William Morris Tile: The Forest Tapestry Border and Backsplash Tiles
William Morris Textile Designs De Morgan Arts & Crafts Victorian Medieval
William Morris Textile Designs De Morgan Arts & Crafts Victorian Medieval
Forest Animals Catalog Articles How to Order Tile Site Map Search Contact
The Beasts that be in woodland waste,
now sit and see nor ride nor haste
I have five versions of The Forest. On this page:
The Forest Border is a set of four six-inch tiles. The overall size is 24 x 6, without grout. The border is suitable for interior walls.
Title: William Morris 'The Forest' BorderTile: Ceramic
Size: 24 x 6 inches.
Forest Border Price : $670 ($590 for 4.25 inch).
Also available on three 8 x 6 inch tiles.
The Forest Backsplash is a ceramic backsplash on 16 4.25 inch tiles, with an overall size of 34 x 8.5 inches. This in an undercabinet backsplash and variations in height can be filled in with a complementary border tile.
Tile: Ceramic
Size: 34 inches x 8.5 inches.
Forest Backsplash Price: $1780
Also available: 6 inch tiles (48 inches x 12 inches), $2880
Forest Animals Accent Tiles make up a set of 5 ceramic or 6 tumbled marble forest animal tiles. Intended for interior use only, they can be used for fireplaces, kitchens, bathrooms, or any interior wall. They can be sealed for use in a kitchen or bath, as shown in the dragon backsplash.
More about the William Morris Forest Animal Accent tiles (in ceramic and marble)
The Lion mural on 4.25 inches measures 17 inches x 12.75 inches, without grout.
4.25 inch tiles: $1088
Six-inch tiles: $1608
The Forest Garden Mural (a 48 inch by 12 inch mosiac mural). The Forest mural can be installed indoors or outdoors in temperate climates, and even some light freezes.
This mural is waterproof and with sealed grouting can be installed indoors or outdoors. You'll want to avoid hours and hours of direct sunlight. The mosaic will accept an occasional dip in temperature but will not stand up to repeated freezes and thaws. Hawaii, southern California, and Texas should be fine. I'm in Oregon and we get an occasional ice storm with several days of freezing weather so I wouldn't do it here.
Because of the blanks I'm using for this mural, you should expect more imperfections than in a regular ceramic tile. There may be small chips at the edge of individual tiles as shown in this picture. I don't think this detracts but if you do prefer every piece perfect, you will be happier with the larger backsplash tiles.
Tile: Ceramic
Size: 12 inches by 48 inches, in 16 six-inch sheets, 36 tiles per sheet
Thickness: 3/16 inch (.5 cm)
Weight: .56 pound per sheet
Mural Price: RETIRED.
I'm frequently asked about field tiles for 'The Forest' backsplash? I like these. If they seem dark, there is a range of earth colors available, from reds to browns to blacks.
These field come from the Castles and Abbeys collection from Inglenook Tile Design. Plain field tiles are also available in the same color range. I bought my own kitchen tiles from Inglenook and can recommend them without reservation.
First Time Here? (How this Site is Organized)
Getting Started ( Designing with Tile)
The color grout you choose has more of an impact than you might think. There are no wrong choices; it's personal taste. Here is a large Forest fireplace shown with dark grout. (See it with light grout). You can change even your mind, with grout stain and a small paintbrush. (Compare side by side.)
Tile sizes, from Top: 4.25 inch tiles (glossy), 6 inch tile (satin), 6 inch panel of 3 inch tiles (satin).
Forest tapestry and Philip Webb designs at the V & A
The Forest Tapestry (1887) was designed by William Morris (flowers and background), architect and friend Philip Webb (animals) and John Henry Dearle (floral details). It was later woven out of wool and silk on cotten warp in the Merton Abbey workshops by Morris and Co. Dearle, Morris' favorite assistant, created the natural dyes for the tapestry. The inscription that was written across the original: "The Beasts that be in woodland waste, now sit and see nor ride nor haste" later appeared as "The Lion" in Morris's Poems by the Way (1891).
The 'Forest' design became one of the most popular in the history of Morris and Co. The original now hangs in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
