Framing Morris Wallpaper Samples and Fabric Pieces

What the evidence covers, and what it does not

Institutional sources document Morris wallpapers as objects, but they give no framing instructions for original samples or fabric. The Metropolitan Museum of Art's records list titles, dates, printing methods and sheet sizes for wallpapers including Pink and Rose and Willow, both attributed to William Morris, and nothing about mounting, hinging or conservation framing of block-printed wallpaper or distemper-colored samples. The practical guidance on this page therefore applies to the store's paper prints and canvas, not to antique material.

Two limits are worth stating plainly. No verbatim statement by William Morris about framing wallpaper or fabric appears in the evidence used here, and no steps for framing actual wallpaper samples or fabric pieces have been tested or sourced. If you own an original sample, the honest position is that this page cannot tell you how to frame it, and a conservator would be the right person to ask.

Two Morris wallpapers worth studying before you frame anything

Looking at documented wallpaper sheets helps you understand what original Morris wallpaper material actually is: a printed paper sheet, not a stretched or mounted artwork. The Met holds a wallpaper titled Pink and Rose, designed by William Morris and dated ca. 1890. According to the Met's record, it is block-printed in distemper colors, and the sheet measures 27 x 21 1/2 in. (68.6 x 54.6 cm).

The Met also holds a wallpaper titled Willow, designed by William Morris and dated 1874. The Met's record describes it as block-printed, with a sheet measuring 25 3/4 x 17 13/16 in. (65.4 x 45.2 cm). Both sheets are public domain Open Access, which means the Met's images can be studied freely.

The evidence does not state whether the store's printed designs reproduce the Met's Pink and Rose or Willow wallpapers specifically. Treat the two sheets as reference points for what block-printed Morris wallpaper looks like as an object, not as a claim about the prints sold here.

Framing the store's paper prints: what arrives and what you supply

The store's Morris designs on paper arrive printed on thick matte paper with a soft off-white tone. That sheet is ready for a frame of your own, a clip, or a pin board, so the frame itself is the part you choose and supply in most cases.

Only one paper format includes a frame. The poster with hangers comes with its two wooden hangers, and the canvas comes on its own wooden frame, so it is worth deciding which format you want before shopping for framing. If you are weighing frame styles, sizes and mounts, the guide to choosing a framed William Morris print covers those choices in depth, and the full range of designs sits on the All products page.

The three paper and canvas formats, and what each includes:

• Print on thick matte paper with a soft off-white tone, ready for a frame of your own, a clip, or a pin board.
• Poster with hangers: two wooden bars with magnets inside, so there are no pins or holes in the paper, and the print can be swapped.
• Canvas: printed on canvas and stretched over a wooden frame, with no glass and no mount.

The magnet hanger option suits anyone who likes to rotate designs, since the print can be swapped without damage to the paper. For a fuller picture of that format, see the page on posters with wooden hangers.

Sizing and the canvas alternative

The store advises measuring the wall first and picking a size that leaves some space around the print. That single habit prevents most sizing mistakes, and a closer look at measuring for a print is covered in the dedicated size guide.

Sizes are shown differently depending on where you are. Customers in the US and Canada see sizes in inches, while everyone else sees centimeters, so check the listed size in your own units before ordering a frame to fit.

Canvas is the format that needs no framing at all. It is printed on canvas and stretched over a wooden frame, with no glass and no mount, which changes both the look and the hanging plan. The page on when a Morris design works best on canvas goes into that trade-off, and the framed print guide remains the reference for glass, mount and frame questions.

Colour, paper quality and care: what to expect after framing

Printed colors match the screen very closely but not exactly. Screens show color differently, and matte paper and canvas reflect light more softly than a backlit screen, so expect a slightly quieter version of what you saw online.

The paper itself has a pH above 7, so it resists yellowing. That matters for anything going behind glass, where a yellowing sheet would be hard to correct without reframing.

The store's care guidance, in short:

• Hang out of direct sunlight and away from damp walls.
• Dust with a soft dry cloth.
• Never use water or cleaning spray on the paper or canvas.

Care has its own page, so this list is only the summary. The fuller version, including why sunlight and damp are the two main risks, sits in the guide to caring for art prints.

Quick checklist before you order a frame

Four checks, all drawn from the sourced points above:

• Measure the wall first and pick a size that leaves some space around the print.
• Check the listed size in your region's units: inches for US and Canada, centimeters elsewhere.
• Decide between a frame you supply for the matte paper print, the poster with magnetic wooden hangers, or canvas stretched on its own wooden frame with no glass or mount.
• Plan placement out of direct sunlight and away from damp walls before you hang anything.

If you are still comparing formats, the parent guide to buying a Morris poster walks through the decision from the other end, starting with the design rather than the frame.