Painter and designer Rachel Cope found her place in the world as an artist when she first arrived at RISD. After earning her BFA in Sculpture, she went on to study art therapy at the SVA and has dedicated her life to designing soothing, immersive interior spaces ever since. As creative director and co-founder of Calico Wallpaper, she creates custom-fit, non-repeating wall murals that balance background and foreground, texture, color, and pattern. She also maintains a thriving painting practice and shows her work nationally and internationally. Here she shares her thoughts about life after college and lessons learned at RISD that continue to resonate.
AD | Athena Calderone Takes Manhattan
Athena Calderone gets excited about parchment. She’s big on silver leaf, and crazy for etched glass; niches are ongoing fixations, and figured stone is always a yes. In her last kitchen, she worked at a massive, nearly seven-foot-square island of Calacatta Paonazzo marble—ravishing, until she set her sights on something better. Now she has a monolith of dusky red Kinnekulle limestone to keep her company in the kitchen.
“I never thought I would get into hardware design,” she says, glancing from her new countertop over to the burnished-nickel pulls on the double doors leading into her new living room. “But with that and everything else, I just felt like I was going to take this moment to expand myself in ways I’d never dreamed of.”
That’s saying something, because Calderone dreams big. The focus of her latest aspiration is the Manhattan apartment that she and her husband, Victor, a music producer and DJ, bought in 2023. After decades in Brooklyn, most recently in a much-emulated Greek Revival town house (AD, November 2018) where she nurtured a design business and the lifestyle site EyeSwoon, published two books, authored furniture and rug collections, and generally modeled an ideal life, she was ready for a change. (The New York Times titled its article on her move, “What Happens When You Get So Influential That You’re Bored by Your Own Aesthetic?”).
Photography by: William Jess Laird
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After successful collaborations with Crate & Barrel and Beni Rugs, design tastemaker Athena Calderone has now tried her hand at wall coverings with Cadence, a collection for Calico Wallpaper. Originally conceived for her Tribeca apartment, the series draws on the patina of aged materials, focusing on the translucent surfaces of natural hides translated into wallpaper. Calderone worked closely with co-founder Rachel Cope and a French decorative painter, layering the artisan’s hand-rendered artwork with high-resolution scans of authentic textures to achieve depth and tonal variation. Fine seam lines run across the surface as a nod to historic paneling, while six colorways, from alabaster and porcelain to oxblood and espresso-toned tobacco, position Cadence as a richly considered addition to the brand’s permanent collection.
Azure: Lattice and Mosaic Wallpaper
Paying homage to decorative traditions, the new Lattice and Mosaic wallpaper collections from Calico were designed in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Francesca DiMattio, the Brooklyn-based talent known for her unique painterly style and ceramic sculptures that are informed by architecture, design, culture and history.
With the Lattice and Mosaic wallpaper collections from Calico, the artist applied her layered approach to create patterns that reinterpret and deconstruct time-honoured traditions into immersive wallcoverings.
Reimagining the delicate floral motifs that adorned 18th-century Sèvres porcelain on a large scale, the Lattice wallpaper is a “sweeping declaration of pattern and femininity with a fierce, confident voice.” To conceive of the design, DiMattio started by sketching the floral motifs found on a dainty teacup and period plates.
Combining soft roses, lilies and forget-me-nots, the Lattice wallpaper pattern expands the namesake trellis design in an almost abstract way, with the flowers framed within differently sized voids. The effect is one that transforms an ornamental accent into a contemporary statement. The Lattice wallpaper from Calico is available in seven colourways: Bleu, Canary, Celadon, Lacquer, Rose, Sage and Turquoise.
Described as a “meditation on memory, material and illusion,” the Mosaic wallpaper features a pattern that applies a modern lens to ancient surfaces. Beginning with a series of hand-painted florals, DiMattio softened the effect with a wash of paint that symbolizes the erosion of time.
Set on a loosely-painted grid, which lends the wallpaper the look of aged tile, complete with faux grout lines, Mosaic from Calico positions vignettes of animals, blossoms and fragments of the natural world in the foreground. The Mosaic wallpaper is available in seven colourways: Fresco, Gild, Lazuli, Tarnish, Terrene, Tessera and Vestige.
Both the Lattice and Mosaic wallpaper from Calico are printed on clay-coated paper and are suitable for application in residential and commercial settings.
