26th July 2017
“Ars Longa Vita Brevis” translates to “Life is short, but art endures” and is the latin motto inscribed above the fire place in the drawing room at Red House.
Red House is not only an incredibly beautiful property, but also one that shaped Morris’ life. Visiting, there’s hints throughout about his ideas about art and life. It was the first and only house Morris ever built and the first independent architectural work of his good friend Philip Webb. It was furnishing this house that inspired Morris to found his company, to give him the textiles and wallpaper with a level of skill and intricacy that he himself looked for. It was the plants and flowers in the garden that in turn shaped the first of his wall paper designs.
Remembered by many of his friends and colleagues as an incredibly happy place, a ‘dream house’ as described by The National Trust due to the fact the years he spent here with his young family were the happiest of his life. The Trust have done an incredible job of preserving ‘the beautifullest place on earth’ as described by Burne-Jones and though the rural setting is gone and many of his original furnishings scattered due to the time that has passed, the building itself is relatively untouched.
It was in the Autumn of 1858, choosing a spot above the Cray valley (at this point, still in open countryside) in Kent, in an area reminding him of his home, Kent. It was whilst in holiday in France with Philip Webb that the idea of Red House was born, and whilst they travelled down the Seine Valley, they sketched the medieval buildings they drew upon for inspiration. After Jane and Morris were married in 1859, the detailed designs for Red House were completed – at this point, it was then on to the build, which took a year and was at all times supervised by both Morris and Webb as the architect. It’s unbelievable to think the total cost of the build was £4,000.
Moving into the home in June of 1860, the decorating process could now begin!
Textile wise, at the time the floors were probably covered in Persian carpets, but all the other textiles Morris designed himself. To decorate, Morris, true to form of his aim of keeping arts and crafts alive, rediscovered forgotten arts of medieval embroidery. Jane spoke of this time decorating, “He taught me the first principles of laying stitches closely so as to cover the ground smoothly and radiating them properly. Afterwards we studied old pieces and by unpicking etc. we learnt very much but it was very uphill work but only carried through by his excessive energy and perseverance.”
Due to the fact Morris found issues in finding furnishings he felt was suitable to decorate his home, it led to the formation of is own business, ‘Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co.’ and allowed us to all benefit from their beautiful designs!
The house has always been told through anecdotes as an incredibly happy home, with a constant stream of friends visiting, full of dinners and drinks, with songs sung around the piano – one apple fight in the Drawing Room left Morris with a black eye! Georgiana said, ‘the time we spent together there was one to swear by, if human happiness were doubted.’
Quoted by the National Trust, “By 1864 the Morris firm had outgrown its first premises in Red Lion Square, and, Morris, weary of the daily commute into London, considered moving the whole business out to Bexleyheath. He also tried to get the Burne-Joneses to join him at Red House, commissioning Webb to design a matching range of buildings to enclose the central courtyard for his friends. But late in 1864 Burne-Jones’s young son Philip caught scarlet fever, which he passed on to the heavily pregnant Georgiana. The baby was born prematurely and died after only three weeks. Shattered by this tragedy and worried about money, Borne-Jones decided to pull out of the scheme. Morris and Janey were also both unwell, and their marriage was growing increasingly strained. In 1865 Morris abandoned Red House and, with it, his dream.”
If you ever get the chance to visit Red House, it’s an incredible house to see as any Morris fan, as the hub of many lovely anecdotes and inspirations for Morris, its fabulous to see it in real life! We’ve used the ‘Red House’ booklet from the National Trust for reference and quotes throughout this blog – if you’d like to know more about the house and the individual rooms, make sure you check it out!
Posted in William Morris by Laura
The table is all set for a festive weekend dinner party 🎄 We used our William Morris Mallow design, doesn’t it look so perfect this time of year ✨ Featuring our latest floral arrangement 🌿✨
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If you’re looking for the perfect Christmas gift that will be used year-round, our kitchen sets of tea towels, aprons and ovengloves are sure to be a winner! 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisfabricdesigns #interiordesign #ovenglove #ovengloves #christmasgifts #stockingideas #morris #strawberrythief
Have you had any festive table set ups yet? 🎄 This was our table last year for Christmas Day and our Strawberry Thief in Red has seen a lot of use throughout the year too at many a celebration 🌿 Isn’t it amazing how many events happen around the dining table- we may as well make it as pretty as possible! 🤍
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#williammorris #morris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #strawberrythief #redstrawberrythief #christmastable #festivetablescape #tablescape #tablestyling #floraltable #florals
A pink and white Christmas theme on the table today with Charlotte Rose 🌹 It matches perfectly with our Nutcracker theme flower arrangement 🤍🩰
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#christmastable #christmastablesetting #christmastablescape #tablescape #frenchflorals #laurasbeau #floraldesign #floraltable #floraltablecloth
Did you know we offer a gift wrap service? 🎁 If you’ve got a loved one you’d like to send a floral gift to this year, you can send it straight to their door all wrapped with a note written by the Laura’s Beau elves 🎄🤶🏻 It’s an option on our website only and you can check the gift wrap box at checkout to write your gift tag that we will hand write for you (we also won’t include a reciept or anything of course, but will email it to you instead ✨) Are you giving any William Morris floral goodies to your friends and family this year? 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #morrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #strawberrythief #christmasgiftguide #christmasgifts #floralgift #myfloralhome #myfloraltable #floraltablescape #christmastablesetting
