There are certain themes and design sensibilities that are common conventions of wallpaper design, and almost all of these were inspired by the prolific and influential works of one Victorian designer.

A wallpaper specialist could make the argument that William Morris was one of the most important people to the history and development of wallpaper and interior design as a whole, with an influence felt today in either reprints or derivations of his work.

William Morris was a founding member of the British Arts and Crafts Movement and was highly influenced by both the designs and indeed the philosophies of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, an artistic movement spearheaded by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and wanted to return to more idyllic, naturalistic Medieval artistic styles.

In other words, they wanted to return to a world before the Renaissance and the works of artists such as Raphael and Michaelangelo.

Mr Morris would take these ideas and create his Trellis wallpaper, one of his first highly influential designs that would feature several major themes that would permeate his work and indeed most wallpaper styles in the following century.

It was inspired by the intricacies of nature and featured roses, vines and bluebirds structured with a wooden trellis arrangement that would ultimately not reappear in later examples of his work.

Whilst later designs would be much simpler to make with fewer colours, such as Wild Tulip, Pink and Rose and Acanthus, they would still be filled with ornate details and patterns that intersected in such a way that it was often impossible for the eye to tell where the repeat would begin.

His philosophy, besides representing the harmonious balance of nature, was that his designs should not dominate a room, often using more muted shades to achieve this.

By the 1890s, his design had been widely adopted by other designers, both at his own company and elsewhere, creating a style that has endured in waves over the following century.