Galerie Magazine: Miami Art Week Reveals How Imagination Transforms the World Around Us
Every December, collectors and creatives set their sights on South Florida and Design Miami, which marks its 21st iteration under the theme “Make. Believe.” Curatorial director Glenn Adamson frames it as a meditation on how the avant-garde has shaped our environment across the ages—a fitting concept for a city that thrives on reinvention.
Artist Francesca DiMattio reinterprets 18th-century Sèvres porcelain and aged frescoes as painterly murals for a new assortment of wallpaper with Calico. The brand’s advanced printing techniques magnify her hand-sketched floral and architectural motifs into sweeping panoramas that feel at once decorative and deconstructed
Azure: 5 Transformational Surface Materials That Command the Room
No longer content to fade into the background, today’s surfacing materials are stepping into the spotlight. The season’s standout introductions are being asked to do more, transforming simple finishes into dynamic canvases that channel the spirit of faraway landscapes, reimagine timeworn materials and advance sustainability. Below, we’ve rounded up five collections that exemplify how foundational surfaces — from walls to floors and furnishings — can become expressive, high-performance elements that balance material innovation with visual storytelling.
This subtle, poetic wallpaper collection from Calico gets the seal of approval from interior designer Athena Calderone. In fact, she designed Cadence, her debut wallcoverings collection, for her own Tribeca apartment. Inspired by the “subtle beauty of aged materials — particularly the fine, translucent textures found in natural hides,” the collection feels both timeworn and contemporary, embodying her timeless, minimalist style. “Design, for me, is at its most powerful when it acknowledges history while nodding to the future,” notes Calderone. “The silhouettes, materials and gestures of earlier eras offer a language that, when reinterpreted — as with the Cadence wallpaper — becomes the foundation for something entirely new. I love to view the modern world through this nostalgic lens.”
Working closely with a French artisan, Calderone layered hand-painted artwork with hi-res scans of authentic textures to create the final result, which is offered in a range of six earthy colourways: light neutrals like Alabaster, Fawn and Porcelain, as well as richer hues like Jasper, a deep forest green, Oxblood, a deep red, and Tobacco, a warm brown.
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Calico Wallpaper introduces Cadence, a new collection created with Athena Calderone in her first foray into wallpaper design. Originally conceived for Calderone’s forthcoming Tribeca home, the pattern draws from the quiet beauty of aged materials, combining hand-rendered artwork by a French artisan with layered scans of natural textures. Offered in six nuanced colorways—from whisper-soft alabaster to deep oxblood and tobacco—Cadence reads as both tactile and restrained, bringing Calderone’s refined sense of materiality to the wall in a way that feels timeless and deeply atmospheric.
The Times: Eight stylish interior design trends for 2026
There’s a new relaxed mood taking hold in interiors. Cupboards are curved, colour palettes are grounded and patchwork — homespun or otherwise — is making a comeback. Elsewhere, fun is being had with bespoke embroidery on pieces that tell stories about their owners. Read on for the hottest home trends to try this year and beyond.
There comes a point in every cool designer’s career when they dabble in drapery. Last year the curtain-raiser was Lee Broom’s Overture wallpaper collection for Calico…This season, Gergei Erdei has partnered with Porta Romana to launch a lighting and furniture collection influenced by Roman palazzos: stars of the show are the Teatro wall light…and console table in marble.
Elle Decor: Athena Calderone’s Hosting Rules and Tips
This week, Athena Calderone, the designer, James Beard Award-winning author, and founder of Studio Athena Calderone and EyeSwoon, gathered friends at her new Atelier to celebrate her first wallpaper collection. Cadence, designed in collaboration with Brooklyn-based Calico Wallpaper, was born from a personal source: the designer’s forthcoming Tribeca apartment, where she became fascinated by the soft, translucent textures of aged parchment and natural hides.
Working alongside Rachel Cope, co-founder and creative director of Calico Wallpaper, Calderone enlisted a French artisan to hand-render delicate layers that, when digitized and overlaid with authentic material scans, became something that feels both ancient and startlingly new.
“Design, for me, is at its most powerful when it honors history while acknowledging the future,” Calderone says. “I love to view the modern world through this nostalgic lens.”
The result is a collection of six colors—Alabaster, Fawn, Jasper, Oxblood, Porcelain, and Tobacco—that reimagine walls as softly glowing surfaces. At the celebratory dinner, the wallpaper made its formal debut featured on the dining table, a fitting introduction for a designer who believes beauty and history should always be in conversation.
