Since the late 19th century wallpaper manufacturers and interior decorating firms have published pattern books showing artists' impressions of rooms furnished with specific wallpapers and matching furniture and fabrics. These were a help to customers, because it was difficult to judge the effect of a wall covered in a large-scale pattern using only a sample as a guide. Here the dominant wallpaper is a red-and-white floral pattern, hung with a matching plain red paper. This use of blocks of contrasting patterned and plain papers, often on the same wall, was typical of the fashionable decorating style of the period.