Our lovely old bungalow has a cool new vibe, the superb ‘Pet Sounds’ wallpaper graces the bathroom wall.  Every time I spot it from the hall I feel  a little smile come to my lips, it is bright, bold and makes the house feel like ours. The contrast with the blue tiles is just what I was after, not gaudy, just fun.  This photograph does not do it justice, I assure you.

Mini Moderns first caught my eye on a trip along the Southbank in London (it was the day that Any Winehouse died, I remember it so clearly).  The Southbank Centre had some of the Day-Tripper range that day, and that was that, I was hooked.

Their wares include wallpaper, crockery, textiles and paint, it’s hard to know which of the themes to go for, they are all so funky.  They have a pretty eco outlook too, here’s how Mark Hampshire, one of the founders, puts it, ‘ Our design influences range from mid-century British textiles to vintage toys, from literature to childhood memories. Travel also influences our work – and much of our inspiration comes from holidays and field trips, both at home and abroad.  We produce as much as possible (and certainly all of our wallpaper, paints and fabrics) in the UK. This is both to support UK industry – in some cases, small factories that are the last UK provider of a service – and also to cut down the number of journeys that a product has to make before it reaches the customer.’

Pet Sounds is just one of the cool designs from the Folk Rock theme,  I asked Mark where the inspiration for the design came from, ‘We had been working on 2 separate prints – a woodland creature print and a musical instrument print. On a trip to the West Coast of the U.S, driving along the Big Sur coastline, we suddenly had the idea of bringing the 2 together and injecting a bit of West Coast 60s psychedelia – hence the idea of juxtaposing animals with acoustic instruments.’   It really works for me, that’s for sure.

Teenboy has chosen this for his room, just one section of wall though, don’t want a goth type vibe in there…

Check out the website for the full range at Mini Moderns, there’s something for everyone.  The customer service is second to none, we had a hiccup with the wallpaper that was sorted quickly and sympathetically. Thank you.

Finally, back to Mark who sums up Mini Moderns’ style as, “Conceptually driven illustrative wallpapers and homewares with a nod towards retro styling.” Whatever inspires the team, I wish them great success and I look forward to their next innovative designs.