Here, Calderone shares her rules for hosting, from the importance of dimmed lighting to why water pitchers matter more than you think.
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Calico Wallpaper expands its artistic universe with Lattice and Mosaic, two new decorative wallcovering collections created with multidisciplinary artist Francesca DiMattio. Known for her layered, sculptural approach to ceramics, DiMattio turns two historic craft traditions into immersive, room-defining surfaces that feel both painterly and subversive. Lattice scales up the dainty florals of 18th-century Sèvres porcelain into a bold, feminine gesture, while Mosaic reimagines ancient tiled surfaces through washes of pigment, faux grout lines, and glimpses of flora and fauna, a meditation on erosion, illusion, and time.
Together, the collections honor craft while challenging its politeness, giving the decorative a contemporary edge. As DiMattio explains, “I wanted ornament to feel powerful and alive.” The collaboration reinforces Calico Wallpaper’s ongoing mission to merge art, design, and atmosphere—inviting us to inhabit pattern rather than simply decorate with it. Lattice and Mosaic are available in seven colorways each.
Architectural Digest: Artist Francesca DiMattio’s Exuberant New Designs for Calico Wallpaper
What if the domestic sphere were a little less staid, a little more fun-house? That’s the case in the world of artist Francesca DiMattio, where ceramic confections layer ornamental forms with those of everyday household effects. In one work, she might sculpt a child-size sneaker and a jug of milk within a deconstructed, Meissen-inspired vase; for another, she’ll combine the motifs of floral china and Moroccan rugs into a chandelier. “Rule-breaking is the point that excites me to begin anything,” says DiMattio, who has now channeled that gleefully uncontained logic into a new collection for Calico Wallpaper, previewing at Design Miami.
“If you walk into Francesca’s place in the city, she’s broken every convention,” confirms Calico cofounder Rachel Cope, referring to the Manhattan town house where DiMattio grew up. There, the artist has personalized every inch in riotous fashion, from a breakfast nook clad in blue-and-white ceramics to the bedroom’s porcelain flower–encrusted fireplace. “She has patterns on every surface, and they all fit so perfectly together.”
Lattice part of Francesca DiMattios collaboration with Calico Wallpaper sets a backdrop for her work.
Lattice, part of Francesca DiMattio’s collaboration with Calico Wallpaper, sets a backdrop for her work.
Lattice, part of Francesca DiMattio’s collaboration with Calico Wallpaper, sets a backdrop for her work.
For the collaboration, DiMattio has translated some 70 feet of her original paintings (“absurd in the best way”) into two mural-style designs, each available in seven colorways. One pattern, titled Mosaic, is a trompe l’oeil scene featuring palm trees, flowers, and a peacock with heart-embellished tail feathers—a loose homage to her home’s hand-painted entryway by way of Pompeii. The second, Lattice, presents a constellation of fancy-dress plates—the sort that might line her dinner table—against a crosshatched ground. “I’m always thinking of ways to change how we meet the feminine,” DiMattio says, pointing out how the agitated brushstrokes feel closer to graffiti than the “sweet and polished” source material.
Photography by Em McCann Zauder
The Local Project: Calico Wallpaper Studio by Office of Tangible Space
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Lee Broom’s theatrical sensibility means he often dreams up fantastical installations for his namesake brand’s expansive range of furniture and lighting, but it also lends itself well to the wall. Overture, the British designer’s first collection with Calico Wallpaper, harnesses his set design background to capture the drama of drapery in strikingly dimensional prints that transform flat surfaces into stage-like backdrops. “Growing up in the theatre, I became very aware of the power of presentation,” Broom recalls. “I was inspired by the imagination of set designers and their ability to enhance the emotion of the entire performance.” With names like Matinee and Recital, each of the seven colorways toy with light and shadow to evoke motion, illusion, and mood, and are printed on Calico’s signature PVC-free clay-coated paper.
Wallpaper*: Why are so many rooms covered in curtains?
The association between curtains and performance is one reason why the motif is so alluring. In May, the British designer Lee Broom released a new wall covering collection with Calico named Overture that has a trompe l’oeil drapery effect. Broom, who was an actor as a child, has long been fascinated by how set designers were able to use simple materials like fabric and light to transform the stage. According to the designer, the wall covering takes those who experience it on an imaginative journey. ‘Drapery has a natural theatricality to it,’ he says. ‘It’s expressive, fluid, and full of suggestion.’
