COLE & SON 'WOODS' WALLPAPER

A quirky interpretation of classic stripes delivered a naturally appealing wallpaper design that stands the test of time

- Chris Pearson

This famous woodland may be deciduous, but its appeal is evergreen. sixty years ago, UK wallpaper and fabric house Cole & son approached budding talent at the Royal College of Art to create fresh designs for its pioneering screenprinting studio established a decade earlier. One of these artists was Michael Clark, who, in 1959, led generations of homeowners into the Woods (right), with a graphic black-and-white print of leafless silver birch trees on a 72cm pattern repeat.

Cleverly, Woods was a stripe yet not a stripe, simultaneously organic and geometric, and brought garden glimpses into living rooms. since then, it has been available in one guise or another, whether part of a design collection or as a custom design. “its timeless style is impervious to changes in style and taste”, says Jacinta Barber, head of marketing and PR at Cole & son.