I must admit to a great love of William Morris's textiles and Arts & Crafts furniture so reading Elizabeth Wilhide's guide to creating the “Morris look” can hardly be classed as work. If you want to find out how to choose pattern and colour and how to co-ordinate furniture and fittings there is a wealth of detail here, the well-chosen illustrations feature some of the very best Morris interiors, always detailing the patterns used with further key fabric and wallpaper pattern examples to be found in an appendix. The text itself is “a good” read, more than a how-to guide it gives much useful background, the way that Morris designs were viewed and how they gradually became so influential in the way we furnish and decorate our rooms. All-in-all a top introduction to William Morris, the price, an astonishingly reasonable £14.99. ~ Sue Baker
Rich natural colours, liquid floral patterns, light airy rooms and simple wooden furniture are all radical principles of the Arts and Crafts movement, and are also the fundamentals of most modern decor. There has never been a better time for introducing Morris designs into the home. Illustrated with a wide range of historical and contemporary decorative schemes, this practical and inspirational guide suggests simple and cost-effective ways of creating an interior decor that aspires to purity, colour and craftsmanship, as defined by William Morris. Chapters provide information on pattern-matching, wall and window treatments, floor coverings, tiles and furnishings, so that a 'Morris style' can be extended to whatever degree of authenticity desired. A comprehensive suppliers' list details where to buy Morris and Co. fabrics and wallpapers, and Arts and Crafts furnishings, while an illustrated glossary containing sixty of the best-known designs allows for easy pattern selection and identification.
Elizabeth Wilhide was born in the United States and has lived in England since the 1960s. She is a leading expert on interior design and has written numerous books on the subject, including William Morris: Decor and Design, The Mackintosh Style and Bohemian Style. Her first novel, Ashenden, was published in 2012.