Rachel Cope, Calico’s creative director and co-founder, appreciates the sense of anticipation the wall covering evokes. It ‘embodies a cinematic stillness – like a breath held just before a curtain rises,’ she says. This emotive quality helps animate rooms. ‘We’re seeing a strong desire for interiors that do more than decorate – they need to narrate, to ground to inspire,’ Cope adds.
One Kindesign: 1960s Midcentury Bay Area house gets a stunning Japandi-inspired makeover
Story Build Design, together with Cathie Hong Interiors, has renovated this 1960s midcentury house located in the foothills of Los Gatos in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. This is the personal family home of the interior designer and was in desperate need of some functional and cosmetic updates. Spread out over two levels, this 2,400-square-foot home has a moody atmosphere, surrounded by towering trees.
The girl’s bedroom features a custom mural from Calico Wallpaper, which highlights the Wildflower colorway of their Flora collection.
Photography by Margaret Austin Photo.
California Home Design: Audition by Calico Wallpaper
This week at NYCxDesign Calico unveiled an artistic new wallcovering collection entitled ‘Overture’ with lighting and furniture designer Lee Broom that honors his theatrical roots including Audition, a handpainted mural of stage-like drapery.
Monocle: Design Agenda – Souvenir wallpaper
What to do with souvenirs from your travels? Do you actually use your teapot from Japan when you want a hot brew or display that vase from Murano on a shelf? For Stephen Burks and Malika Leiper, the duo leading US design practice Stephen Burks Man Made, the answer was to turn them into a decorative wall covering. Working with Calico Wallpaper, the duo transposed their knick-knacks from their cross-continental travels into a 2D wallpaper design that they called Particulaire.
“We started by looking around our home and asking ourselves, ‘What do we decorate the rooms with?’” says Burks. “The answer was objects from our travels. They tell a story both about us and the cultures that we have interacted with.”
Working with the wallpaper firm, which is based in Upstate New York, the creative duo used photographed renderings of their personal mementoes to create a graphic pattern that puts objects from across the globe into conversation while bringing plenty of personality to a room. “The gorilla image is from a young man who we met in Rwanda carving wooden figures. But we also took inspiration from Japan, Senegal, the Dominican Republic and even Brooklyn,” says Burks of the wallpaper. “Our travels are a way for us to get closer to acts of making that involve different techniques and materials,” adds Leiper.
To present the project the two firms created a bespoke mural at the Istituto dei Ciechi in Milan during the city’s recent design week. Since the launch, the Particulaire wallpaper has been made available in 10 colourways ranging from neutral hues to a maroon and sage green. If you find yourself gazing at an unused teapot or vase, perhaps try reaching out to Calico Wallpaper: they might just be the foundation for another unique collection of wallpaper.
Architectural Digest: Visiting the Calico Wallpaper Founders in Their Charming Upstate New York Abode
When visiting homes for sale in New York’s Hudson Valley, Rachel and Nick Cope, the married founders of the hit brand Calico Wallpaper, developed a code word to indicate, discreetly, that a house was the one—blueberry. It was the pandemic era and the then Brooklyn-based couple had set out to find their own slice of paradise, heeding the siren call of country living. An off-market listing in the town of Ghent promised to be just the refuge they were seeking for their young family. “It checked every box,” recalls Rachel, citing the property’s generous acreage, environmentally conscious construction, pond, and proximity to a like-minded school for their son and daughter. Blueberry.
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Lee Broom has always had a thing for drapery. As a child actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the British designer became enchanted with the set dressings. As a side hustle during his fashion-school years at Central Saint Martins he created moody, curtained environments for local bars and London raves. And as an intern for Vivienne Westwood, he observed how the late style icon studied the paintings of Anthony van Dyck to inform her cascading couture. “Things like that stick with me even now,” notes Broom, who eventually made the professional leap to product design when he established his firm in 2007. It all serves as the creative backbone to Overture, a collaboration with Calico Wallpaper that harnesses Trompe L’Oeil, a technique dating back to Roman and Greek empires, to create illusory, two-dimensional swags. “Up close you can see the brushstrokes,” Calico cofounder Rachel Cope explains of the pattern, first painted after physical models and then printed on paper. “Many layers of oil paint with glazing gives it this beautiful textured surface.” That impressionistic execution grounds the surreal motif, available in seven colorways. Each teems with passion, camp, and obsessive detail—all things we might expect from a theater kid. When asked if he still considers himself one, Broom laughs and replies, “Weirdly, no.” But those feelings all come back when he takes in an opera or play. When the curtain rises, he says, “I still get that rush of blood to the head.”
