Robert Kime

Kime Unwrapped : The Making of a Wallpaper

Traditional printing at Robert Kime

Eight new wallpaper designs, printed in England using traditional techniques, suggest a subtle texture and movement on paper in this new offering from Robert Kime, launching March 2024. Each design is based on documents from our extensive archive which was established by Robert, and drawn and coloured to reflect a sensibility of scale and interest.

“When we were developing these wallpapers, we became interested in how traditional printing techniques might add a different kind of quality to the patterns. They are each quite unique, at all different scales and the printing method gives the designs an intentional movement and uniqueness.” - Orlando Atty

Our New Designs

Sumer

A vivid pattern based on a wallpaper used in one of Robert’s first decorating projects in Wiltshire, this faithful reproduction takes its name from the earliest known civilisation in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia, later part of the Silk Road, notable for the cultivation of poppies. 

Canut

Named in honour of the 19th Century Lyonnais silk weavers, a design based on a tiny cutting of silk found by Orlando and Robert. Printed on textile substrate which allows a prominent texture which replicates the nuanced feel of the original piece. 

Sprint

Fayoum Fayoum
Curlew Curlew

A design inspired by a fabric cutting found by Robert, this small scale wallpaper, in two colourways, acts like a subtle, tonal paint effect. Quiet, but intricate, its name is taken from a river running through Longsleddale Valley in Cumbria where Robert once lived. 

Field Poppy

A striking wallpaper design based on one of our most popular fabrics of the same name, ‘Field Poppy’. Originally inspired by a document textile found fluttering in a dusty shop in Jaipur, this rotary printed wallpaper allows each poppy to be slightly unique. 

Moa

A design based on original documents from a Robert Kime Persian block print, the pattern was refreshed and the scale reworked in this open but intricate wallpaper design. 

Pentire

A design based on a pair of curtains belonging to Robert and named after the poppy fields in Pentire, Cornwall. Rotary printed flower and stem designs on heavily textured paper resemble the weighty linen used for the original curtains. 

Lastarria

With its soft, faded colouring, this wallpaper is reminiscent of the aged detail on the reference document that inspired this design found by Robert and Orlando in a tiny shop in Japan. This trailing pattern is named for an area in the Andes Mountains where native Angel’s Trumpets flowers are found. 

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