The cupboard under the stairs has turned out to be a treasure trove. Stored away in there we found an ancient fold up whicker garden chair with leather straps, a Master’s Voice gramophone and a set of bowls in a green felt-lined wooden box.    All props that wouldn’t go amiss in a Downton Abbey garden party.

But the real treat is what’s on the walls – a block printed wall paper in a beautiful purple-blue….

I thought the leaves look like thistle leaves but I wasn’t sure about the blooms so deferred to my gardening expert friend Lou who’s christened them ‘dandy-thistles’.

I’ve since emailed some pics to The Wallpaper History Society and they told me that stair cupboards are great for wall paper discoveries ‘as they are often not stripped during re-decoration, and partly because they were sometimes papered in end rolls used in other parts of the house…’

It’s amazing to think the whole of the hall (or in fact any of the rooms) might have been covered in such a bold pattern. I’ve never used wallpaper before but the size of some of the spaces in this house is no doubt going to demand it. When we get to that stage of the refurb’ it’s going to feel like a big decision – so it’s lovely to find some original paper here for inspiration.