Forbes: All The Musts At Milan Design Week 2025
Celebrating 20 years of experimentation and material alchemy, Bocci marks the milestone with “The Numbers Between The Numbers”, a special exhibition curated by David Alhadeff of The Future Perfect. The showcase offers a deep dive into Omer Arbel’s design process, unveiling new works that capture the studio’s evolving relationship with glass, metal and form. This anniversary exhibition reflects two decades of pushing the boundaries of light and material, with additional works by Orior, Calico Wallpaper, Shore and Christopher Farr.
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Souvenirs get a bad rap, but for Stephen Burks Man Made, they’re vessels of culture, memory, and identity. In Particulaire, a new wallpaper collection and installation by the New York design studio for Calico Wallpaper, personal objects collected during travels – from a towering Hand of Fatima to a chubby Lucky Cat – are scaled up and reimagined as larger-than-life silhouettes. Set to be installed in the courtyard of the Istituto dei Ciechi, the project blends craft, community, and storytelling, embodying Burks’ pluralistic approach to design.
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Stephen Burks often travels the world to discover the transformative power of traditional craft techniques—and how to incorporate them into the objects and furnishings he designs for Stephen Burks Man Made, the studio he runs with work-and-life partner Malika Leiper. “I’ve had the honor of working with artisans all over the world,” Burks says. “Throughout these travels, I collect everything, especially the design objects of my collaborators.” These keepsakes now inspire a whimsical new line of wall coverings for Calico Wallpaper, the Brooklyn purveyor of bespoke wallpapers founded by Nick and Rachel Cope. The collection, available in ten colorways with travel-themed names such as Bazaar, Memento, and Caravan, is a joyful commingling of Burks’s biggest inspirations in an entirely new medium.
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With each passing year more American designers and companies are taking advantage of Milan Design Week to debut new collections and collaborations, getting their product and brand in front of a larger and more global crowd. It’s always fun to see familiar stateside faces oversees, and this year was no different with New York-based Calico Wallpaper unveiling their partnership with Los Angeles-based designer Stephen Burks and his partner Malika Leiper. Named Particulaire, the objects on the wallcovering represent the special mementos collected during one’s travel, “a gateway to different places, cultures, and experiences.” Such an apropos sentiment coming out of an inspiring week abroad.
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Ronan Bouroullec and Vincent Van Duysen craft a series of fused-glass installations for Wonderglass during Milan Design Week 2025. Titled Poetica, the exhibition at Istituto dei Ciechi runs between April 8th and 12th, displaying the recent works of the designers. The scenography is complemented by the wallpaper designs from Calico Wallpaper and a special contribution by Officine Saffi Lab.
Architectural Digest: This 3,000-square-foot apartment in Mumbai is a winsome dreamscape with panoramic views
The greatest dream for any creative professional is to be handed carte blanche on a project, and receive unwavering support in bringing their vision to life. This dream became a reality for interior architect and designer Jannat Vasi, when a family of four—along with their dog, Theo—entrusted her with designing their 3,000-square-foot apartment in Mumbai. Named ‘Sunset Residence’, the sky-high residence boasts breathtaking views over the Arabian Sea on one side and the twinkling city on the other.
Given the clients’ demanding careers in finance and medicine, creating a serene retreat was a priority for Vasi. She was determined to create a place that would be a peaceful contrast to their hectic and number-driven world. “I truly believe that home is an extension of you,” she says. “It influences the way you think, how you feel, and, most importantly, has the power to bring you peace.” Through carefully curated colour schemes, material palettes, and optimised layouts, Vasi designed a space that lifts visitors into the clouds the moment they step inside.
Milan Design Week 2025: Particulaire
Calico Wallpaper is thrilled to unveil Particulaire, a bespoke mural created in collaboration with Stephen Burks Man Made, at the historic Istituto dei Ciechi in Milan. Inspired by objects gathered during Stephen’s travels, Particulaire bridges cultures and experiences, inviting viewers on a journey of global interconnectedness.
The pieces spotlighted within Particulaire tell stories that span continents, celebrating a shared narrative through art, craft, and community. Describing his pluralistic design method, Burks explains: “My aim is to develop projects that bridge the gap between authentic world production, industrial manufacturing, and contemporary design. I’ve had the honor of working with artisans all over the world. Throughout these travels, I collect everything—especially the design objects of my collaborators—and living with these pieces and traditions has ultimately inspired the curation and development of Particulaire.”
