The origins of many luxury wallpaper designs that a specialist might pick out can be found in designs and patterns that were popular in the past, including some that are effective reproductions as well as others that are deeply inspired.

This typically means that a love of luxury wallpaper often entails an interest in the history of wallpaper, but one aspect of this history that is particularly fascinating is the turning point away from artistic paper murals in favour of infinite, intricate patterns.

As with many revolutions in historically significant industries, the turning point could be found in Crystal Palace.

The Great Exhibition of 1851 was the first modern World’s Fair, intended to showcase the very best of British, European and American industry, and this early international showcase of manufacturing was the flashpoint for many controversies in several markets.

Sticking with wallpaper, a huge trend in the mid-19th century was the development of pictorial wallpapers, which were regularly displayed in homes to commemorate historic events in the same way souvenir posters are used today.

There was a particular school of designers and artists who were critical of the immensely popular designs, arguing that it had gotten to the point that the quality of the wallpaper design was determined by how many colours it used rather than its merits as a design.

Ironically enough, the best showcase of this problem was a wallpaper that commemorated the Great Exhibition itself, and this particular pattern was the centrepiece for an art display by Henry Cole known as “False Principles of Design”.

According to Mr Cole and others, the issue was that advanced production techniques had allowed for increasingly detailed designs but without considering their appropriateness as wallpaper.

This led to a design reform movement that would argue that flat patterned designs and lighter shades were a better option for walls, as a flat surface should be covered by a flat pattern.

It took a long time, and ornamental, illusionary wallpaper designs can still be found, but the majority of the wallpaper industry would eventually side with the concepts posited by design reformers.