Little Greene ‘Storybook Papers’: A New National Trust Wallpaper Collection
Little Greene, renowned for its exquisite wallpaper and paint collections, is thrilled to announce the launch of ‘Storybook Papers,’ the fifth wallpaper collection created in collaboration with the National Trust.
This enchanting collection features eight whimsical designs inspired by historical archive materials, offering a playful journey into the nostalgic charm of childhood.

Inspired by History, Crafted with Love
The designs in the Storybook Papers collection draw inspiration from the treasured archive materials conserved by the National Trust across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
These archives include an array of historical artifacts, early and mid-20th-century toys, decorative fabrics, and original artworks—several of which were created by beloved children’s author and National Trust benefactor Beatrix Potter.
The Little Greene Design Studio meticulously studied objects like tin cars, wooden games, and other cherished items, transforming these whimsical artifacts into captivating wallpaper designs. The result is a collection that beautifully captures the character and charm of these historical treasures.
Innovative Printing Techniques
The collection showcases a spectrum of printing methods, ranging from traditional surface printing to state-of-the-art digital techniques. Adding a tactile dimension, a flocked design—inspired by Beatrix Potter’s cherished Herdwick sheep—brings a delightful textural element to the ‘Nip & Lassie’ wallpaper.
‘It’s always such an honor to have access to the incredible National Trust properties, uncovering and reviving captivating historic designs, reinterpreting them, and extending their history in new colorways and formats. I
It’s wonderful to think that these beautiful pieces of history, including toys, children’s illustrations, and fabrics, have now been transformed by the design team into wallpapers that will find their way into contemporary homes, bringing joy for years to come.
Whilst the origins of the ‘Storybook Papers’ are very much rooted in childhood, the whimsical, playful, and colorful nature of these wallpapers makes them perfect for many spaces alongside children’s rooms and nurseries. I see these bold, bright, and characterful designs bringing joy to breakfast rooms, hallways, boot rooms, bathrooms, and dining spaces.’ says Little Greene’s Creative Director, Ruth Mottershead
The Wallpapers in the Little Greene x National Trust Storybook Papers Collection
Each wallpaper in the Storybook Papers collection is thoughtfully designed and elegantly colored, providing a perfect harmony for interiors catering to children and adults. To complement these designs, Little Greene offers a curated selection of paint shades, allowing homeowners to create cohesive and delightful spaces.
Animal Kingdom
This quirky scene is drawn from a printed 1930s fabric found at Tyntesfield, a secluded manor house in North Somerset, which was a family home as recently as 2001. It was made into slipcovers for furniture in the children’s nursery.
Featuring a polar bear and penguins alongside an elephant and an ostrich, the playful design is rich in ‘new world’ imagination and has translated effortlessly into a surface-printed wallpaper pattern in a range of confident colorways.
Nip & Lassie
The dogs in this design are Beatrix Potter’s doodled portraits of her beloved working collies, Nip and Lassie. The original sketches are tiny but effortlessly translated into a light-hearted wallpaper design, in which the accompanying sheep have been flocked to bring extra surface texture.
Beatrix was known for her dedication to farming, particularly her award-winning stock of Herdwick sheep. The breed is synonymous with her beloved Lake District, some 4000 acres of which were bequeathed by her to the National Trust after she died in 1943.
Rodney Street
The naïve line quality in this design accurately references the pair of vintage, mechanical apple-picking toys that inspired it. They are small pieces amongst a huge collection of mostly twentieth-century artifacts now cared for by the National Trust at The Hardman’s House in Rodney Street, Liverpool.
An elegant Georgian property, it is authentically preserved in its 1950s state, having served as both home and busy photographic studio for the prestigious portrait photographer Edward Chambré Hardman and his business partner and wife, Margaret.
Balance
Four framed motifs make up this design, each one originally the simple subject of a small set of wooden balancing games located at Grey’sCourt in Oxfordshire. In the games, a steady hand is required to locate tiny metal ball bearings in the holes, and although the balls themselves have been omitted from the design, the locations of the holes have been retained in reference to their origin.
Another quirk is the rainbow’s inverted color spectrum – it would correctly show the red on the outside and blue on the inside, but is another detail retained in the wallpaper pattern
Road Trip
The former servants’ wing at Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire is now home to the National Trust’s ‘Children’s Country House.’ Created with, and for, children of all ages, it is a place where nostalgic childhoods of yesterday are conserved, shared and celebrated.
This jolly pattern comprises sketches of a selection of vintage toy cars and trucks cared for by the Trust, notably at Sudbury but also at NuffieldPlace, Tyntesfield, and Wightwick Manor, amongst others. Aficionados will identify a 1951 Morris Minor, a wooden 1960s Mercedes truck, and a glamorous Austin Atlantic from 1956.
Potter’s Woodland
It is a magical scene that directly references a variety of individual drawings and paintings from the unpublished sketchbooks of Beatrix Potter.
Besides her irrepressible appetite for farming the land, Potter was a prolific and accomplished artist, fascinated and inspired by the nature that surrounded her rural home in Ambleside, Cumbria.
Riverside Capers
The animals featured in this design were all originally painted by the children’s illustrator, Cecil Aldin. A founding member of the LondonSketch Club, Aldin was known for his cartoonish animal depictions and was published alongside literary works by Charles Dickens and Rudyard Kipling, amongst others.
A children’s bedroom at Wightwick Manor in the West Midlands features a frieze that includes several of Aldin’s farm animals, including a mother hen with her chicks and a playful line of running ducks
Broad Stripe
Striped fabrics and wallpapers have long been used to bring simple, refined patterns and elegant, effortless color combinations to grand and humble interiors alike. In Georgian and Regency times, this generously proportioned stripe would have been used more frequently in large rooms and amongst bold colors and strong patterns.
In contemporary interior design, wide stripes are still used to balance patterns but have taken on more usability by virtue of the more relaxed, coordinating color palette in which they are now available.
A Collaboration Rooted in Heritage
Little Greene’s partnership with the National Trust reflects a shared commitment to preserving and celebrating heritage. Storybook Papers offers a unique way to connect with the past while enriching contemporary spaces by drawing inspiration from historical artifacts and reimagining them for modern interiors.
This charming collection invites homeowners to infuse their spaces with whimsy and nostalgia. Whether it’s a nursery, a playroom, or a cozy family living area, Storybook Papers is designed to bring joy and storytelling into every corner of the home.
The Storybook Papers collection is the fifth wallpaper collection in collaboration with the National Trust. A contribution from the sale of every roll of Little Greene wallpaper will be made to support the National Trust’s conservation work to ensure the nation’s historic houses, gardens, and open spaces can be enjoyed for generations to come.
The collection will be available for purchase starting Monday, January 20th, on littlegreene.us and in stores.