Cole & Son is a long-established wallpaper house with a design archive that still shapes its collections today. In this guide we look at how that heritage shows up in the current range, from archive-inspired patterns to the much-loved Fornasetti designs, and offer some ideas on where each style works best at home.
Designs Drawn from the Cole & Son Archive
Many Cole & Son papers start life in the company's own archive. Archival Marble Wallpaper draws on its historic Marbles and Scrumbles designs, which celebrated the decorative paint effects that once gave interiors the look of precious stone. Scrumbling was a specialist technique popular through the 19th and early 20th centuries, and this paper captures that painterly depth without the need for a decorative painter.
Cole & Son's Acanthus is an archival Arts and Crafts design whose stylised, filigree-like flowers and foliage feel at once classic and contemporary. Its palettes run from soft Cream & Pebble upwards, so it suits a calm bedroom as well as a richer dining room.
Then there is Woods, one of the brand's most iconic designs. Woods and Pears Wallpaper adds a host of golden pears in shimmering metallic hues, with colourways including Charcoal & Bronze and White & Metallic Silver on Grey. It is a playful choice for a hallway or a snug where the metallic detail catches the lamplight.
The Fornasetti Collection
Cole & Son's Fornasetti designs bring the playful world of Piero Fornasetti onto the wall. Fish appear as motifs in some of his earliest work, from silk scarves to trays and porcelain, and Acquario Wallpaper turns them into a whimsical, striking wallcovering while keeping a Fornasetti classicism in its palettes.
Citrus is another recurring theme in the Fornasetti archive. The fruit in Arance Wallpaper first appeared on the tray 'Fette d'arancia' in the 1950s and was later repurposed by Barnaba Fornasetti in the 1990s as a graphic fabric print. True-to-life blood orange, orange and lemon sit on Seafoam, Cream or Ink grounds, which makes it a cheerful fit for kitchens, breakfast rooms and cloakrooms. See the full range in our Fornasetti collection.
Collaborations: Ardmore and Vivienne Westwood
The Ardmore designs are painted in the distinctive, intricately patterned style of Ardmore ceramics. Acacia Canopy Wallpaper has dense leaf coverage with butterflies fluttering from leaf to leaf, while Ardmore Border is an edging designed for many papers in the Ardmore Collection and can be hung vertically or horizontally, in Soft Olive, Soot and Snow or a dramatic Ginger. A border is a smart way to frame a doorway or finish a half-papered wall.
Fashion fans should look at Absence of Roses Moire Wallpaper from Cole & Son x Vivienne Westwood. The print is synonymous with the Westwood house and was first seen as an illustrative rose motif in the Spring-Summer 1994 Gold Label Café Society collection. Browse more in our Vivienne Westwood collection.
Bold Geometrics and Special Finishes
Not every Cole & Son paper looks to the past. Apex Grand Wallpaper is a much-loved geometric motif of interlocking triangles, with colourways from chic neutrals such as Cream, Oat & Metallic Gilver to earthier Olive, Forest Green & Metallic Gold. Angled Planes goes bigger still, with vast harlequin diamonds in tonal mineral palettes, rotary screen printed for crisp lines.
For a touch of glamour, Antique Mirror from the Mariinsky Damask collection uses foil and transparent ink to create the look of a vintage foxed mirror, in Metallic Pewter, Metallic Gilver and Metallic Gold. It is ideal for bouncing light around a small, dark room.
Choosing the Right Cole & Son Paper
- Small rooms: go bold. A cloakroom papered in Acquario or Arance becomes a talking point.
- Living rooms and bedrooms: archive designs in softer palettes give pattern without overwhelming.
- Hallways and stairs: geometrics lead the eye along, and metallic finishes brighten dim corners.
Explore the full range in our Cole & Son wallpapers collection, or visit the shop in Somerset and talk to the team about samples and pattern choices.
