Interior Design

In Conversation With De Gournay

This month, In Conversation With features Hannah Cecil Gurney, Director at de Gournay, the renowned house of hand-painted wallpapers, textiles, and porcelain.

Hand Painted Excellence

Tell us about the artisans that create your designs.

Our studio artists work for de Gournay full time, across three established departments – the Chinoiserie, Japanese and Panoramic collections – as well as a team dedicated to custom orders. These individuals possess not only a technical proficiency, but also a comprehensive understanding of the historic methods associated with the craft. Each artist imparts a subtle individuality to every order they paint, and it is this ‘spirit resonance’ that differentiates our wallpapers from a printed alternative. The mark of the artist creates a distinctive sense of warmth.

How did Nicole’s chalet’s alpine setting influence the design for her beautiful wallpaper?

Nicole and de Gournay have collaborated together on many wonderful projects in the past, so Nicole has a very in depth understanding of our craftsmanship and bespoke capabilities. We decided that the majestic and magical setting of the chalet should be reflected in the hand painted wallpaper to give it a sense of place and to make it personal and unique to it’s home.

How do you balance traditional hand painting techniques with evolving client tastes?

Hand painting wallpapers goes back centuries, but it is not old-fashioned. Creating something entirely by hand gives you limitless freedom and creativity. You are not constrained by machines or something that has been pre-defined. In this way, as client’s tastes evolve, we are very nimble at adapting and creating artworks to suit their vision. We love for clients to bring us their ideas and push us to create in new and interesting directions.

You once spoke about the similarities between couture and de Gournay, can you tell us more?

Couture is tailored to the individual. The clothes are made-to-measure. In the same way, de Gournay wallpaper is tailored to fit each room that it goes into. Both the panels and the design that is painted onto them take into account the location of every doorway, window, piece of furniture. This means that you can create beautiful pattern layouts that feel completely in sync with the interior and the architecture. The wallpapers feel like they belong and have always been there.

Where do you see the future of hand painted wallpaper and bespoke wallcoverings evolving?

As more and more product is machine-made, I think the human eye craves the imperfection and the beautiful nuances of a hand crafted product. When an artist creates something by hand, they leave an imprint of their soul on that piece. This resonates. Hand crafted products are the ultimate luxury in the modern world.

Do you have a favourite project of Salvesen Graham’s you have worked on?

I truly love this chalet project the most. Nicole pushed us to create something so unique and fresh. The flowers feel old-world, as does the richly layered and antiqued background, but it is juxtaposed with the modernity of the simplicity of the layout and the sparsity of the design. The flowers feel like surprises amidst the velvety canella coloured ground. Just as you might discover a snowdrop peeking through the snow. It is romantic and serene.

Is there such a thing as a typical de Gournay project or client?

Although we are a small family business, we have projects all over the world. Our clients are very international and so we work on a huge range of projects. One day we could be creating a bucolic Italian landscape and the next an art-deco wallcovering inspired by detailed leather book bindings from the 1930s. Clients come to us with all sorts of inspirations and we are honoured to get to turn their visions into reality. There is huge variation to our projects and that is what keeps us all so inspired and passionate.