de Gournay New York City
de Gournay, the internationally acclaimed purveyor of exquisite hand-painted wallpapers, fabrics, and porcelain is delighted to announce the grand reopening of its New York City showroom, located at 243 East 59th Street. This milestone marks the latest instalment in de Gournay’s series of showroom expansions around the world, reflecting the brand’s ongoing commitment to excellence and innovation in the world of luxury interiors on a global scale.
Situated in the heart of New York City’s storied design district, the newly reimagined showroom exemplifies de Gournay’s dedication to exceptional artistry and craftsmanship. Clients are offered an immersive experience within eleven distinct rooms, all fully realised by de Gournay’s own design team, that display the very finest hand-painted wallpapers and hand-embroidered fabrics.
The showroom’s entryway, enveloped in the hand-painted ‘Central Park’ scenic wallpaper, celebrates one of the city’s most beloved landmarks. Looking out from the park’s Bow Bridge, the iconic scenery of New York City unfolds in high-contrast grisaille.
This vantage point offers views of 1920s architecture such as the San Remo, the Dakota, the Century apartments, and the Langham, while the park’s iconic boat pond and verdant, tree-filled landscape adds a touch of tranquillity within the bustling cityscape. Drawing inspiration from block-printed panoramics of the 19th and 20th centuries, the black-and-white scheme evokes the essence of Deco-era New York, providing a sophisticated backdrop that blends classical and contemporary elements.
The entryway is crowned with ‘Celestial Atlas’, an enchanting homage to Grand Central Station’s distinctive vaulted ceiling that is entirely rendered in intricate hand-embroidery and hand-beading. Appearing to shimmer in three-dimension amidst clusters of metallic stars, majestic depictions of the constellations such as Orion, Pegasus, Musca Borealis, and Triangulum Majus are offset against a vivid green painted silk ground custom made to mirror the ceiling’s legendary hue.
An extraordinary rendition of ‘St Laurent’ hangs within the porcelain lounge of the showroom. One of de Gournay’s most visually dense Chinoiserie designs, ‘St. Laurent’ is distinct for its finely worked renderings of elaborate peacocks and doves amidst flowering bushes, such as peony, prunus, camelia, and chrysanthemum. Inspired by antique panels belonging to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé, the brand’s interpretation maintains the full drama and grand scale of the original design.
The adjacent sitting room is enveloped in a striking ‘Namban’ installation, creating an intimate space for gathering and entertaining. Evoking the artwork of Imperial Japan, ‘Namban’ is an abstract seascape with a flock of soaring cranes spanning the composition. The design references the work of Jean Dunand with its interplay of swirling coils and graphic lines.
‘Orchard’, a new hand-embroidered wall upholstery, surrounds the showroom’s office in lush greenery, laden with leaves, fruit, and tendril-like branches. Referencing French couturier Paul Poiret’s striking display for a 1913 model dining room within a Berlin department store, our version reimagines the simple design in full hand-embroidery on a linen ground, incorporating raffia threads with touches of hand-beading for added dimension and texture.
The main sitting room, wallpapered in de Gournay’s iconic ‘Erdem’ hand-painted in a new colourway, is complemented by a new ceiling wallpaper, ‘Pergola’, that fancifully extends the production of flowers and greenery overhead. Leafy tendrils of wisteria, jasmine, clematis, and morning glory gracefully sprawl and twirl amongst colourful butterflies and exotic birds, fully immersing the interior in a springtime garden.
The presentation room reveals a new colourway of ‘Jharokha Arches’ from the brand’s Mughal Collection. Named for a prevalent feature of classical Indian architecture, this design is a repeating motif of ornamental window archways. A hand-painted balustrade spans the width of the composition, with decorative elements mirroring the elegant architectural cornice by Clive Christian Interiors, above.
Nestled within a niche, stately cranes and willow trees are given a new, textural dimension in the simple, elegant hand-embroidery, ‘Osier’, which incorporates raffia threads and subtle beading.
From a vista brimming with verdant palms and tropical plants, ‘Archipelago’ transports the powder room to an island paradise surrounded by calming water. Against a subtle ombré sky dotted with wispy clouds, this wallpaper has an open, airy quality and is less dense than our ‘L’Eden’ design. Inspired by a set of antique block-printed wallpaper panels purchased at auction that once would have been applied to folding screens, it is hand-painted on scenic paper at a smaller, highly versatile scale.
A vibrant scene of blooming flowers and colourful birds hand-painted in an expressive watercolour style, ‘Jardin Chinois’ is a spellbinding design has been sourced from de Gournay’s archive of vintage wallpaper panels and was originally painted over thirty years ago. Upon an enchanting pink painted Xuan paper, the ground features textural washes of colour created through applying brushstrokes both horizontally and vertically. Nearby, a fresh rendition of ‘Botanical Studies’ is paired with a custom balustrade that has been hand-painted with a heavily textured brush to evoke timeworn architecture.
Throughout the showroom, de Gournay has collaborated with the British luxury paint brand Mylands on a special colour palette to expertly complement the wallcoverings.
An exceptional range of lustrous hues, including several bespoke colours, swathe the millwork, cornices, and cabinetry, adding further depth and dimension to the interiors.
Uniting the interiors in architectural detail, the bespoke millwork and cabinetry has been devised by Clive Christian Interiors, the exemplary British brand renowned for artisanal handcraft. The custom-designed and handmade joinery, panelling, and intricate cornicing seen throughout elevates the showroom experience, emulating that of a residential interior.
The multifaceted nature of the renovation was aided by the generous participation of several leading brands, their singular expertise and exceptional quality products – with thanks to Ancient & Modern, Beardmore, Clé Tile, Clive Christian, François & Co, Infinity Stone, Lefroy Brooks, Mylands, Porta Romana, Samuel & Sons, Urban Electric, Vaughan.
All Photography by Michael Clifford.