Provence 9340

This wallpaper was created by well-known designer Lucienne Day in 1951. The design is called ‘Provence’ and was displayed in the Homes and Gardens Pavilion at the Festival of Britain where it was used as part of a scheme for a low-cost living room. In the 1950s, wallpaper designers were named and their creations given titles for the first time. This was because wallpapers were now being marketed directly to the consumer rather than through a third-party such as a decorator. Products were given imaginative titles that appealed to British peoples’ aspirations. A roll of this wallpaper would have cost about 4s (four shillings), and would be affordable for the typical British home in the 1950s when the average national wage was about £40 a month.