FAQs

Your Cart

Close
Paper Plane Your order qualifies for free standard delivery
Subtotal £0.00
Delivery £0.00
Order Total £0
Checkout Securely

William Morris Trellis

29th April 2018

Inspired by the rose trellis in the garden of Red House, his home in Bexleyheath, Trellis was the first wallpaper designed by William Morris in 1864. The first three wallpapers he produced, Trellis, Daisy and Fruit are produced using a hand-printing process which took a lot of time to do and therefore cost a lot of money – each colour in the design required a separate block and so the trio of designs used each required 12 blocks so had to wait on these designs until the early 1870s when the Firm’s finances were more balanced.

It’s incredible to think that an artists first three designs are so stunning and have stood the test of time to be relevant and current and stylish so long after they were first designed. The interior fabrics used today are still similar to the ones produced by Morris and his influential designs appear to be still influencing designers and artists of today, how many designs do you look like that have been produced today which are similar or take inspiration from Morris.

Though he designed Trellis first, he did not produce it first as it had to wait for a finishing touch from his lifelong friend Philip Webb to design the birds and insects. The birds within the design are a beautiful addition in the design, which is a classic element of Morris and Webb’s work with naturalistic elements. This design in particular was obviously a firm favourite of both Morris and Webb despite the lots of different designs  they produced since thirty years later Webb used Trellis extensively at Standen. It was also adapted for use for the bed hangings at Kelmscott Manor. The rooms it can still be seen in today are; the morning room corridor and the lobby which leads to the conservatory, May Morris also noted remembering it decorating her bedroom in Queen Square. She even was quoted that she used to lay awake at night scared by one of the birds within the design, ‘because he was thought to be wicked and very alive.’

We license and produce William Morris’s Trellis, one of our newest designs we’ve done on products, it’s grid like pattern dispersed with wildlife, birds and roses on the trellis is a beautiful one and a truly stand out piece not only in the history of William Morris, but even looking at his catalogue of work, remains of our favourites. It seems he didn’t need any lead up to producing one of his most iconic designs!

Also using Trellis as a featured pattern in our William Morris collection which features both Trellis, a photo of William Morris, his photo, signature and also one of his most famous quotes, “have nothing in your houses you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful” depending on the product (different products feature various combinations of these.) Words to live by for sure, and ones that are beautiful on a tote bag! We’ve really been enjoying using this William Morris shopper bag as it can be folded down in your handbag until you need it on a shopping trip and then you can bring it out to use it – lightweight, useful and chic!

Have a look at our full range of Trellis products here and scroll down to see more of our beautiful products…

SaveSave

Related Articles

Post Title

Why is Our Fabric So Much Cheaper Than Our Competitors’ Fabric?

Why is Our Fabric So Much Cheaper Than Our Competitors’ Fabric?   -      We use very high quality cotton fabric (free samples available on request)....

Post Title

Heritage! The Battle for Britain’s Past

I wonder if you saw the programme on BBC4 last night entitled Heritage! The Battle for Britain's Past (Episode 1).  It was the first part...

Post Title

William Morris Scrunchies!

  Thank you to our friends at the William Morris Society for sending us a photo of the scrunchies they made using our William Morris...

