Drawing inspiration from far and wide, the trio of bright young creatives have teamed to each create a unique wallpaper design
Wallpaper isn’t necessarily the first thing you consider as the core of creativity when it comes to decorating your home. But for Boråstapeter Studio, it is everything. And for their new collection, Collabs, wallpaper takes centre stage as three contrasting, multi-talented creators – illustrator and designer Astrid Wilson, creator and stylist Hanna Marzouki Widlund (MW), and furniture designer Gustaf Westman – come together to dream up their very own new hand-painted designs.
“My mother has always explained to me that wallpaper gives a special depth to a room, and I couldn't agree more. I was thrilled when Boråstapeter contacted me because the match felt very natural and exciting,” explains Marzouki Widlund.
Before actually getting down to the practicalities of the task at hand, the aim in all their minds was to rip up the very notion of what wallpaper is. Marzouki Widlund wanted to create a design that not only fits in her own contemporary home, but one that will really stand the test of time for the future.
With her passion for interior design, along with architecture, to draw on, Marzouki Widlund mixed in a penchant for French countryside living, an enthusiasm that is so evident in her pastoral-themed design.
Meanwhile, Westman, who grew up surrounded by iconic wallpaper designs by greats such as Josef Frank, tried something a little different, opting instead to make a wall painting, which was then transposed from a photograph onto a design. Westman describes his approach as “playful and colourful, and the design is always built on a few elements that are easy to understand.”
“I take my inspiration from everywhere,” he says. “But I take a lot of inspiration from fashion! But for me it’s more the things I need to do to stay creative, like being social with friends and running a lot to clear my head.”
For Wilson, her design was actually a longtime coming to fruition. “I started to draw this pattern two years ago for another project,” says Wilson, “but as soon as the pattern started to grow, I felt that it was a pattern I wanted to do for a wallpaper, so I saved it and hoped an opportunity would come some day.”
Wilson was inspired by the books of her childhood, particularly titles by Swedish author Elsa Beskow, who wrote favourites such as The Sun Egg and Children of the Forest. “I wanted the pattern to embrace you like a blooming garden all year around and in some way I also wanted it to feel like flowering tendrils that grow up in the sky. And as with many of my illustrations I want to stay somewhere between fantasy and reality, and modern yet traditional.”
And beyond the shelf, it’s fashion that gets Wilson's heart really aflutter, citing a lot of her creative inspiration as the bright hues and shades of fashion weeks. “I think the fashion industry is braver with colours and patterns mixes, something I often miss within interiors today,” says Wilson.