An installer's guide to Cole & Son: how the papers hang, what it costs to have them put up on a northern Utah wall, the patterns people ask for most, and where to buy them.
British heritage wallpaper house founded in London in 1875 (first Islington factory 1883), built on woodblock printing and an archive of some 2,000 wooden blocks; first Royal Warrant in 1961 and today By Appointment to His Majesty The King. House style is witty, painterly English design: the 1959 silver-birch Woods, Flamingos, Palm Jungle, David Hicks geometrics, and the long-running Fornasetti collaboration (since 2007).
How you buy it. Cole & Son sells direct from its own website and through retailers, so you can order the rolls yourself and hand them to us, or send us the pattern link and we will confirm the roll count before you buy.
What it costs to buy. $241-$279 per 10 m roll direct from cole-and-son.com (US site) for icons such as Woods, Hicks' Hexagon, Flamingos and Palm Jungle; new Formations collection $242-$477 per roll; large-scale Fornasetti designs like Nuvolette are sold as 2-roll A/B sets (GBP 455 per set on the UK site). US retailers such as Wallpaperdirect list Woods at about $172.50 per roll.
Designer collaborations and licensed lines
| Roll or strip size | 20.5" x 33', about 56 sq ft (single euro roll) |
|---|---|
| Backing | non-woven |
| Paste method | paste-the-wall |
| Adhesive | Cole & Son Wallcovering Paste (Tub Paste) - a ready-mixed, starch-based paste; brand says to avoid packet mixes or heavy-duty pastes designed for vinyl. Budget about 1 kg of paste per standard roll. |
| Typical repeat | Large half-drop repeats are common on the icons: Woods 72 cm (28.3 in), Flamingos 70 cm (27.6 in), Palm Jungle 64 cm (25.2 in), Nuvolette 80 cm (31.5 in); small geometrics like Hicks' Hexagon are 10 cm (3.9 in) straight match. |
| Match types | straight, half-drop, random, third-drop (some designs) |
| Washability | spongeable |
Specs are drawn from the brand's published instructions and product pages and can change by pattern — we confirm against the label on your rolls before cutting anything.
Non-woven and paper-backed prints on smooth, primed walls. Paper not included.
Two days including drying, then a wallcovering primer. Most Utah homes built after 1975 need it.
One accent wall or a powder room with prep.
Links go to the brand's or a retailer's page so you can see the pattern, order a sample and check the roll specs. We don't sell paper and we don't take commissions; these are simply the ones that come up most.
Icons / Contemporary Restyled (69/12147 and colourways)
Taken from the 1959 screen print, the silver-birch Woods is the house's signature design and won EDIDA Wallcovering of the Year in 2005; 72 cm half-drop, $258 per roll on the US site.
See it at cole-and-son.comContemporary Restyled (66/8054 and colourways) · by David Hicks
Small-scale honeycomb geometric by David Hicks in delicate to dramatic and metallic colourways; easy 10 cm straight match, $241 per roll on the US site.
See it at cole-and-son.comContemporary Restyled (95/1001 and colourways)
The original Cole & Son palm print, a dense multi-layered jungle in twelve colourways; 64 cm half-drop, $279 per roll on the US site.
See it at cole-and-son.comIcons (112/11039) and Contemporary Restyled (66/6042)
The brand calls Flamingos one of its most popular designs - nonchalant birds over subtle foliage; 70 cm half-drop, $266 per roll on the US site.
See it at cole-and-son.comFornasetti Senza Tempo (114/28054) · by Fornasetti
One of the most enduring Fornasetti designs - etched rolling skies sold as a 2-roll A/B set (combined width 1.37 m, 80 cm half-drop), GBP 455 per set on the UK site.
See it at cole-and-son.comDirect. cole-and-son.com
Online retailers. Wallpaperdirect (US) · DecoratorsBest · US Wall Decor · Mahones Wallpaper Shop · L.A. Design Concepts · Selected Wallpapers (US) · Kravet / Lee Jofa (to the trade)
Near you.
For designers and installers. Cole & Son is a distributed brand in the Kravet/Lee Jofa portfolio in the US (to the trade through interior designers and Kravet showrooms); professionals can also open a trade login at etrade.cole-and-son.com. Homeowners can buy direct on the US site with complimentary express DDP shipping (duties and taxes paid) or through online retailers.
Samples. Samples are available for every wallpaper; standard samples are A4 (21 x 29 cm), some designs ship as A3, and fabric/silk/grasscloth samples are A5 (14 x 21 cm). Samples are non-returnable.
Lead time and returns. Direct US orders ship complimentary express with duties and taxes paid, arriving in about 1-3 working days; Wallpaperdirect US quotes 7-10 days. Returns only by prior agreement within 14 days of order, unopened rolls in original wrapping; opened rolls only if faulty; no returns on samples, paste or cut fabrics.
Retail details change often; confirm on the seller's page before ordering. Our full where-to-buy directory covers 30 sellers.
Send us the brand and pattern link, three photos and your wall dimensions. You'll have a written price in one business day, or book a route-friendly measure online right now.
Send photos for a quoteBook a Design Session. We measure, shortlist five to ten papers from trade accounts that fit your room and budget, order the samples, and calculate the rolls — and the fee comes off your install.
Book a Design SessionThe roll math installers actually use: strips not square feet, how pattern repeat eats paper, straight vs. drop match, mural panels, and worked examples for a bedroom and a powder room.
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Read the guidePick a route-friendly time online, send us three photos and your wall dimensions for a written price in one business day, or call and talk to a person who hangs wallpaper for a living.