# Timorous Beasties Surreal and Provocative Wallpaper By Juan Carlos Bonilla | Published 2007-04-16 | Art & Design Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/timorous-beasties-surreal-and-provocative-decor-desgins References: [timorousbeasties](http://timorousbeasties.com) [Timorous Beasties](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/what-are-you-looking-at) is an ultra hip textile and wallpaper design studio. Each design is unique and provocative with retro fashion concepts, intricate details and strong colors. The site describes, "Noted for its surreal and provocative textiles and wallpapers, the design studio Timorous Beasties was founded in Glasgow in 1990 by Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons, who had met while studying textile design at [Glasgow School of Art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/risotto-studio). By depicting uncompromisingly contemporary images on traditional textiles and wallpapers, Timorous Beasties has defined an iconoclastic style of design once described as “William Morris on acid.” Typical is the Glasgow Toile. At first glance it looks like one of the magnificent vistas portrayed on early 1800s Toile de Jouy wallpaper, but closer inspection reveals a nightmarish vision of contemporary Glasgow where crack addicts, prostitutes and the homeless are depicted against a forbidding backdrop of dilapidated tower blocks and scavenging seagulls." ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 3.9/10 - Popularity: 86% | Activity: 24% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America, Europe ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Art & Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/artdesign) > [Design](https://www.trendhunter.com/design) ## Key Themes ### Why This Trend Is Growing - **Provocative Wallpaper Designs:** Designing wallpaper patterns that challenge traditional aesthetics and push boundaries. - **Retro Fashion Concepts:** Incorporating vintage fashion styles and imagery into modern design. - **Contemporary Artistic Expression:** Using traditional design elements to create modern and thought-provoking pieces. ### Industries Being Reshaped - **Interior Design:** Providing unique and unexpected wallpaper design options for residential and commercial interior design. - **Textile Manufacturing:** Incorporating fresh and unexpected design concepts into traditional textile production. - **Art and Design Education:** Teaching students to think differently about design and encouraging the use of unconventional ideas in their work. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Artist-Approved Intricate Wallpaper Designs](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/printed-decors.md) - [Folk Art-Inspired Wallpapers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/backdrop.md) - [Hand-Painted Wallpaper Series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/sylvan.md) - [Uniquely Designed Artistic Wallpapers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/artistic-wallpaper.md) - [Vibrantly Bold Wallpaper Collections](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/otto-studio.md) - [Artist-Designed Wallpaper](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/wallpaper-collection1.md) - [Creature-Inspired Home Good Lines](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/charles-jeffreys-loverboy.md) - [Painting-Inspired Wallpaper Series](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/portals-collection.md) - [Marble-Patterned Interiors](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/psychedelic-interior.md)