The wallpaper revival is only gaining steam. Happily, the Bay Area is home to brands offering distinctive, eye-catching versions.
ELWORTHY STUDIO
PHOTO: GINA B PHOTOGRAPHY
Kate Miller, the artist behind eco-conscious Elworthy Studio, draws inspiration from various organic forms such as sprayed water to create wallpapers like that of her Alhambra pattern (above), which depicts watercolor teardrop shapes. In May, Elworthy Studio is introducing a new design called Traces, inspired by shell fragments that Miller spotted on a beach, which made her ponder the life cycle of a shell: a home that eventually breaks into fragments and ultimately returns to the earth.
DE GOURNAY
PHOTO GREGOR HOHENBERG
San Francisco-based de Gournay, whose artists use historical techniques to create one-of-a-kind hand-painted wallcoverings such as the Earlham Chinoiserie on Green Williamsburg (shown), has recently made beading available as an embellishment. Among the offerings: a Tarnished Silver gilded silk and hand-embroidered pattern called Anemones in Light, designed by British supermodel Kate Moss, and a Lemon Grove design on Ice Blue dyed silk encrusted with tiny yellow beads. Customers can choose from the brand’s standard collections or a bespoke motif hand-painted onto the silk before it is adorned with beads and sequins and backed with paper.
BRADBURY & BRADBURY ART WALLPAPERS
PHOTO COURTESY BRADBURY & BRADBURY ART WALLPAPERS
Bradbury & Bradbury Art Wallpapers‘ vintage-inspired collections range from intricate Victorian motifs to geometric Frank Lloyd Wright designs (like Saguaro, above) to futuristic Art Deco and 1950s Atomic Age patterns. The brand, which originally launched to accommodate owners of historic homes and has been the resource for reproductions used in federal and international historic preservation projects, has expanded its offerings to include designs that originate from as far back as the 1860s.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the artist behind Elworthy Studio as Kate Smith. Her name is Kate Miller.