Architectural Digest: Tour A Chicago Home Where New York Cool Meets California Calm
Staszak and Gubin were fortunate to have a client who shares their love of the hunt. “She lit up when we would look at vintage items,” the designer says of the homeowner, who tasked her with converting a 5,400-square-foot house built in 2003 into something more in keeping with a classic Chicago greystone. “These pieces would often become the starting point or inspiration for a room.” An old French cataloging bureau dictated the palette and mix of materials in the formal living room, where a pair of leather-clad Nielaus and Jeki Mobler chairs sit with a live-edge walnut cocktail table. In the primary bathroom, vintage Barovier Rostrato sconces inspired the aqua-green veining in the Calacatta turquoise Antico marble that adorns the walls and vanity.
Take the wallpaper in the dining room, a contemporary print by Calico that reads more historical thanks to its juxtaposition against a stately oak refectory table and an antique French store counter turned credenza. A palette of earthy browns, olives, and burnt reds—and materials taken from the natural world—ground the spaces, a series of airy rooms that get lots of natural light thanks to the house’s unusual (for Chicago) horizontal rather than vertical footprint on a double-wide lot. “There’s probably more wood than we ever use,” says Staszak, also noting the mix of stone tiles, hand-dyed linens, and brass finishes, “but that’s where the California energy comes in.” Adds Gubin, “There’s an organic quality to the rooms, which makes it very comfortable.
Wallpaper: Nick and Rachel Cope set up studio and home in Upstate New York
This October, widely revered boutique wall-coverings brand Calico launched the Alchemy and Enchantment collections: ethereal designs informed by the natural-dyed silks utilised in the puppet theatre of Janene Ping, the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School teacher that recently taught founders Nick and Rachel Cope’s children. The duo—one of a handful of independent studios that defined the post 2008-recession New York design scene—moved to the Upper Hudson Valley region during the Covid-19 pandemic. Like many urban-transplants escaping the city, they came in search of a better quality of life. But unlike most that have since returned, the Copes stayed and it significantly impacted how they work.
‘I feel liberated to explore new ideas with more freedom, away from the frenetic energy of New York City,’ Rachel Cope explains. ‘Being upstate has allowed us to establish a studio space that accommodates larger-scale projects, incorporating nature-based materials and processes that weren’t feasible before. This slower, more grounded pace has influenced the evolution of our practice, bringing a sense of mindfulness and intentionality into each piece and fostering a connection to more organic themes.’
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It’s difficult to imagine creative terrain that Calico Wallpaper hasn’t traversed in the Brooklyn studio’s decade-plus history, which has seen husband-and-wife founders Nick and Rachel Cope practically elevate the medium into fine art thanks to their embrace of glowing gradients and marbleized prints. Lately the duo has been mining the infinite expanse of the galaxies for inspiration, which they translated into the dazzling Supernova collection realized alongside Manhattan interiors firm Studio DB.
Infused with cosmic intrigue and atmospheric texture, the eight-piece collection depicts star patterns that infuse interiors with a healthy dose of cosmic wonder while providing a personal portal into the great beyond. “This collection sparkles and unveils the fantastical universe we’ve imagined, deeply connected to the history of astrology but also the artistry of those who have reinterpreted it before us,” says Britt Zunino, who co-founded Studio DB with her husband, Damian. They went on to install it on the ceiling of their personal library—an ideal place to be transported into another universe.
New York Times: Design, Unearthed and Unfettered, in Cooper Hewitt’s Triennial
Calico Wallpaper is honored to participate in the Smithsonian Design Triennial at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
We are proud to introduce Unami, a new collection created in collaboration with renowned artist Joe Baker. Inspired by the tulip tree, Unami celebrates its deep connection to the Lenape people and their cultural heritage.
Joe Baker, a member of the Delaware Tribe and co-founder of Manhattan’s Lenape Center, brings a profound cultural narrative to this collection. This partnership was born from Baker’s commission for the Cooper Hewitt’s upcoming Triennial, which examines the concept of home across the United States, U.S. Territories, and Tribal Nations.
The Triennial invites audiences to reflect on the values, people, and landscapes that define the nation. To complement Baker’s exhibition for the Triennial, we worked together to design Unami, a collection that embodies this exploration and extends its story.
