Formations is Cole & Son's new geometric wallpaper collection, and it is one of the most useful launches we have had in a while. Below you'll find what the collection is about, a closer look at the key designs and their colourways, and our thoughts on which rooms each one suits.
What Formations Is All About
Cole & Son was founded in London in 1875, and its archive holds around 2,000 block-print designs, 500 screen-print patterns and a large collection of original drawings. For Formations, the design studio went back through sketches, printer's proofs and pattern books looking for one recurring theme: geometry. Lines, grids, diamonds, trellises and stripes have been redrawn and repainted for modern rooms.
What makes the collection different is the finish. Rather than crisp digital lines, the designs use etching, painting, printing and overprinting, so you see layers, slight irregularities and texture. It is geometry with the hand of the maker left in, which makes it far easier to live with than you might expect.
Statement Designs for Halls, Cloakrooms and Feature Walls
Painted Prism reworks one of Cole & Son's best-known geometrics in loose brushwork. Its kaleidoscopic diamonds overlap in a spectrum of colour taken from an archival Coles' paint card. We love it in entrance halls and cloakrooms, where you can be brave with pattern without living with it all day.
For sheer scale, Angled Planes lays vast harlequin diamonds across the wall in mineral tones. It is rotary screen printed to keep the lines crisp, and comes in Bronze, Plaster and Verdigris. Bronze makes a superb living room backdrop alongside sculptural furniture and richly textured upholstery.
Archival Marble draws on Cole & Son's historic Marbles and Scrumbles designs, bringing swirling veins and mineral textures together in broad bands. It is designed to be hung horizontally, so the faux-marble stripes wrap around the room and stretch its proportions. Choose from Archival Marble, Emerald and Sand.
If you simply love colour, Coles' Colour Card was never meant to be a wallpaper at all. It is adapted from a mid-century paint card in the archive, with optimistic shades such as Tuscan Red, Lapis and Mimosa plus painterly daubs and splatters. Perfect for a study, studio or playful maximalist scheme.
Quieter Patterns You Can Use on All Four Walls
Inlay takes its cue from marquetry. Small, perfectly imperfect hexagons repeat across the wall with chalky inks and delicate metallic highlights. The five colourways run from Soft Multi & Gold on Cream and Shell & Gold on Vanilla to the deeper Jewel Multi & Copper on Racing Green and Turquoise & Gilver on Navy.
Scattered Ink pairs a sharp etched outline with freely painted ink marks. It is understated but full of movement, which makes it a good choice for larger rooms, landings and open-plan spaces. It comes in Ochre, Olive and Denim.
Tesserae is named after mosaic tiles: imperfect squares build up the surface, with a tiny archival spot pattern on top. Midnight gives a deep blue wall, Gold & Pewter adds metallic warmth and Pearl is the lightest option.
Trellis, Maze and Wave: The Mid-Scale Designs
Fretwork is based on Frette, which sat in the archive for more than a century. The intertwined trellis has been given more tonal variation and a new palette, including Leaf Green & Sage, Teal & Viridian and Charcoal & Spice. Across a full wall it reads as a soft honeycomb, so it bridges traditional and contemporary rooms neatly.
Fresco Trellis sets an ordered trellis over stippled colour that looks like pigment worked into old plaster. Colourways range from Hyacinth on Ochre and Coral on Tea Rose to Olive on Duck Egg and the calm Parchment on Stone, which suits a bedroom beautifully.
Diamond Maze scales up a graphic archival print into interlocking forms with an almost quilted effect, gravure printed in layers for depth. It comes in Sage, Stone, Naples Yellow and Petrol, on a 10m roll, 69cm wide, with a 68.5cm repeat and straight match. Wavelet, meanwhile, brings flowing Bargello-style bands of colour; the Sierra, Olive & Marigold combination is a real statement.
Choosing the Right Formations Design
- Small rooms you pass through: go bold with Painted Prism or Coles' Colour Card.
- Living rooms: Angled Planes or Diamond Maze give structure without fuss.
- Bedrooms and whole-house schemes: Inlay, Scattered Ink or Fresco Trellis are restful enough for every wall.
- Pull a colour through: repeat one shade from the paper in a cushion, lampshade or painted woodwork to tie the room together.
See the Collection
You can browse every design in our Cole & Son Formations collection, or explore the wider Cole & Son range. If you'd like help choosing a colourway, visit us in Somerset or get in touch with the team.
