An Evening in Dallas
To honour the occasion of Texas Design Week, de Gournay is proud to debut a collection of bespoke hand-painted and hand-embroidered wallcoverings that pay tribute to the wild and varied Texan landscape. Displayed within our inaugural American pop-up exhibition at Culp Associates, in the heart of Dallas’ design district.
Throughout five beautifully rendered vignettes complemented by sumptuous fabrics and timeworn antiques, the enchanting, visionary world of de Gournay’s artisanal skill was wholly brought to life.
A new rendition of our iconic embroidered design, ‘Cosmos’ depicts a magnificent constellation against a midnight sky hand-painted in shimmering, pearlescent colours of silver and gold. Inspired by historic astronomical depictions – from the star-covered ceiling of the interior of the Pyramid of Teti to the azure frescoes of Italian chapels and cathedrals from the 1300s – the design is further illuminated by layers of beading and metallic embroidered accents within the brilliant star and sunburst motifs.
Transporting viewers to a wild countryside, our ‘Hill Country Scenic’ captures the rugged, natural beauty of this beloved Texan landscape. Beneath a wide blue sky and the verdant branches of majestic live oaks and rustic mesquite trees, a herd of deer and hares frolic through dusty fields of bluebonnets, while prickly pear and flowering yucca dot the rocky ledges and riverside cliffs. The atmospheric panorama is hand-painted with an antiqued effect, conjuring a hazy, sun-drenched day amongst the vast terrain.
Gracefully winding around bamboo standards, leafy vines and unfurling tendrils of morning glory, nasturtium, and clematis elegantly framed the archway entrance to our pop-up exhibition. Referencing a floral trellis pattern by Renzo Mongiardino, our ‘Floral Lattice’ design is hand-embroidered on a sage green wool sateen using luminous silk threads. To create the illusion of depth, the embroidery is richly and heavily applied to appear as if the delicately trailing flora and flitting butterflies and bees are themselves full of life.
Below an arching bamboo trellis, a charming group of Texas fauna – from grey foxes and wide-eyed ringtails to quails and soaring cardinals – gather amidst native grasses and leafy foliage. ‘Trellised Menagerie’ is set against a Xuan paper ground hand-painted with washes of green and blue to evoke a misty sky.
Lined with delicate vines of ivy trailing down standards, our ‘Edera’ design exquisitely frames a collection of our 17th century-inspired ‘Botanical Studies’ porcelain within elegant trompe l’oeil architecture. Imbued with an antiqued character that recalls the quietly fading grandeur of Italian palazzos, the wallpaper is hand-painted with a heavily textured brush in washes of pea green and lilac.
Supporting vintage apothecary jars upon hand-gilded shelves, our new ‘Foglia’ corbels feature sculptural leaves of horse chestnut, live oak, fern, and fig hand-carved and painted to resemble a chalky plaster.
The sumptuous, hand-painted ‘Belvoir’ wallpaper enveloped an intimate nook within the pop-up exhibition in a lush garden scene. Brimming with exotic birds, peony flowers in full bloom, and hanging birdcages and baskets, the design is a faithful recreation of an original 18th century antique Chinese wallpaper installed at Belvoir Castle.
Named for the Roman goddess of agriculture, ‘Ceres’ makes use of one of humanity’s most ancient symbols of fertility and prosperity – the wheatsheaf. Our hand-embroidered interpretation composes stems of ripened grain made of intricately woven metallic threads and softwire alongside exquisite beading – a glorious rendition of a vivid bounty over which embroidered swallows soar.
Against the opulent backdrop of ‘Ceres’ illuminated by flickering candlelight, we hosted an intimate dinner with Culp Associates and PaperCity to celebrate the opening of our Texas Design Week pop-up exhibition. The extravagantly laid table featured hand-painted porcelain, a luminous silk damask tablecloth, and hand-embroidered ribbon place cards.
Photography by Milo Brown.
With thanks to our partners:
Culp Associates
PaperCity Dallas and Texas Design Week
Bobby King Wallcoverings
Claire Rathburn Floral
Dennis & Leen and Formations
Wolf Hall Antiques
Pierre Frey
Scalamandré
Samuel & Sons
Farzin Rugs
The Lamp Shoppe
Country French Interiors
Frog & Camel by John Bobbit
Match Pewter