Unami will be installed on the walls alongside Baker’s work at the Smithsonian Design Triennial, opening to the public at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, from November 2, 2024, to August 10, 2025.
Hospitality Design: Lindsey Adelman and Calico Wallpaper Join Forces Once Again
Soon after Rachel Cope befriended New York lighting designer and artist Lindsey Adelman, the cofounder and creative director of Calico Wallpaper was struck by Adelman’s passion for fine art and nature. “She was painting watercolors of flowers, and I found them to be unique and beautiful,” recalls Cope.
The enchanting motifs aligned with the Calico aesthetic, and Cope sent Adelman a message with her idea to turn them into wallcoverings. The timing was fortuitous. Visiting Belle-Île, an island off the coast of Brittany, France, Adelman was surrounded by inspiring foliage that spawned Eden, her mural-style collection for Calico that launched in 2020.
Amid the rugged landscape, Adelman and a friend explored mediums outside their main practices. “It was only one week but seemed like such a radical and rebellious move to commit to work with different intentions,” she says. “We felt so connected to the land and went foraging for plant material each morning. I ended up painting what I found.”
Ultimately, Calico collaged those paintings into botanical portraits and then digitally printed the images, showcasing grounding, hand-applied metallic accents that lend the wallcoverings an organic sheen. Whether it’s a light sculpture like the handblown Branching Bubble chandelier that put her on the map or an experimental painting, “I tend to follow a craving or yearning and then begin to make shapes to understand what is drawing me in,” Adelman explains.
Veranda: Robert Brown Kips Bay Showcase
Robert Brown knew he wanted to step out of the ordinary for the 2024 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas, and he found the perfect catalyst in a striking abstract Calico wallpaper adorned with moody shades of gray, blue, taupe, and pink. The designer says he never wants to do a space that’s all traditional or all contemporary, and this piece was the perfect unifier to balance out the more traditional architecture and set a spirited tone for his salon.
“We’re calling it ‘Salon d’Art Moderne,’ so this space is all about the art, and the mural really makes the space feel like one big piece of art,” Brown says. “When you see the mural, it’s kind of shocking, even for us, which is fun.”
Veranda: SWOON’s Kips Bay Showcase
The team at SWOON, the studio was tasked with refreshing the rotunda at the 2024 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas, proving to be just the designers for the job. Founder Sam Sano and partner Josyln Taylor have experience working across both commercial and residential interiors, and the pair decided to blend their knowledge of the two to create a dreamy central location for stealing away, finding refreshment, and indulging a daydream or two in “Atrium Tisane.”
“We always really try to honor the architecture of a space, so our first instinct was how do we make this feel exciting and interesting for the showgoers, but at the same time, respect the architecture, which is really quite beautiful,” says Taylor. “It’s probably one of the most architecturally beautiful spaces in the house, and we didn’t want to take away from the beauty of the space [because] it feels really special.”
Sano and Taylor kept true to the space’s grand dimensions by creating a conservatory that would also serve as botanical-forward tea room, filled with organic furnishings, original art, and stunning floral installations that would pay homage to the verdant beauty of the natural world. The pair found a Calico mural wallpaper that would play up the scale while giving the feeling of a “botanical wonderland.”
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Just weeks ago I ventured upstate to visit Rachel Cope of Calico Wallpaper at her new studio in New York’s Hudson Valley, where the artist dreams up bespoke collections for the coveted wallpaper company. On display was Ensemble, a series inspired by creativity and the boundless imagination (a.k.a. our inner child).
Pulled directly from Rachel’s own artwork, which was scanned and enlarged in dramatic scale, it features massive brushstrokes in unexpected tones, full of visible texture for a mural-style effect that we continue to see in the latest wallpaper trends. Sure to make a statement, the print isn’t for those who simply dabble in pattern — the stylish strokes are oversized and expressive as if a gentle giant painted your walls with an enormous paintbrush. How’s that for using your imagination?
DESIGN MILK: Calico Wallpaper Makes Gold With Alchemy and Enchantment
Since 2013, Calico Wallpaper has presented the finest, most immersive wall murals on the market. Their new collection is in collaboration with Kindergarten teacher and Early Childhood Educator Janene Ping. Ping, who maintains a prolific natural dyeing practice, aims to highlight the balance and beauty of nature. Teaching at the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School for thirty years has given her the insight and sensitivity needed to foster a love for the great outdoors in our little ones. This collaboration features two distinct collections, Alchemy and Enchantment.
The Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School is committed to providing children with the tools they need to become aware citizens. During their time, they grow a personal relationship with the natural world, and learn to become an active participant in their local economy. Handcraft and artistry is paramount, essential for humans to truly connect with the earth. Ping, a natural dyer extraordinaire, creates fantastic silk tapestries for The Magical Puppet Tree Theater – which she founded in 1992. Through this joyful medium, she uplifts a collection of fanciful stories often untold.
AD: AN EXTRAORDINARY MUMBAI DUPLEX
Built for a multi-generational family, this Mumbai duplex exudes an overarching sense of warmth, luxury, and tranquillity.
Among the myriad unique aspects that make this two-storey Mumbai duplex extraordinary, it is the enchanting views that truly set it apart. The light dances through the space with a cinematic quality, changing throughout the day and casting a spell that interior designer and project lead Jannat Vasi beautifully harmonised within design. Every hue and shade is a deliberate echo of the natural beauty outside, embracing a palette that is both sophisticated and restrained.
“The vision of bringing the ocean indoors is realised through thoughtful design choices that mirror the natural surroundings, creating a tranquil and timeless living environment. Inspired by the ocean, we’ve infused the space with blues, soft waves, and textures reminiscent of coral reefs. Metals mimic the sun’s reflection, adding a dynamic touch to the serene ambiance. The incredible wall mural by Calico Wallpaper which captures light in a mesmerising way, pays homage to the spectacular sunsets this home enjoys,” explains the founder of Jannat Vasi Interior Design.
Photography by Ishita Sitwala
SURFACE: Jean Pelle Journeys Back Into South Korea’s Vivid Landscapes
Jean Pelle recalls wandering through fruit farms and wet rice fields with hilly forests during her upbringing in a small South Korean town. “My father would bring his camera on our long walks,” she says, “and make my brothers and I pose in the tall grasses or thickets of the pine trees.” These vivid memories stayed with her, even decades after immigrating to the U.S. and launching the Brooklyn lighting and furniture design studio Pelle with her husband, Oliver. Now, thanks to a collaboration with her close friends and neighbors, the wall coverings mainstay Calico Wallpaper, she’s translating her father’s old photographs into an entirely new medium.
The collection, appropriately called Memoir, recalls the lush landscapes embedded in Pelle’s memory. Each of the six patterns represent scenes from her childhood, from the rich textures of tall pink-and-white cosmos flower beds to swaying grassy hills and dense pine forests. They were developed from drawings she made using oil pastels—a medium she gravitated to as a child. “I’m thrilled that together with Calico Wallpaper, we can bring these vivid memories and snapshots of the South Korean landscape to life,” she says. “It’s a large-scale representation of the albums my father put together of rich textures and memories of my first home.”
Archiproducts: A Nostalgic Journey: Recapturing Childhood Through Wallpaper
Enter a world where the past whispers on the walls. Calico Wallpaper presents its latest collection, Memoir, a collaboration with Jean Pelle, co-founder of the renowned PELLE design studio. This bespoke journey goes beyond mere aesthetics; it’s a poignant tapestry woven from childhood memories. Memoir invites us to experience the South Korean landscape through Jean Pelle’s lens, a landscape forever etched in her heart.
DWELL: The Best of Milan’s Surreal Exhibition of New Designers
Alcova, the massive show dedicated to emerging design talent, is always something of a scavenger hunt. Founder/curators Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima always stage the six-year-old exhibition, which made its stateside debut in Miami last year, in unusual and impressive locations, filling them with objects by dozens of emerging designers. It’s a lot of new work to take in, but your reward is finding a few gems by designers you didn’t know.
In recent years, Alcova has anchored the work by emerging designers with installations by established studios, including this monolithic piece by New Yorkers Colin King and Calico Wallpaper.
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Calico Wallpaper: Nuance and Perception by Colin King
As one of today’s most in-demand interior stylists, Colin King has carved a fruitful career from harnessing the power of empty space between quotidian objects. He’s also proving his chops as a product designer, this time with two introductions for Brooklyn’s go-to wall covering studio Calico Wallpaper. Perception’s muted palette channels the weathered patina of past eras while a subtle horizon line allows Nuance to waltz between texture and hue in order to ruminate on neglect. “I’ve always been captivated by the beauty of patina, the transformation that unfolds as objects age and decay,” King says. “It’s as if objects reveal their inner truth.”