PICTORIAL WALLPAPER

It's no secret that design bloggers' knees go weak at the thought of hand-painted wallpaper (De Gournay, anyone?). It may simply be the current vogue for delicate florals and chinoiserie influences, but I think there's something more to the fascination: unlike more commonplace wallpapers with repetitive patterns, hand-painted papers give the illusion of being surrounded by an idealized version of nature, complete with all its variation and unpredictability. 

Perhaps that's why scenic wallpaper makes my knees go extra-weak. Panoramic murals created to decorate domestic interiors have been around since Roman times, but mural-like wallpaper (either block-printed or hand-painted) is a more recent invention. Popularized in France at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century, these papers cover the entire surface of a room with a panoramic landscape. At a time when the bourgeoisie was becoming increasingly interested in following quickly changing styles of interior decor, wallpapers provided an affordable, more modern alternative to the tapestries that had covered walls in Renaissance Europe. 

As an art historian, I can't help but start out with some spectacular examples from museums and historic houses, including one from the museum where I work:

clockwise from upper left:
1) and 2) details of the Shepard Parlor, ca. 1803 (from the George Shepard House in Bath, Maine); one of the two wallpapers in the room is “Les Jardins de Bagatelle,” made about 1798 by the Paris firm Arthur and Robert, and the other paper (by an unknown maker) was created about the same time. The images in the MFA's database are out of date (they show the old installation of the room, before it was reinstalled in the New American Wing), so I took these from this AFA article and Elements of Style.
3) detail of the wallpaper above the mantel in the William C. Williams Parlor at the Met. I LOVE the way the boat appears to be floating on top of the mantel! And while you're there, be sure to check out one of my favorite pieces: the Vanderlyn Panorama, a round room painted with a panoramic mural of Versailles.
4) the Diplomatic Room at the White House, redecorated by Jackie O. She added the 1834 Zuber et Cie wallpaper, "Views of North America," which depicts 32 scenes of North American land- and cityscapes.

Although some of the most rare and beautiful examples of scenic wallpaper are found in museums, inspiration can also be found in real, lived-in rooms like these:

clockwise from upper left:
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House & Garden 2005, designed by Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts
de Gournay
House & Garden, via Emily Henderson's old blog, The Brass Petal
Michael Smith
Suzanne Kasler

clockwise from upper left:
Miles Redd
Lonny
Decorative Imaging
technically out-of-bounds: Maria Trimbell's amazing handpainted murals

All of the above are admittedly extremely traditional, with plenty of antique French furniture, but adding some casual, modern furniture into the mix – and maybe even some contemporary art – can produce unexpected and interesting results: 

clockwise from upper left:
David Netto
Tom Scheerer
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Lonny
?

I've been noticing contemporary takes on scenic and pictorial wallpapers more often lately, and they're becoming increasingly tasteful. Take these photographic and illustrated examples that serve as backdrops for everything from a nursery to a bathroom and work with cozy, traditional furniture as well as spare, mid-century designs:

clockwise from upper left:
Lonny (and reposted lots of other places in the past few days, I've noticed)
Pinterest
Pinterest
Pinterest
Desire to Inspire
Pinterest

Personally, I don't think I could live with any of these photographic papers, though it would be tempting to recommend that first one for someone else's space! But hey, the point of inspiration isn't always to be practical or liveable. So for a photo shoot or boutique hotel, why not go entirely over-the-top? 

left: The Archangel Hotel in Frome, Somerset with a detail of Leonardo's Annunciation used as a mural.
right: the always incredible Tim Walker for W Magazine, April 11. He went to Glemham Hall in Suffold, England and covered the walls with blown-up images of paintings by Ingres, Winterhalter, and Tissot, among others. More here.

Are you as fascinated by the idea of pictorial and scenic wallpaper as I am, or is it a decorating concept that should remain in the past? If you want to learn more and live in the Boston area, two MFA curators are presenting a gallery talk in October on the subject, wherein they'll discuss the period room pictured in this post and talk about the work of Timorous Beasties, a wallpaper firm that you may have seen mentioned recently on Design*Sponge, Design Milk, or Apartment Therapy, among others. Maybe I'll see you there! *date and time subject to change! check the website and please don't come in and yell at me if they change or cancel it!