House style

How late designer Florence Broadhurst’s bold creations found a new lease of life

Vintage wallpaper designs with 2019 appeal

THE STORY OF wallpaper designer Florence Broadhurst is one of intrigue, prodigious talent and, ultimately, tragedy. Born in Queensland in 1899, Broadhurst emigrated to London in the 1930s and became a couturier and wellknown figure on the social scene, forming friendships with Winston Churchill and the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, among others. She turned her hand to wallpaper in the 1960s, and produced more than 500 botanical and geometric designs, until she was killed in her Paddington studio in 1977. Her murder remains unsolved.

In the decades since, admiration for Broadhurst’s work has not diminished. Until recently, however, her wallpapers were no longer available to buy in the UK, as interior designer Rebecca Lawrence, a long-time fan, discovered last year when she tried to source one for a project. Feeling the current mood in interiors is very much suited to Broadhurst’s bold, playful style, she decided to bring them back to the UK market, and, together with two cofounders, secured a deal to license and distribute the designs.

‘I feel that now is the right time for this collection,’ she says. ‘We had this decade or so of minimalism in interiors, but we’ve come out of that now. People want colour, pattern and maximalism more than they have for many years. Florence Broadhurst was doing that back in the 1960s; it’s very relevant to modern interiors.’

Their newly released debut collection includes 12 wallpaper designs and five fabrics, all in a choice of colourways, developed from scans of Broadhurst’s original silkscreens. The idea is that the different patterns can be used together: ‘Mixing and matching was very much her approach,’ says Lawrence. ‘She was a huge fan of layering things, throwing lots of pattern at the same space.’ The next collection is already underway, and furniture, lighting and rugs are also in the works.

Broadhurst herself advised clients that ‘they should surround themselves with the colours that inspire or uplift them’. This collection of her work will allow modern admirers to do just that. From £95 a metre; florencebroadhurst.co.uk

Clockwise from top A studio moodboard; (from top of ladder) Broadhurst’s Pagoda, Shadow Floral and Papyrus designs; Waterfall Gardens and (behind) Japanese Panels; Macarthur Park wallpaper in green