When we hear Greg Natale and wallpaper in the same sentence, of course we get excited! The Sydney interior designer has teamed up with Signature Prints for his new Greco-Roman inspired collection which revisits some old favourites and adds some new designs.
Appia
The hand-printed silkscreen wall coverings explore the patterning of stone in both its natural and its worked conditions – each design is a nuanced expression or reinterpretation of how stone was applied in the built environment of the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Aquarius
The Greco-Roman Collection by Greg Natale presents eight designs (Palazzo, Appia, Aquarius, Astoria, Hellenica, Marmaro, Scala and Stucco) that span structured, architectural motifs to more natural, looser patterns that recall the raw state of stone.
Hellenica
Greg has revisited a few of his favourite prints and now reintroduces them – redrawn, perfected and remastered in new colourways. Across the eight designs his palette explores rich navy blues, bold burgundy hues and crisp whites. In places, Signature Prints’ assortment of metallic base papers have been employed, each layered with matte and pearlescent inks, delivering dynamic, light-shifting results.
Palazzo
“So much of what we do in our design studio looks to the past and to the way cultures have decorated before our time,” Greg says. “In my architectural work that often means we can lean into the references we see in Greco-Roman buildings and public spaces.
Stucco
“With this wallpaper range, I wanted to take some of those man-made motifs and mix them in with nature’s patterns and apply them, in a softer way, to colourful wallcoverings. The range has everything from cobblestone allusions to marble veining to heroic archways. I am excited by the potential for this collection to redefine how we use our walls, or our ceilings, to decorate.”
Wallpaper is a great way to revamp your room for less. Often all you need is a feature wall and in a matter of hours your room will go from bleak to chic! But like everything there are a lot of of options, so it’s important to find wallpaper that doesn’t just look good but also has longevity… because there’s really nothing worse than wallpaper with air pockets and rips. Below is a range of Australian labels we give the Interiors Addict stamp of approval to!
Bethany Linz: Bethany trained in fine arts before moving to textile and wallpaper design, and boy can you tell. How intricate and beautiful is this botanical print? Available through Sparkk, the hand painted wallpaper is available in eight colour ways and the background can even be custom coloured to match your interior.
Bethany Linz
Quercus & Co.: A wallpaper and fabric label based in Sydney, Quercus & Co. love pattern and colour. More ‘art-paper’ than wallpaper, their latest collection, Suketchi, pays homage to Japanese art. Featuring symbols of the natural world — clouds, rivers, the sea and mountains — the designs are created via Ukiyo-e, a style of woodblock printing and painting that flourished in Japan from the 17th to 19th century.
Quercus & Co.
Anna Spiro: Designed by the Brisbane based interior designer for Porter’s Paints, Anna has applied her flair for layering fabrics with diverse pattern and colour to wallpaper. Bright, quirky and fun, Jen herself is a fan, having the below wallpaper in her home office.
Anna Spiro
Collette Dinnigan: Another collaboration with Porter’s Paints, wallpaper was a natural progression for the acclaimed fashion designer. Worldly taste is Colette’s signature… can’t you just imagine this wallpaper up against European antiques and artisan textiles? Refined and beautiful, her designs won’t go out of fashion any time soon.
Collette Dinnigan
Native Swinson: Quintessentially Australian, the prints of founder Kate Swinson are inspired by her memories of a rural childhood; think climbing up trees and floating down rivers. The detailed line drawings (you have to see them up close to believe them!) are screen printed by hand using non-toxic inks on eco-friendly papers.
Native Swinson. Photo Credit: Denise Braki for Temple & Webster
Signature Prints: The proud custodians of Florence Broadhurst’s design library, Signature Prints bring the design legend’s unique patterns from the ’60s to now. From the classic colour ways she made famous to some original new editions, the collections encompass the perfect blend of bright and neutral, graphic and simple.
Signature Prints. Photo credit: Emma Hack Artist
Luxe Walls: Options galore! Luxe Walls have partnered with Alamy, Australia’s biggest imagery supplier, so you literally have a million images to choose from. Oh my! They also have their signature collections if looking through a million images is a bit too overwhelming! Best yet, much of their collection is removable (including the concrete design below), which means you and your home can stay on top of the trends at an affordable price.
