Cole & Son launch more Fornasetti wallpaper
This week Cole & Son launched their second range of Fornasetti wallpaper by the Italian design studio of the same name. The hand-made paper showcases drawings by the Milanese artist Piero Fornasetti and celebrates the centenary of his birth. The range consists of 13 different designs in a variety of colour ways. Be warned though, they are quirky.
You can select from Edwardian flying machines, bizarre sea creatures, surreal dark rain clouds, gold keys hanging in dense foliage, wide-eyed owls, Pietro’s collection of umbrellas, walking sticks and riding whips, super-sized fountain pen nibs, promenading monkeys, architectural features as well as trompe l’oeil niches which reference the Renaissance masterpiece that is the Duke of Urbino’s Studiolo. There are both vertical and horizontal papers. The idea being that you can mix them together to create your own fantasy. For example, clouds can be combined with balustrades or climbing monkeys with umbrellas (as seen above).
Barnaba Fornasetti recalls that “Pablo Neruda once described my father as the magician of precious and precise magic and I think that this decorative collection beautifully captures the magic essence of the Fornasetti world”.
I adore using unconventional and unexpected elements in design that make you smile and add fantasy to your life.
The papers are wild and I am longing to use them. Would you or are they just too mad?
the clouds i would use in a heartbeat… the monkeys & leaves in the right settings… not so in love with the others…
Totally agree with Sue, love the clouds, and leaves too. I think I will use the leaves in my bathroom. Lying in the tub, fantasizing about the golden keys and what they could unlock.
Relaxed!
I love the clouds too and am thinking about them for the entrance of my house! Chris, the keys would look amazing in a bathroom. In fact, I think all these papers are best in small intimate spaces. Although, the fountain nibs I am thinking about for a client project on which I am currently working: an office of a management consultant which is currently devoid of personality and needs some interest and humour.
I also kinda like the fish. Totally insane but in the right place/space it look amazing. A bar or cafe or restaurant . . . hmmm.