teamed with simple wooden furniture and crisp white skirting boards.
What do you think of these room schemes? Let us know in the Comments section.
Victorian interiors were characterised by layers of pattern and fine detail; if you think about the botanical prints of William Morris, for example, they’re tightly woven and richly coloured.
You can channel a similar look by choosing a wallpaper with a small, detailed pattern and rich colourway, like this one, and team it with bold shades of forest green and chocolate brown.
Elements of contemporary design, such as the side table and woven lampshade here, will keep this look firmly in the present and prevent it tipping over into pastiche.