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I received a press release for the new Fornasetti wallpaper collection just about the time I headed to New York for the Kip’s Bay Show House and Blogfest 2013.  I happened to have a favorite room in the showhouse by Jack Levy that featured the wonderful Fornasetti Acquario.

Check out the whole collection below. It is quirky and fun.

Magia Domestica – 97/13041 Macchinne Volanti – 97/1002 Nottambule – 97/5015 Chiavi Segrete – 97/4014 Uccelli – 97/7021 Procuratie E Scimmie – 97/8023 Procuratie – 97/9026 Acquario – 97/10030 Nicchie – 97/11034 Pennini – 97/12040 Teatro – 97/14043 Multiplette – 97/15046 Nuvolette – 97/2007 Promenade – 97/6019

Cole & Son Presents Fornasetti II Wallpaper Collection 

Comprising fifteen designs, Cole & Son’s new collection follows the success of the first Fornasetti range, launched in 2008, delivering a repertoire of magical themes within a collection of designs that are at once iconic and covetable. Fornasetti II takes a bold step in wallpaper design, transcending the obvious and transforming eclectic and whimsical drawings into a truly stunning array of coordinating wallpapers in an exciting range of colours and styles.

Eccentric motifs of fantastical flying machines, architectural details, playful monkeys, keys and owls all evoke a theatrical and magical space, while the use of wide width friezes, borders, digital panels and double width papers gives this collection an unparalleled diversity in the way in which it can be used.

Commenting on the new collection, Barnaba Fornasetti stated: “Pablo Neruda once described my father as the magician of precious and precise magic and I think that this decorative collection beautifully captures the magic essence of the Fornasetti world.”

Fornasetti II for Cole & Son is offered in US exclusively through Lee Jofa showrooms and www.leejofa.com.

BALAUSTRA
Balaustra creates a striking trompe-l’oeil effect of a marble or stone balustrade sitting against a backdrop of Nuvolette. Designed to be hung horizontally along the bottom of a wall, this is the first of Cole & Son’s friezes and is an exciting and novel approach to using wallpaper. Conceived as a direct coordinate with both Nuvolette and Macchine Volanti, in neutral, pale blue and midnight, this border offers intriguing opportunities for interior decoration.

CHIAVI SEGRETE
Introducing two popular Fornasetti motifs, Chiavi Segrete combines mysterious gold and silver keys hanging within a dense privet hedge. At once lyrical and surreal Chiavi Segrete has been produced as a pattern easily useable on four walls. Three softer, more neutral colourways with gold, silver and ghostly white keys suspended within frosty white, grey-blue and pale neutral leaves create a cooler more elegant feel, whilst the more dramatic dark grey and forest green leaves with their gilver keys add a touch of theatre.

MACCHINE VOLANTI
Floating on a new version of Nuvole, these wondrous flying machines hang amongst the clouds evoking the romantic New World of scientific exploration. The three colourways are drawn in two shimmering versions of silver and bronze on pale blue and midnight skies and a third more playful colouring of red and yellow on a neutral sky.

NOTTAMBULE
Featuring a family of wide-eyed owls, (a favourite theme of Piero Fornasetti, ) Nottambule is a charming and humorous frieze, which can be hung either at the top of a room, or above a dado rail. It is offered in five colourings of ink engraved owls with backdrops of lively red and yellow, as well as two sophisticated neutrals and a more secretive midnight.

NUVOLETTE
Nuvolette, a beautifully rendered cloudy sky effect has been designed as a smaller more manageable version of Cole & Son’s existing Nuvole design. Presented in three tranquil colourways of neutral, pale blue and midnight to coordinate with Macchine Volanti and Balaustra, a fourth colouring of black and white creates a more striking and stormy effect.

PROCURATIE
The first of two architectural designs, Procuratie, which takes its name from the well-known building facades of St Marks Square in Venice, is composed of two rows of classical arches drawn in a simple intaglio style.

PROCURATIE E SCIMMIE
The amusing companion to Procuratie features two monkeys wandering amongst pillars and arches. Offered in the four directly
co-ordinating colours of Procuratie, the monkeys are picked out in shades of pale blue, soft gold, regal purple and black and white.

PROMENADE
Featuring a variety of umbrellas, riding whips and walking sticks collected by Piero Fornasetti over the years and depicted on umbrella stands and various other decorative products, Promenade is the second of Cole & Son’s wide width friezes, designed to be hung around the bottom of a room, or beneath the dado rail.

UCCELLI
Originally created as a decorative folding screen, Uccelli was first devised as a wallpaper for a luxury hotel on the Argentario Peninsula in Tuscany. Due to popular demand we have reproduced it here in two seasonal colourways of bright summer colour and cooler wintery tones.

ACQUARIO
The fish theme appears in some of the earliest Fornasetti work, and this design adopts some of the motifs used on decorative trays. Picked for their whimsical and naive appearance, Acquario’s clownish fish are set on soft washed backgrounds of pale cobalt, neutral, charcoal and deep-sea blue.

TEATRO
Comprising three colourways – black, white and neutral, turquoise and neutral and the original colouring of red and yellow, Teatro originally designed for umbrella stands in the mid 1950s, features boxes occupied by elegant theatre-goers in evening dress. This wonderfully conversational wallpaper creates a witty and flamboyant faux interior, perfectly in keeping with the Fornasetti spirit and ethos.

PENNINI
Featuring an assortment of old fashioned pen nibs in an array of burnished metallics, Pennini has been designed as a frieze, to be hung horizontally around a room. Pennini is offered in a sophisticated palette of parchment with iridescent aquas and blues, charcoal with bronze and pewter, linen with golds and coppers and powder blue with silvers, golds and gilvers.

NICCHIE
Comprising a number of well-proportioned trompe l’oeil niches, Nicchie was originally conceived as a decorative screen in the 1950’s. Re-structured to work as a wallpaper, this unmistakably Fornasetti crosshatched design features a surreal assortment of mandolins, fruit, keys and hourglasses in graphic tones of black on white, charcoal and parchment with highlights of red, gold and bronze.

MAGIA DOMESTICA
The most whimsical and magical design within this collection, Magia Domestica, with its suit of armour, invitingly open door, bookcases and drawn curtains creates a world within a world. Produced as ten panels, the entire design is modular, repeatable and can be put together in any configuration.

MULTIPLETTE
Both Piero and Barnaba have been cycling enthusiasts from an early age. Here the humble bicycle has re-appeared as a witty frieze. Multiplette features nine cyclists pedaling along on a multi-saddled bicycle in ‘comic-strip’ striped jerseys and caps. Produced in nostalgic colourways of red and navy, and a more colourful primary red, blue and yellow, this border comprises five complete ‘bicycles.’

About Cole & Son
Cole & Son was founded in 1875 and today the company retains its original spirit, still producing beautiful and innovative collections inspired by its vast archive representing all the styles from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Collaborations with contemporary designers and original work produced by the in house Design Studio combined with the company’s support for hand crafting, ensure Cole & Son continue to produce wallpapers faithful to the brand’s distinguished history. The Cole & Son Pattern book iPad app provides its entire wallpaper portfolio digitally at no charge. www.cole-and-son.com

About Lee Jofa
Founded in 1823, Lee Jofa is the industry leader in high-end, to-the-trade home furnishings, including fabrics, furniture, wall coverings, carpet, trimmings. Lee Jofa specializes in style and luxury, offering products distributed under exclusive brands such as Lee Jofa, Groundworks, GP & J Baker, Mulberry Home, Cole & Son and others. For further brand information, please refer to www.leejofa.com.