William Morris
- jonnellieb
- Nov 13, 2015
- 2 min read
‘HAVE NOTHING IN YOUR HOUSES THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW TO BE USEFUL OR BELIEVE TO BE BEAUTIFUL.’
William Morris (1834-1896) is considered the leader of the Arts and Crafts movement. Aside from his design work he was also a poet, philosopher, typographer and political theorist. In 1861 he started the decorating business Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. which provided very beautiful and very controversial products for the home. The controversy lies in the fact that all the products were hand crafted which deemed the mechanical inventions brought by the machine age superfluous. Morris aspired to provide affordable ‘art for all.’
Coming from a wealthy family, Morris was able to surround himself, explore and appreciate the idyllic rural surroundings of the Water House (family house which is now the William Morris Gallery). This exposure appealed to Morris’ artistic side and nature became his muse.
Morris’ most famous works are those of his wallpaper and fabric designs such as the classic ‘Pimpernel’ designs. Reviving many of the traditional arts was William Morris’ goal, mastering all processes and understanding all there is to know about each material before producing products. He thrived to learn, in fact he pursued many careers including becoming an architecture lecturer.
Making quite a few friends in the architecture/ interior design world led to conversations of designing and building a house. In 1859 Webb deigned a medieval, red brick house for Morris and Jane. Once they moved in, mid 1860, Morris, Jane and a few others started decorating the interiors. This is now referred to as the ‘Red House’ and is symbol of the shared vision, and creative freedom they had. There was not one piece of factory made furnishings within the house, the walls have huge murals and the ceilings consisted of small geometric patterns. The red brick, pointed roofs and arched doorways of the exterior made it evidently medieval yet the inner art work and furnishings made it modern, even today.
The garden continued to follow the medieval theme and each plant was researched before plantation. Among the exotic and unique; native Ayrshire rose; Aaron’s rod, and passion flower laid lilies, sunflowers, lavender and more. Web purposely planted them against the wall in order to disguise the appearance of new brick.
Morris & Co have been in business for over 150 years and are still producing beautiful home furnishings and interior designs.
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