Floribunda is a fabulous floral extravaganza. Adapted from a Victorian fabric in the V&A archive, it brings the past beautifully into the present. To retain the scale of the original pattern, Floribunda is a wide width wallpaper celebrating an English garden setting with boughs of white lilac and blooming roses in coral pink on a deep teal background.
Available in 4 colours: Teal, Lavender, Blush and Midnight
Floribunda archive inspiration: Furnishing fabric, Lancashire, about 1850
The Museum opened its doors at Marlborough House, a royal residence in Pall Mall, London, with an inaugural exhibition in 1852 about 'False Principles of Design' – an attempt by Sir Henry Cole, the V&A's first Director, to define the principles of good and bad design. Included in the exhibition were printed cotton chintzes singled out as bad decoration. Now considered attractive by today’s standards, this is one of the publicly shamed patterns, condemned for 'Direct Imitation of Nature' involving 'branches of lilac and rose trees made to bend to the forms of sofa cushions and chair arms'. Despite Cole’s attempts to improve public taste, the exhibition was not a success. The public were merely amused by the selection and remained unconverted.