Get ready for flower arranging class with us 🌷 Our beautiful Willow Bough William Morris pvc apron is perfect to protect your outfit from splashes when cooking, crafting or cutting your stems! 🌿🫶🏻
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #pvc #pvcfabric #apron #willowbough #floralapron #flowerarranging #flowerarrangingclass #labradorable #labrador
We couldn’t resist another pic of our bonfire night set up! 🫶🏻 our PVC fabric is such a popular option for the table as it’s wipe clean, so any spills can just be quickly fixed 🫧 We wouldn’t reccomend lighting sparklers in the house or over your tablecloth though! 🙃
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisprint #morrisdesign #bonfirenight #tablescape #floraltable #myfloraldays
🎆 Take 15% off our whole website for 48 hours only using code: BONFIRE at checkout 🔥 (we’ve also launched gift sets including half metre gift sets for the quilters and crafters in your life, you get a half metre free when you purchase the set and they come gift wrapped… this is is soft launching Christmas Incase everyone says we’re too early.. but also our Christmas trees are already up so we’re ready to talk about it when you are? Let us know?) 🎄
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #discountcode #bonfirenight #christmasflorals
Had to video us cutting beautiful William Morris Willow Bough today, this heavyweight fabric is off to be made into curtains, it’ll look so stunning! 🫶🏻 If you’d like a free sample just let us know ☺️
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #preraphaelite #floraldesign #fabrics #curtainfabric #ukbusiness
Just waiting for the trick or treaters 🎃 
On the table; our William Morris Daisy napkin and placemats 🫶🏻
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisprint #florals #halloween #halloweendecor #daisy #floraldesign #preraphaelite #burleighpottery
Turning Charlotte Rose Halloween-y with our little pumpkin napkin fold 🎃
•
•
•
#tablescape #tablesettings #frenchfloral #frenchflorals #frenchdesign #williammorris #independentbusiness #ukbusiness #charlotterose #florals #napkinfolding #halloweentable
Proving there’s nothing Bertie won’t do for a biscuit, he’s ready for a Halloween party 🎃 As a treat for all our Instagram friends, take 15% off our entire website until Halloween with code: AUTUMN 🍂
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #compton #williammorrisdesign #labrador #labstagram #halloweendog #halloweendogcostume #halloweendogs🎃👻🐶 #dogsofinstagram #lablife #lablife🐾
Spend a Friday evening with us settling down for a little cheese board✨ Our Mallow William Morris design is always so stunning 🥰 
•
•
•
#tablescape #tablesettingideas #cheeseboardsoftiktok #tablescape #williammorris #morris #preraphaelite #countrykitchen #mallow
We could never admit to how long it took us to fold our Compton napkin into a pumpkin 😮‍💨🎃
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #floraldesign #preraphaelite #compton #napkinfolding
Halloween, but make it floral 🍂✨🎃
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #willowbough #halloweentable #halloweentablescape #pumpkinfloral #pumpkinflower
A very Pimpernel breakfast! 🍂 We love mix and matching Pimpernel Cream and Green 🫶🏻
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #pimpernel #floraltable #floraldesign #florals
A pvc tablecloth is fantastic as it simply wipes clean which often makes it our top pick for meal times, they come in many Morris designs and are sold by the half metre to fit every table, it won’t fray so doesn’t need a hem 👻 keep watching to see who our tea guest was 😉
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #strawberrythief #williammorrisfabrics #pvctablecloth #autumntable #autumntablescape #halloweentable #labrador #blacklabsofinstagram #funnylabrador
This is such an easy napkin fold and so effective too! 🫶🏻 We love Willow Bough blue and green layered together ✨
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #tablescape #napkinfolding #napkinfold #burleighpottery
NEW LAUNCH! 🫶🏻 William Morris Daisy is now available to buy as fabric by the half metre! 🌼 we’ve always been asked for this by the half metre so you can shop now, please note that it’s a narrower printed design than usual 🪡🧵 It’s such a beautiful design, Morris’ first ever design so always such a special design for fans of his work! 🫶🏻
•
•
•
#Williammorris #williammorrisfabric #fabrics #fabricstash #ukindependentbusiness #printedintheuk
Floral fabric stack 🫶🏻 Did you know all our William Morris fabrics are sold by the half metre? So for projects big and small, we’ve got you covered 🪡 Message us for free samples if you see a design you like 🥰
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisdesigns #fabrics #fabric #fabricdestashuk #floralfabric #preraphaelite #floralstack
We absolutely love Pimpernel Green, a timeless design it was first designed in 1876 by Morris, and is as beautiful today as it was then! 🍂
•
•
•
#williammorrisdesign #williammorris #preraphaelites #preraphaelitebrotherhood #pimpernel #floraldesign #fabric #fabricstore #printedintheuk
Beautiful poetry by Morris 🍂 Did you know he was a writer as well as a designer? 🤎 This is his poem called “Autumn” 🍁
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorriscompton #compton #autumn #poetry #poems #words #morris
All month we will be staying on a Halloween theme with treats galore (preferably something yummy and baked..) 🎃 
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisdesign #strawberrythief #preraphaelite
Getting craft ready for Halloween with our little wool ghosts! 👻 We’re going to use them on place settings and on a Halloween tree 🎃 Super easy to make, all you need is wool, felt or googly eyes and some glue 🤎 we hope you like our first crafty video, we started with one ghost in the background and re did this video so many times we ended up with a whole ghost party- and we ended up covered in googly eyes 😂 The idea of the ghosts was from @thepomwreathcompany 🧡 
featuring our William Morris Compton design 🍂
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #compton #autumncraft #autumncrafts #halloweencrafts #ghost #woolcraft #fabric
Autumn tables could potentially be one of our favourites! 🤎 Featuring our William Morris Compton design 🍂🧡
•
•
•
#williammorris #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #fabric #compton #autumnal #autumntable #autumntablescape