Luxe Walls. Photo credit: Home Loves
Annandale Wallpapers: This family owned business has been supplying wallpaper for over 60 years! Home to one of Sydney’s widest selections — they have over 400 design sample books in store — Annandale Wallpapers offer something for everyone, from the more sensible geometrics to the free-spirited (dog-approved!) wallpaper below.
Annandale Wallpaper
Patricia Braune: After 20 years in advertising as a graphic designer, Sydneysider Patricia embarked on a new career in surface design. Very much at home with a pen in hand, her intricately drawn prints are rich in texture and layers, just like the flowers she draws.
Patricia Braune
Publisher Textiles: A favourite of Jen’s (she’s used them twice), Publisher Textiles are all about creating wallpaper the hard way, by hand! Using traditional hand screen printed techniques and small-scale production, everything is designed, printed and cut in their Sydney studio. Arguably the brand’s most iconic design is the Hibernian print (below), inspired by the heritage listed building in Surry Hills.
Publisher Textiles
We hope you enjoyed this list. Let us know what you would add.
Luxurious wallpapers, eclectic art, flamboyant fashion: Florence Broadhurst is the name behind some of the boldest and most well known designs to come out of Australia. Now you can own a piece of entry-level ‘FloBro’ with one of Circa Home’s new range of scented candles and diffusers in iconic prints. And we all know we like our candles to look as good as they smell!
Spanning her creative life, Circa Home relives the many incarnations of Florence Broadhurst with these new fragrances: the young performer in Shanghai, a European fashion designer and a household Australian name with her iconic wallpaper and artworks. Florence Broadhurst for Circa Home captures her life through her iconic prints with uplifting fragrances.
Legendary design maven Florence Broadhurst’s legacy of patterning has now been translated into beautiful dressings for the bedroom. The first ever collection of Florence Broadhurst bed linen and coordinating accessories features some of her best known designs. The Cranes, Kabuki, Chinese Key and Japanese Floral all feature.
Each quilt cover set, European and square cushion is uniquely printed with pearlised inks laid across 100 percent cotton sateen.
Florence herself loved to lavishly mismatch colour and pattern (as this collection allows), and many items have a contrasting reverse pattern for versatility. There are textured, appliqued, quilted, sequined, embroidered, pearlised and metallic finishes to coverlets, a variety of cushions, quilted throws and pillowshams.
It’s always a delight to share one of Greg Natale’s stunning projects here. They’re guaranteed to look gorgeous, of course, but this is a really interesting one too. It was done in two stages: first the front of the house, and then, a few years later, the back. “The front is more pretty and feminine and about her. The back is more about the husband, a builder.”
The formal living room (above) is Greg’s favourite part of the 1940s red brick house in Sydney’s Five Dock. “It’s just stunningly beautiful. I love the green, orange and yellow together, I always have. It’s very Brady Bunch.”
The team at Signature Prints are in the process of developing new colourways for their beautiful range of wallpapers – and last week I was lucky enough to get a preview. With a weakness for Florence Broadhurst designs and admiration for the art of traditional process, a visit to the showroom and tour of the workshop was one of those rare and wonderful surprises.
If you’re even remotely considering the idea of wallpaper, can I be so bold as to suggest taking a trip to their showroom. The papers are beautiful in the flesh and everyone is super helpful. Soon to be launched, I can’t wait to see the whole range. In the meantime, I’m in lust with these two!
It’s worth noting that for roughly one feature wall, you would likely need at least three rolls – also the minimum quantity for which you can do custom print colours to match Dulux or Pantone, with their range of base papers (there is a small surcharge of 15%). I suspect the new range will be a treat, but hurray for bespoke offerings and the world of possibilities.
It’s been kept under wraps for months but Signature Prints have finally announced that Kate Spade New York is working with the Florence Broadhurst Library to create one-of-a-kind products for 2012. 12 of Broadhurst’s designs, owned by Signature Prints, have been selected to help Spade celebrate the year of the pattern.
The Signature Prints annual sale takes place at its showroom at 1-5 Hayes Road, Rosebery, on 23, 24 and 25 June 2011 from 10am to 4pm. 50% off all floorstock plus 25% off online products when you use the promotional code spsale at the checkout. Fabric and wallpaper designs are from the famous Florence Broadhurst archive and other designers. Try and keep me away!
