Author: Rhoda Parry

Warner House presents two exquisitely exotic designs for Autumn 2023. Known for its extensive archive of historical patterns, the Royal-Warrant fabric and furnishing house has a masterful eye for reimagining heritage looks for today’s homes.

‘Animalia is one of our watchwords this season,’ says Lee Clarke, owner and director of Warner House. ‘And this September sees the launch of a duo of designs from two very different periods, each with its own energy and élan.’

Cranes and Zanzibar both depict a commitment to archive design with a modern twist and chime perfectly with the current vogue for maximal and layered decor schemes.

The allure of Cranes

Cranes Ebony wallpaper paired with Cranes Stone fabric (curtains).

In an homage to the late art nouveau period, Cranes characterises the symbols and myths associated with these birds, depicted here intertwined in an elegant and perennial dance. Cranes are renowned across cultures and spiritual thinking for their gracefulness and in this design we see two birds partnered for life in an eternal embrace of love and loyalty.

‘The magic of this late-nouveau design is its architectural fluidity inspired by the design master C F A Voysey,’ says Lee Clarke. A practising architect and artist, Voysey was renowned for his rhythmic and stylised bird silhouettes that move across the repeat in a smooth, effortless, and hypnotic manner.

With the crane motif in white and gold, this design has a Gatsby-esque glamour to it totally in keeping with the Warner House signature style of fine and flamboyant design. Sweeping feathers, graceful necks and caressing beaks combine to create a visually dramatic decorative stripe when viewed at distance.

Cranes Stone curtains.

The Cranes collection is printed on fine cotton and also available as a wallpaper. In eight carefully selected colourways, these connoisseur grounds are highly adaptable for high-end interiors, including Ebony for an aristocratic air, a regal red called Lantern that hints of the orient, and Stone for a pure aesthetic. Other colourways include Royal, Teal, Moss, French Grey, and Amber.

Perfectly suited to high ceilings and feature walls, the design speaks to an age of romance and high-end enchantment. Shown here Ebony is used in harmony with the contrasting fabric in Stone for a modern monochrome effect perfectly enhancing lacquered antique furniture. For a contemporary edge, pattern clash with Warner House’s Zebra velvet in Espresso and a colour block such as Lusso velvet in Gold.

Toile Menagerie

Zanzibar Teal wallpaper and Zanzibar Teal fabric

With a renaissance of interest in toile de Jouy, we are also delighted to introduce a Warner House rendition called Zanzibar.

Circa 1870 and of French Rococo style, this narrative design depicts a lush scene of jaguars, monkeys, and parrots climbing and clambering in an evocative jungle of stylised coconut palm trees and other native flora.

Inspired by French painter Jean-Baptiste Pillement, renowned for his detailed depiction of romanticised and exquisite landscapes, this faraway bucolic scene of the Tanzanian archipelago is flamboyant and playful in equal measures.

‘The joy of toile is its single colour cleverness and repeat motif that can be used on curtains or, as perennially popular, “all over”; matching walls to window treatments to soft furnishings,’ says Lee Clarke.

Popular during the Napoleonic reign, this illustrative collection is printed on fine cotton, also available as a wallpaper. Zanzibar has been recoloured in a new palette of six colourways referencing the archival inspiration of yesteryear with the modernity of today’s colour preferences. From a cooler spectrum of Teal, Duck Egg and Blue to warmer Blush, Ochre and last, but not least, a neutral called Charcoal. Here we went ‘all out’ with Teal on Teal for an enveloping and dashing bathroom, which would work equally well in bedrooms and dressing rooms.

Zanzibar Teal wallpaper and Zanzibar Teal fabric

Warner’s name is synonymous with decorating world famous and elite institutions from the Palace of Westminster to the White House. For this exclusive collection, the magnificent Broughton Hall in North Yorkshire was the perfect destination to bring these designs to life. Recently used as a location for Gentleman Jack, the location, grandeur, and aesthetics of this estate are synonymous with the brand’s mantra of ‘historical design for today’.

Discover the power of pattern and browse our extensive range of wallpapers, fabrics, furniture and soft furnishings. If you need any help pulling your scheme together, or can’t find quite what you’re looking for, our customer service team are always happy to help. Simply drop them an email at [email protected]