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Kelmscott House and William Morris’ Trellis Design

13th March 2018

If you’ve not read our last blog on Kelmscott House, we touched on the history of Kelmscott House – the remarkable house William Morris lived in on the Thames River. Our friends at the William Morris Society were kind enough to send us their book by Helen Elletson so for more information on the house and some wonderful quotes from Morris and his friends, head on over to Amazon to purchase one for yourself!

As with most of Morris’ projects, especially with his homes, the Philip Webb settle, painted with beautiful sunflowers from Red House was installed in the drawing room; alongside the fire place that Webb had also designed. Throughout the house, there are so many of Morris’ designs, which when you see them all together you realise how incredibly they flow together. You can find Pimpernel wallpaper in the dining room; we sell Pimpernel in both green and cream, it’s such a classic print that can really transform a room and works well in any season. We love accents of Pimpernel in our dining room too – from the tablecloth to a recover of the lampshades and chair cushions (which we do often to upcycle the room and keep it feeling fresh without having to buy a whole new dining room suite – textiles really change the vibe of the room!)

On the ground floor, where Morris’s own rooms were, to the left of the front door, was his study. The study was papered in his Trellis design, as was his bedroom. Designed by Morris and the birds within it drawn by lifelong friend and colleague, Philip Webb. Trellis undoubtedly was one of his favourites, to have it in two of the most important rooms of his house that he must have spent much of his time in speaks volumes – especially when he produced so many lovely designs!

The original Trellis wallpaper can be still seen if you visit Kelmscott House, so keep your eye out for this! One of our latest licensed designs, William Morris’ Trellis looks wonderful in a range of our products – from tablecloths to kitchen accessories and tote bags, we even have a range which features his photo, signature and his famous quote, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” – William Morris.

The basement rooms are now the home of the William Morris Society. Devoted to Morris’s life, you must go see the events they have on over the next few months; dedicated around Morris who had such an amazing life, there’s lots of events around it!

Morris died in his bedroom at Kelmscott Manor aged 62. He famously said, “If I were asked to say what is at once the most important production of Art and the thing most to be longed for, I should answer, A beautiful House; and if I were further asked to name the production next in importance […] I should answer, A beautiful Book. To enjoy good houses and good books in self-respect and decent comfort, seems to me to be the pleasurable end towards which all societies of human beings ought now to struggle” – William Morris c.1892.

With Kelmscott being his home for 18 years and being filled with beautiful books, he definately achieved his wishes.

To see our full range of produce in William Morris Trellis, just click here!

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🌷 William Morris Month Day 26 🌷 Absolutely loving a spring time floral on the table right now, especially when paired with an Easter craft or two! 🤍
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🌿 William Morris Month Day 25 🌿 Florals on florals on florals; all of the William Morris florals just look so beautiful together and, as Morris said himself, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” 🌷
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🐥 William Morris Month Day 23 🐥 Loving the sunshine this week for springtime 🌿 We absolutely love Willow Bough on the table in the sunshine paired with spring blooms 🌷
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#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #willowbough #easter #eastertables
🌷 William Morris Month Day 22🌷 A themed table is always our favourite, we’ve been loving setting the table lately with an Easter theme- especially when it means we can eat the eggs after! 🐣✨ 
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#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #preraphaelite #eastertables #eastereggs #eastertablescape #springflorals
🌿 William Morris Day 20 🌿 William Morris fact of the day; did you know he founded the Kelmscott Press? 🖋️ He wrote of the venture – “Here is a new craft to conquer and to perfect.” Printing began at the press in Spring 1891 🪴 He designed multiple fonts including “Golden” Roman typeface and “Troy” Gothic type along with “Chaucer” and he worked to create beautiful books in regards to their designs which took into account their type, image and decorative elements – you can see beautiful examples of what he achieved today if you do a quick search on the Kelmscott Press- it’s well worth a Google! 🌷
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🌷 William Morris Month Day 19🌷 Happy first day of spring everyone! 🪴 We celebrated in our favourite way; coffee and cake of course! 🍰 Now we love florals all year round of course, but especially love adding in even more this time of year to reflect the blooms in the garden 🌷 What’s your favourite Morris design this time of year? 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrismonth #spring #spring2024 #preraphaelite #florals #floralfabric #springflorals #springflowers
📝 William Morris Month Day 18 📝 Did you know that as well as being an incredible designer, William Morris was also a brilliant writer and poet; have you read any of his writing? What’s your favourite quote? 🌷🌿
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#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #morris #strawberrythief #quotesaboutlife #quotestoliveby #quotes
☀️ William Morris Month Day 17 ☀️ The sunshine today has made us feel so excited for spring, it’s almost officially here! 🪴 This William Morris bunting is the dreamiest backdrop to all the spring summer days in the garden, it’s by @ellejoycreations - isn’t it fabulous!🌷
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🐰 William Morris Month Day 16 🐰 A Sunday spent Easter decorating, these cute little bunnies were a craft a few years back and they are always a firm favourite to bring out this time of year to hang on our Easter tree 🐥 Have you started decorating or eating eggs yet? 🐣
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#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisprint #easter #easterdecor #eastercrafts #eastercrafting #fabriccraft #greatfabricdestashuk
🍓 William Morris Month Day 15 🍓 Absolutely can’t wait for the summer months to get our Strawberry Thief picnic basket and blanket back out- if you missed this craft we have a DIY on our website blog, along with a lot of other craft ideas and how-to blogs ☺️
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🍓 William Morris Month Day 14 🍓 Strawberry Thief was inspired by William Morris’s watching the thrushes under the strawberry nets at the stunning @kelmscottmanor 🌿 May Morris conjured up this scene when speaking of the design, “You can imagine my Father going out in the early morning and watching the rascally thrushes at work on the fruit beds and telling the fanned who growls ‘I’d like to wring their necks!’ that no bird in the garden must be touched. There were certainly more birds than strawberries in spite of attempts at protection. And the walls of the little dining-room are hung with this note of the June garden and the little lords of it.” 🍓 What a lovely insight into the Morris family life! 🥰
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#williammorris #williammorrismonth #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #strawberrythief #floraldesign #maymorris
✨ William Morris Month Day 11 ✨ A spotlight on Willow Bough today! 🌿 This beautiful botanical design was first designed in 1887, isn’t it so timeless! It actually was the design his daughter May Morris used to decorate her bedroom before it was adapted for wallpaper in 1895 when it was block printed in Merton Abbey 🇬🇧
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⭐️ William Morris Month Day 10 ⭐️ Florals on florals (on florals) are our favourite 🤣 Which of these William Morris design tea towels is your favourite? 💕
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#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #teatowelsofinstagram #floralteatowel #preraphaelite
💫 William Morris Month Day 8 💫 a relaxed weekend featuring floral filled tables are on the agenda this weekend 🥰🍰
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#williammorrismonth #williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #morrisdesign #floraltable #floraltablescape