Where to see wall hangings in person in Paris or Lyon

There is no shop that specialises solely in wall hangings, either in Paris or in Lyon: the product is too narrow to build a store around. You can, however, see them in four types of place — fabric houses’ showrooms, multi-brand interiors shops, mainstream home décor chains and soft-furnishing haberdasheries. For a specific brand, the most effective approach is still to ask for its list of stockists.

Why the specialist shop doesn’t exist

The wall hanging is a niche product within a niche market. A shop that sold nothing but wall hangings would have neither the footfall nor the average basket needed to pay a city-centre rent.

In practical terms: searching for “wall hanging shop” will never give you a good result. What you need to look for is a place that sells them alongside other things.

The four types of place to see them

Fabric houses’ showrooms

The houses that produce furnishing fabrics have showrooms, mainly in Paris, clustered in the historic textile and interior design districts. There you’ll see materials you won’t find anywhere else, and you can ask for samples.

What you need to know: these places are aimed first and foremost at professionals — interior designers, upholsterers, decorators. How private customers are received varies, prices are per metre, and there is no finished product: you have to have it made up.

Multi-brand interiors shops

This is the most interesting route for a private buyer. These shops select a few wall textile brands and display them hanging up, which is exactly what you want to see: a wall hanging lying flat against a wall, in the light of a real room.

In Paris as in Lyon, they tend to be found in the interiors and antiques districts rather than on the main shopping streets.

Mainstream home décor chains

They regularly offer wall hangings in their seasonal collections, most often in cotton. The advantage is immediate availability; the drawback, the short commercial lifespan of the design.

Soft-furnishing haberdasheries and fabric shops

No finished wall hangings, but fabric by the metre and, often, genuine advice on materials and making up. It’s the right place if you’re thinking of having a made-to-measure wall hanging made.

What you really gain from seeing a wall hanging in person

Three things, and only three. It’s worth knowing which ones before you cross a city.

The drape. No photo captures the way a fabric hangs. That’s the main reason to make the trip.

The true colour. Screens lie, especially with pinks, corals and deep blues. Seeing a fabric in daylight settles the question.

The scale of the pattern. A design that looks delicate on a phone screen can be very present on a living-room wall.

What the trip won’t give you: the fabric weight, the composition and the care instructions, which are written on the product page and can be checked just as well from home.

The alternative: a sample

For many people, this is the best solution. A fabric sample held against your own wall, in your own light, answers more questions than a visit to a shop — where the light is never the light in your home.

Ask for one before you order: most brands send them out.

Where to see Vent de Bohème wall hangings

Without a showroom, a straight-on photo of the hanging laid flat is still the most faithful record. Shown here: LOUISON.

You can see our wall hangings photographed in several real interiors on the collection page — each pattern is photographed hanging up, with a piece of furniture beside it, precisely to give a sense of scale.

Are you an interiors shop that would like to stock them? The “Become a stockist” page on the site is there for exactly that.

Frequently asked questions

Are there shops that specialise in wall hangings? No. You’ll find them in fabric houses’ showrooms, multi-brand interiors shops, mainstream home décor chains and shops selling fabric by the metre.

Where can you see wall hangings in Paris? In fabric houses’ showrooms and multi-brand interiors shops, which are clustered in the interior design districts rather than on the main shopping streets.

Can you ask for a fabric sample before buying? Most brands send them out. It’s often more useful than a trip, since you look at the sample in the light of your own room.

Do you really need to see a wall hanging before buying it? For the drape, the exact colour and the scale of the pattern, yes, it helps. For everything else — fabric weight, composition, care — a good product page is enough.