Anyone else started on the mince pies this weekend? 🥧 We’ve been feeling rather festive the last week or so, are you all in the festive spirit yet or waiting until December? 🎄
📸 features our William Morris Brother Rabbit blue design 🤍
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To brighten up the kitchen with florals, we love hanging our William Morris tea towels on hooks, over the oven door or kitchen sink 🌿 An easy way to add a pop of colour or design ✨ They’re a great Christmas gift this year and come in a whole range of Morris designs to suit everyone’s kitchens 🎁
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Use Code: BF15 for 15% at checkout until Monday 27th at midnight 🌛 Happy Shopping ✨ (valid on our website only; www.laurasbeau.co.uk 🌿
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#laurasbeau #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabrics #morris #preraphaelite #floralinteriors #preraphaelite #upholsteryfabric #curtainfabric #blackfriday2023
🎄 A Christmas table set up using our Red Strawberry Thief licensed William Morris design ✨ We love how perfect it is dressed up for Christmas but can be used all year round accessorised for all the seasons 🌿
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#christmas #christmastable #christmastablecloth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisdesign #strawberrythief #preraphaelite
Our virtual craft market is now live! ✨ Only on our Etsy page, you can now shop a limited range different sizes of our licensed William Morris fabrics as offcuts and also, some craft bundles🧵And there is also a pretty fabulous Black Friday deal on everything on our Etsy at the moment! 🌿We`re always working to be more sustainable (you can read more about what we do on our blog) and offcuts is a great way for us to reduce waste - some are larger pieces that are various widths and lengths and some are bundles of fabric offcuts. ✨ Accurate measurements are in the listing, and you`ll find the full market under a tab on our Etsy. The bundles are brilliant gifts for crafters, quilters and those who you know would like to try a whole range of William Morris fabrics 🎁
We`ll keep this tab updated as and when we have fabric ready so keep checking back! Remember, we do sell all our fabric by the half metre if you find a new fave in a bundle 🤍
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#etsy #fabriccrafts #sewers #quilters #fabricbundle #craftmarket #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #fabrics #floralfabric #fabricstack #fabricstash
Used for a very special engagement tablescape this past weekend was our timelessly beautiful Charlotte Rose! 🥂💍✨ It’s actually a design from our French archive, we absolutely love it ☺️ If you’re starting your Christmas shopping it’s a wonderful gift idea for them to love using all year round on their table 🥂
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#tablescape #tabledecor #engagement #frenchfloral #frenchflorals #floraltable #florals #floraldesign
A wonderful addition to the table, our placemats, available in a range of licensed William Morris designs, set the scene for a whole range of celebrations sat around the table 🥂
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #williammorrisfabric #willowbough #tablescape #myfloraltable #floraltable #preraphaelite #williammorrisdesigns
These green tones together are so lovely 🌿 Can you name all of these licensed William Morris designs? Which is your favourite? ✨ If you’d like a sample of any just let us know ☺️
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #preraphaelite #preraphaelites #fabricstash #fabricstack #ukfabric #ukfabricshop #floralfabrics
Autumn tablescapes always brighten the home up this time of year ✨ This is our William Morris Compton design, always super popular it’s got the most beautiful colours within it ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #morrisfabric #compton #autumntablescape #tablescape #floraltable #myfloralhome #floraltablescape
🎃 Just a little pup in his pumpkin outfit to deliver a Halloween treat for you! Get 15% off our website with code: Halloween 👻 His little Strawberry Thief bandana is so easy to make from our fabric and always looks so cute on him, we need to make him one in every design! ✨ (discount code can be used only on our website until Sunday at midnight!) 🎃
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Functional + stylish, a tea towel thrown over the cooker or sink really does brighten up the kitchen - bringing some florals inside the home! ✨ This is our licensed William Morris Sweet Briar design, we absolutely love this delicate design with soft pink flowers 🌷
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #sweetbriar #teatowelsofinstagram #teatowel #floralfabric #floralfabrics #florals #myfloralhome #preraphaelite #morris #morrisfabric #onlinefabric #fabricdestashuk
A fabric stack full of William Morris licensed designs, which is your favourite? ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #fabricdestashuk #fabricshop #fabricseller #fabricstack #strawberrythief
Sitting at the table to admire our latest floral arrangement creation with a cuppa! ☕️ Don’t these colours look absolutely wonderful with our beautiful licensed William Morris design Compton 🧡
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabrics #fabricdestashuk #floralfabric #floralfabrics #compton #preraphaelite #tablescape #flowerarrangement #floraltable #flowerarranging #myfloraldays
Back in stock- wonderful Golden Lily pvc fabric 🤩 Its a wipe clean material, so is absolutely perfect for the dining table 🍴 Available by the half metre in length, its 140cm wide, so fits most tables, an easy option whilst not compromising on beautiful William Morris florals! 💐
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #morris #morrisfloral #floraltable #pvcfabric #oilclothfabric #floralfabric #florals #tablescape #tablescapeflorals #preraphaelite #fabrics #onlinefabric
Can’t forget your Strawberry Thief tote if you’re off to the shops! 🛍️
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisdesigns #strawberrythief #france #totebag #totebags #floraltote