Farrow & Ball’s Latest Wallpaper Collection Adds French Villa Vibes to Any Space
Estate of Mind
BY Rebecca Sherman // 06.17.24Farrow & Ball’s The Purnon Papers in Auguste, a pattern procured from a private dressing room.
Farrow & Ball’s new wallpaper collection, The Purnon Papers, is inspired by patterns from Château de Purnon, a magnificent but crumbling estate built in 1788 in the Loire Valley. Once home to Antoine-Charles Achard, the Marquis de la Haye, the château now belongs to Australians Felicity Selkirk and Tim Holding, who are in the process of restoring and saving it. (A fabulous Instagram account follows the couple’s journey.) Farrow & Ball’s five wallpaper designs range from dainty florals to ornate damasks; elements of the original patterns, such as color and scale, have been freshly revised.
The Farrow & Ball wallpapers reference a vast array of patterns uncovered throughout the the historic French estate, from the geometric Achard — discovered in the humble linen press — to the delicate Auguste, procured from a private dressing room. Purnon’s striking heron motif was pulled from an 18th-century folding screen, while Baracé’s sophisticated floral was reimagined from a faded textile fragment found in the attic, which once crowned the bed belonging to the mother of Madame de La Motte-Baracé.
Each Purnon Papers wallpaper roll is handcrafted in the Brit brand’s home base of Dorset with either flatbed or roller block printing using their own richly pigmented Farrow & Ball paint, which creates a texture similar to the centuries-old originals. Given the company’s affinity for bringing to life rich historic colour palettes, those Château de Purnon could not have found a better partership.
Texans can discover Farrow & Ball’s The Purnon Papers at Farrow & Ball in Dallas (1301 Oak Lawn Avenue) or online at farrow-ball.com.