Timelessly beautiful, the exquisite hand-painted wall coverings, fabrics, porcelain and furniture pieces from de Gournay are crafted using ancient techniques and are splendid examples of ancient craftsmanship.

Bergdorf Goodman Restaurant, New York

Like many other exquisite brands and companies, Claud Cecil Gurney founded de Gournay quite by accident in 1986. He was searching for artisans to restore the antique wallpaper in his own home but found to his dismay that traditional art was on the verge of disappearing. So, he decided to revive ancient traditions and work on techniques dating back to the 17th century. He travelled to China to search out artists whose families had generations of experience and shared his passion for keeping this ancient art alive.

Today, the company employs a team of highly skilled artists to paint traditional Chinoiserie, Japanese, Korean and 19th century French Papiers Peints Panoramiques wallpapers. Complementing the wallpapers are hand-painted silk fabrics, which are used as upholstery and soft furnishings.

Besides which, it also has a fast-selling collection of 19th century French landscape designs that depict a variety of beautiful vistas: from a pastoral hunting scene in Chasse to an exotic Brazilian river-scene bursting with wildlife. Amongst its many offerings is an expansive 18th century Chinese porcelain collection, which is produced using ancient techniques that have resisted the forces of standardisation and modernisation, a malaise that afflicts European production. Each piece is entirely hand-carved, hand-glazed and hand-painted. The collection encompasses a number of different items varying from customised and intricately designed armorial dinner services to a pair of life-size porcelain hounds, modelled on figurines from 1765.

The Ritz Carlton, Beijing

In recent years, de Gournay has added hand-carved and hand-finished furniture and mirrors to its extensive repertoire. Each piece of furniture is delicately crafted from traditional wood and can be hand-finished in a number of ways to totally transform their mood and meet the demands of the most discerning client. As every item is created by hand, de Gournay’s furniture pieces can be customised to fit spaces and suit the necessities of modern day. “Our aim is to bring happiness into people’s lives by creating for them light, bright, vibrant and happy interiors, where they can find refuge from the busy world of markets and events. Each of our interiors is a work of art hand-painted to meet the needs of discerning clients,” says Gurney.

And while inspiration is drawn from the ancient art, all of the brand’s range fits into contemporary settings. In fact, responding to demands for more contemporary wallpapers, de Gournay has introduced its dramatic Japanese, Korean and eclectic collections that feature stunning hand-gilded gold and silver paper-backed silk backgrounds.

Balfour Castle, Scotland

Dominic Evans, Director of Design and Production at de Gournay, says, “One of our greatest strengths is our spectacular range of striking and timeless designs we offer across a wide collection of products. I take great pride in the way in which we achieved this by sticking to our philosophy of understanding historic designs & their manufacture which guides us towards sensitive redesigns and updates of them for our modern consumers.”

What’s unique about de Gournay its bespoke services under which they can customise their designs according to client demands: from hand-gilding a design with 22ct gold leaf, to creating a custom colour to complement an interior space.

Plaza Penthouse, New York

Like most products that revolve around ancient craftsmanship, painstaking attention is paid to even the tiniest details by the de Gournay team and the use of highly skilled artisanship is at the core of everything the company designs and produces. Down the years, the company has entered into creative collaborations with fashion designers such as Matthew Williamson and Jenny Packham, luxury brands like Chanel and Smythson, and commercial projects with high-end retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman and The Ritz.

Fast expanding its footprint globally, the brand has expanded into 39 countries, with showrooms in major fashionable cities like London, New York, Paris, Shanghai and Moscow.