The French Collection by Bethany Linz

Fern features a weaving in and out pattern which was appearing a lot in wallpaper designs in the 1700’s. Bethany states, “I decided to strip back the florals from the design and simply take the foundations as my inspiration. Like all my designs, I hand-painted this first, creating a more organic pattern with rough textures. I think this design is raw but still timeless. It is my favourite in the collection.” Fern comes in 6 colorways including Beige, Dusty Pink, Fern Green, French Blue, Grey and Salmon.

Speaking of the Petite Wallpaper design, Bethany expounds, “Petite is my interpretation of the sweet geometrics that are so present in the archival books that I was researching. This was a hard pattern to create, simply because there were so many motifs to draw inspiration from. I ended up going more simple and not too feminine to keep it versatile. I added the dots in the background because they appeared in so many of the designs of this era, I think in the end they bring this design together.” Petite is available in Blush, Chartreuse, Fern Green, Mustard, Sea Spray and Snow colors.

Tropical fruits started to make their way into French life as trade routes began to open and flourish. Pomegranates were just one of the many exotic items that excited the elite in France. Commenting on the Pomegrantate wallpaper design, Bethany said, “I wanted to create a large floral as my show-stopper. I came up with a flowing scalloped stripe with over-layering floral scrolling its way up. I used Pomegranates as the main motif. They were very expensive so they became a symbol of wealth, so as a result started to appear in all forms of art.” Pomegrante comes in Beige, Charcoal, Dusty Pink, French Blue and Salmon (picture below).

Louis the 14th was called the “Sun King”, he chose the sun himself as a young man as his emblem. The sun is the symbol of Apollo, the god of peace and the Arts. Its also the star that gives life to all things, rising and setting with unfailing regularity.  Bethany goes on to explain, “This design was a tribute to Louis XIV who was the longest reigning monarch of all European history, who dedicated most of that time to the arts and putting France on the world map.” Sun Light Star Bright is available in 7 colorways including Beige, Charcoal, Chartreuse, Dusty Pink, French Blue, Salmon and Sea Spray.

Tropicana is inspired by the tropical birds that started to appear in wallpaper and textiles during the 1700’s. Like foreign fruit, birds with all new patterns and colors were coming from all around the world inspiring artists and designers alike. Discussing the design, Bethany explains, “I wanted to create a floral that captured their excitement for these new species. I also noticed lots of the designs from this era had a tropical feel to their flora. I chose delicate fan palms, ferns and crested parrots. I wanted this design to be more modern so I stripped it of any colour, painting it all in white. I think this makes it more elegant and versatile.” Tropicana is available in Beige, Charcoal, Chartreuse, Dusty Pink, Fern Green and Sea Spray.