However you choose to take a turn about the room, in the wise words of Jane Austen, “there is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.” In that spirit, fashion designer Johnson Hartig of Libertine has unveiled his latest collaboration with design house Schumacher, a collection of English-countryside-themed wallpaper that is surely up to Mr. Darcy’s discerning standard.
The collection, which comes in time for the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth this year, is a fitting tribute to one of history’s most astute writers—albeit, in signature Hartig fashion with an irreverent take on old-school decorating.
There’s a three-part panel set appropriately named Mr. Darcy, which was inspired by Austen’s classic Regency romance Pride and Prejudice. It features a birds-eye view of an immersive English hamlet, complete with an aristocratic English estate, a gothic cathedral, and smaller country homes dotting the rolling hills just beyond. When designing this wallpaper, Hartig referenced 18th-century drawings and paintings and spent more than 250 hours making this bucolic scene.
“Our new collection is based on original artwork created in our studio with painstaking attention to every last whimsical detail,» Hartig notes in a press release.
There’s also La Fôret, a splendid 16-foot-tall, three-panel composition that re-imagines a 17th-century Flemish tapestry. It features a lush romantic scene with whimsical elements tucked amid its dense foliage. Look closely and you’ll see a violin propped against a tree, or an urn that has toppled into the foliage. Drawn by hand and given a rich, patinated look, it took over 800 hours to create.
The collection’s final gem is Mr. Darcy’s Clouds, a dreamy cloudscape that was also inspired by Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The fantastical scene evokes 18th-century engravings with its meticulous details and hand-colored look.
Shop the Schumacher x Johnson Hartig Collection
Mr. Darcy’s Clouds
Rachel Silva is the associate digital editor at ELLE DECOR, where she covers all things design, architecture, and lifestyle. She also oversees the publication’s feature article coverage, and is, at any moment, knee-deep in an investigation on everything from the best spa gifts to the best faux florals on the internet right now. She has more than 16 years of experience in editorial, working as a photo assignment editor at Time and acting as the president of Women in Media in NYC. She went to Columbia Journalism School, and her work has been nominated for awards from ASME, the Society of Publication Designers, and World Press Photo.
