A business in Eastbourne is firing up imaginations and inspiring interiors around the globe

Wallpaperdirect, a trading name of C. Brewer & Sons Limited, has cornered a niche in not just wallpaper but co-ordinating fabrics too – making it the go-to online brand for effortless decorating projects.

It is a business renowned for stocking top designer patterns, being at the forefront of interior trends and offering customers unrivalled choice. 

We spoke to Melanie Adams, Global Head of wallpaperdirect.com, to find out more about the brand’s international success and to get a flavour of what is currently trending in interior design.

“Wallpaperdirect was started online in Eastbourne in 1999,” she said. “At the time, people thought we were slightly mad. They couldn’t see who would buy wallpaper online. We now have websites in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and India but have customers across the globe. All orders are supplied out of Eastbourne.” 

Melanie, who has worked for the Brewers group for 28 years, says customer services are provided out of Eastbourne for everywhere except North America, which is serviced by a dedicated team based in Tennessee. 

How did the pandemic impact the business?

“It grew it somewhat,” she said. “Wallpaperdirect.com is a consumer site and the majority of our customers are women aged between 25 and 45 – quite a young market. 

“During the pandemic, they suddenly found themselves looking at their walls. They realised how boring they were.

“Wallpaper is a fashion-focussed industry and, because of that, people change their walls more often.”

With people confined to their homes for weeks on end during the early part of the pandemic, DIY projects reached fever pitch – and the versatility of wallpaper, coupled with its strong fashion focus, saw website sales soar.

“We carry a lot of stock and that saw us very well placed to meet demand. We saw the average order value go up,” Melanie acknowledges. “Online sales have flattened now in the UK with in-store purchases rising. However, online sales continue to grow in the US. We have been in America for 10 years now and wallpaper is very fashionable over there.”

What trends are you seeing? 

“There is a big increase in blues and yellows at the moment, and we are also seeing a lot of green which has been the colour of the year. Wallpapers that depict nature, such as trees, flowers and wildlife, have been popular because they bring the outside in.”

What the doubters didn’t envisage in 1999 when wallpaperdirect.com went live was that the internet could bring people closer to design ideas and see how wallpaper patterns would look in any number of locations in a home.

Melanie said: “Every pattern we put online you can see in a lounge, a kitchen, a bedroom or a hallway – so people can get a true scale of how it will look in their house. 

“The whole Arts and Crafts theme is driving sales. Sales of William Morris, with a more contemporary colour palette, have been amazing. Customers love the fresh colours coming through.

“People like the feeling of Arts and Crafts. And that look is not something you can achieve with paint. 

While statement walls are still popular, there is a shift towards papering four walls and ceilings, Melanie revealed. 

She is also head of designerpaint.com, another trading name of the Brewers group, and that too has attracted an uplift in sales following lockdowns.

Wallpaperdirect makes it easy for those browsing online to find what they are looking for. The Trends section of the website, for example, has ‘Colour Crush’ sections so people looking for a particular shade of wallpaper can find tons of inspiration.

They can also discover what is popular with other customers too.

This is a website that opens up a whole new world of all-over patterns. One example that is currently trending is the stunning Morris & Co’s Willow Boughs wallpaper, which has been given a fresh new green on ecru colouring. Recoloured from the original archive design it is one of many new takes on the Morris classic patterns. Stunning.

With luxury patterns from pedigree designers, that must-have new look has never been so easy to achieve.  

Tell us a bit about the business

“In Eastbourne, we employ 250 people. Across the UK, we have 1,500 workers,” Melanie said. “From Eastbourne, we send out thousands of wallpaper samples and orders every week.”

She added: “Brewers is a growing business with 190 stores and currently opening a new store every month. We are moving further North and into Wales. Still a family business established in 1904 in Eastbourne, the company prides itself on being the first choice for decorating with multiple brands and great service.

“We understand that every customer is different. And, of course, one of the beauties of wallpaper is that you can feel you are being unique and ‘make your home your own’. We are proud to offer the worlds widest choice of wallpaper online giving our customers a huge range of choice worldwide, offering over 20,000 wallpapers and stocking thousands of these for next day delivery. The fact that we also sell handmade curtains and blinds, as well as complimenting/co-ordinating fabrics enables our customers to create the whole look, which is really important”

The Brewers group of companies has roots that date back to 1904 when the Brewer family started a decorators’ merchants.

The company is also proud to be a Royal Warrant holder and supplies decorating materials to the Queen and her residences.

Website: wallpaperdirect.com

Social: @wallpaperdirect and @designerpaintuk