SUMMER LIGHTS: EMERY WALKER INSPIRED
Inspired by the love between friends and the legacy of a truly historic home, Morris & Co. have recently launch four brand-new patterns and six re-introduced William Morris designs in the collaboration collection with Emery Walker’s House.
Image: Bower, fabric in barbed berry/indigo. © Morris & Co. Image above: Emery Walker House, No. 7 Hammersmith Terrace.
Emery Walker moved to No. 7 Hammersmith Terrace in London with his wife Mary and daughter Dorothy in 1903. He was a good friend and mentor to William Morris who lived nearby. To the visitor, the stacked rooms of the tall Georgian-built terraced house reveal themselves gradually. The interior is enveloping and richly decorative; the organic, aged Morris & Co. wallpapers, curtains and floor-coverings mix with Moroccan and Middle Eastern rugs and throws (the Walker family were frequent travellers to North Africa and Europe).
Chinese and European ceramics nestle between William De Morgan pieces within Philip Webb’s bookcases and cabinets (Emery Walker was Webb’s sole beneficiary). Next to Webb’s furniture are pieces by Sydney and Ernest Barnsley, and Ernest Gimson; in 1922, a second home, Daneway House, near Sapperton, cemented friendships with the Cotswold furniture makers. Several Morris & Co. chairs are here, as is Morris’s own 17th century library chair; Jane Morris gave it to Emery after he died.
Image: May's coverlet fabric in twining vine. © Morris & Co
Beautiful May Morris embroideries adorn chairs and day-beds (May lived next door and gave the Walkers’ many gifts).
In a drawer, hand-stitched European folk hats sit beside remnants from home-sewing projects. A worn-out and patched curtain is piled amongst starched table-linen, each bearing Walker’s name tape. Textiles abound in purses, saddlebags and folded lengths, perhaps destined for a project never begun, or just bought for the love of owning it.
Image: rose fabric in bough green/rose. © Morris & Co
The Emery Walker's House Fabric Collection features 28 fabrics and 28 wallpapers in original Morris & Co. designs found in Emery Walker's House, available in authentic colourways.
Text taken from A Life in Objects: Emery Walker’s home at No. 7 Hammersmith Terrace, Selvedge issue 77 (p72-76).
Find out more:
morrisandco.sandersondesigngroup.com
@wmorrisandco