What Changes When a Wallpaper Pattern Begins in an Artist's Hands?
Last updated: October 9, 2026
In short: Artist-designed wallpaper starts with a real artist's work, and the print is the format. Calico Wallpaper's Botanica collection began with ceramicist Cody Hoyt's layered-clay florals, and he says "the chaotic parts of the process are very important." Designer Marissa Van Noy says murals are "absolutely an 'in' choice for 2026." A pattern with an author gives a wall the mark of a person, whatever the scale.
How did a wallpaper collection begin with clay?
With a ceramicist. Calico Wallpaper's Botanica is a guest collection by the Brooklyn artist Cody Hoyt, who is self-taught in the Japanese technique of nerikomi: he layers differently colored clays and inlays florals into the clay body. Calico's page describes a large-scale, non-repeating mural with scattered flowers in soft colors, in eight colorways. Galerie's October 2023 roundup, reposted on Calico's site, reports that the pressed-flower effect is visual; no real petals were used.
Hoyt describes the subject in an artist's terms: "Flowers feel like a combination of figuration and abstraction." Of how the two read on a wall, he says: "They become interchangeable." He adds: "It's natural to read some abstract patterns as florets."
These sources date from October 2023 and June 2024. This post cites them for what the collaboration says about method, not as news of this season.
What does an artist's own process give a wall?
Variation that a drawing program does not choose. On Calico's Botanica page, Hoyt says: "The chaotic parts of the process are very important." He describes clay that "cracks and changes during drying and firing," which he calls "emblematic of the vitality of the material." Of the mark that results, he says: "It's an artifact of the process that gives it a soul."
A wall printed from that mark carries its irregularity at scale. The eye reads the difference between a rhythm that was decided and one that was generated, even when it cannot say why.
Are murals really the direction for 2026?
Designers are saying so. In The Spruce's feature on whether mural walls are "in" for 2026 (syndicated at AOL; the page shows no byline or date beyond the year), Marissa Van Noy, co-founder of Three Golden Cranes, says: "Wall murals are absolutely an 'in' choice for 2026." She adds that a mural "tells a story and creates an entire mood in a room rather than just filling a blank space."
The direction fits a pattern that begins with a person. A mural has to be convincing at the scale of a wall, and the most convincing ones start with an artist's own gesture.
How is a pattern drawn from a painting made?
Each pattern in this studio's wallpaper collection is drawn from one of my original paintings, which is why the wall reads as singular: evocative, rich and deep. The wallpaper itself is a printed product, made by a manufacturer onto 20 oz Type II commercial-grade vinyl, in 24-inch pre-trimmed, unpasted rolls (52 inches for commercial). The pattern begins with a hand-painted original, and the product does not pretend to be one.
How do you choose a pattern with a real author?
Ask who made the original and what it began as. Founder Melinda Marquardt of The Vale London, speaking to Galerie in 2020 (Jill Sieracki, 14 May 2020), described the standard well: "I want every piece to show the hand of the artist, and for the viewer to discover more details in the work." Look for variation in the mark, edges that are not identical, a rhythm that rewards a second look. Ask for a sample and hold it to the light you actually have.
Designers and specifiers can use the Trade Program for samples and for custom colorways or scale. This post makes no fire-rating or cleaning-certification claim; specifiers should ask the studio for current documentation before specifying.
→ Browse the collection: Artist-designed luxury wallpaper · For designers and specifiers: Trade Program · Meet the painter: About Angela
Frequently asked questions
What is artist-designed wallpaper?
Wallpaper whose pattern begins with a real artist's own work rather than a pattern studio's drawing. Calico Wallpaper's Botanica collection began with ceramicist Cody Hoyt's layered-clay florals; this studio's patterns are drawn from original paintings.
Is hand-painted wallpaper the same as artist-designed wallpaper?
No. At this studio the pattern begins with a hand-painted original, and the wallpaper itself is printed by a manufacturer onto vinyl. Artist-designed describes the source of the pattern, not the way the roll is produced.
Are wall murals in for 2026?
Designer Marissa Van Noy of Three Golden Cranes told The Spruce that wall murals are absolutely an in choice for 2026, because a mural tells a story and creates a mood in a room rather than filling a blank space.
What is this studio's wallpaper made of?
A 20 oz Type II commercial-grade vinyl in 24-inch pre-trimmed, unpasted rolls, with 52-inch rolls for commercial use. The pattern is drawn from one of Angela Simeone's original paintings.