William Morris, artist, poet and reformer, was born near London on March 24, 1834. He becameinterested in interior design as an art form. In 1861, Morris founded a company that produced furniture, wallpaper, stained glass, tapestries and other decorative articles for the home. His experiments in design led to the popular Morris chair. He died October 3, 1896.

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."