Colourful Morris Prints for Maximalist Rooms

The look in one paragraph

A maximalist room built around Morris prints is dense on purpose. Several colourful works share one wall, formats are mixed so the surface does not look uniform, and the density is contained by one simple discipline: every piece still gets a little space around it. The store's own sizing advice makes that discipline easy, because it tells you to measure the wall first and pick a size that leaves some space around the print. That single habit is what separates deliberate layering from clutter.

This page stays inside what can be verified. The practical guidance here comes from the store's printing and care information, so it covers formats, sizes, materials, colour accuracy and hanging conditions rather than historical claims. For the wider method, the parent guide to decorating with Morris prints walks through the same system room by room.

If you want to see the colour range before planning anything, the William Morris Colored collection gathers the colourful prints in one place, which is the natural starting point for a layered scheme.

Choosing prints for a layered room

In a maximalist scheme the prints do the heavy lifting, so choose them as a group rather than one at a time. Pick a shared colour thread, such as a deep green or a warm red that appears in every piece, and let the patterns themselves differ. Density comes from how many pieces you hang and how closely they relate, not from cramming the wall edge to edge.

Colour accuracy matters more when you are combining several prints, because small mismatches between pieces become obvious side by side. The store states that printed colours will closely but not exactly match what you see on screen, since screens differ and matte paper and canvas reflect light more softly than a backlit screen. Plan your palette with that softening in mind rather than matching tones exactly to a screen image.

Shoppers in the US and Canada see print sizes in inches, while everyone else sees them in centimeters, so note which unit you are working in before you sketch a wall plan. Mixing up units is an easy way to end up with pieces that do not sit together as intended.

Browse the colourful Morris prints with your wall measurements in hand and shortlist pieces that share at least one colour. A shortlist of five or six gives you room to edit once you see the sizes on paper.

Colour and pattern balance

Maximalism still needs a counterweight. If every surface carries strong pattern, the eye has nowhere to rest, so keep at least one element calm: a plain wall colour, simple upholstery or an unpatterned floor. The prints supply the richness; the surroundings hold it together.

Remember the screen-to-print difference when you plan that balance. According to the store's guidance, printed colours closely but do not exactly match screen colours, because screens vary and matte paper and canvas reflect light more softly than a backlit screen. A print that looks vivid on screen may sit slightly softer on the wall, which usually helps in a layered room but is worth planning for.

A practical rule: decide the dominant colour of the wall first, then choose prints that either echo it or sit clearly against it. Two or three strong colours repeated across several prints read as intentional; five unrelated palettes read as noise. The coloured collection makes it easy to compare palettes side by side before you commit.

Size, scale and placement

Measure the wall before you order anything. The store advises measuring the wall first and picking a size that leaves some space around the print, and in a maximalist scheme that advice applies to the group as a whole: the whole arrangement should keep a margin from the edges of the wall, and each piece should keep a little air between itself and its neighbours.

Work in the right units from the start. Customers in the US and Canada see sizes in inches, while everyone else sees centimeters, so if you are planning with a mix of sources, convert everything to one unit before you mark positions on the wall.

A simple planning method: cut paper templates at the exact sizes you plan to order, tape them to the wall and live with the arrangement for a day or two. Adjust the gaps until the density feels deliberate. For a wall made of many smaller pieces rather than one large statement, the ideas in Morris gallery walls show how to structure a dense arrangement so it stays coherent.

Formats, frames and hanging

Three formats cover most maximalist walls, and mixing them is part of the look. The poster is printed on thick matte paper with a soft off-white tone and is ready for a frame of your own, a clip, or a pin board. The poster with hangers is held at the top and bottom by two wooden bars with magnets inside, so the print can be swapped without pins or holes. The canvas is printed on canvas stretched over a wooden frame, with no glass and no mount.

What each format includes matters for planning. Only the framed poster includes a frame; the poster with hangers comes with two wooden hangers, and the canvas comes on its own wooden frame. So if you want a uniform framed look, budget for frames on the poster format; if you want a relaxed, layered look, the hangers and canvases arrive ready to hang.

Paper quality helps a dense wall age well. The store's paper has a pH above 7, so it resists yellowing, which matters when several prints hang close together and any yellowing would show against its neighbours.

Care is simple but worth following, especially in a full room where prints sit near lamps, radiators and windows. The store advises hanging prints out of direct sunlight and away from damp walls, dusting with a soft dry cloth, and never using water or cleaning spray on the paper or canvas.

All three formats are available across the William Morris Colored range, so you can mix paper, hangers and canvas within one scheme.

Mistakes to avoid

Most maximalist schemes fail for predictable reasons, and each has a simple fix drawn from the guidance above.

• Skipping the wall measurement. Measure first and keep space around each print and around the group as a whole, so density stays deliberate.
• Matching colours to a screen. Printed colours closely but do not exactly match screen colours, so plan palettes with the softer printed tone in mind.
• Hanging in poor conditions. Keep prints out of direct sunlight and away from damp walls, and clean only with a soft dry cloth, never water or spray.
• Choosing formats that add clutter rather than structure. Decide whether the wall's structure comes from matching frames, mixed hangers or large canvases, and let that decision drive the format mix.
• Forgetting the units. US and Canadian shoppers see inches and everyone else sees centimeters, so convert before ordering.

If a scheme keeps feeling too busy rather than rich, the problem is usually the surroundings, not the prints. For a fuller treatment of that balance, see our guide to Morris in the living room, which works through seating, walls and placement together.

Two example room schemes

Scheme two: a renter-friendly gallery wall built around the poster with hangers. In this format the print is held at the top and bottom by two wooden bars with magnets inside, so the print can be swapped without pins or holes. That makes it a natural fit for a maximalist grouping of several colourful pieces, because you can rearrange the prints as often as you like without leaving marks on the wall. Build the group from the coloured range, keeping one colour repeated across the pieces. For more arrangements in this style, the ideas in Morris gallery walls extend the method.

Both schemes share the same spine: measured walls, deliberate space, a repeated colour and formats chosen for how the room is used. Once the wall is up, keep it out of direct sunlight and away from damp, and dust it with a soft dry cloth so the colours stay as printed.

For more living room arrangements beyond the maximalist angle, our guide to Morris in the living room covers quieter versions of the same room.