classic living room wallpaper

exquisite works of art. each sheet of wallpaper from de gournay isunique and hand-painted. this family business in london has enjoyedinternational success for over thirty years now, thanks mainly to a special technique. “so the traditional chinese painting methoduses two brushes in your hand. one brush picks up pigment and the other brushvery quickly spreads the pigment across the surface of the wallpaper. and with this technique you get this beautifulwater colour grading from dark to pale.” detailed, playful, colourful – the companyprides itself on catering to the customer's

individual taste. most de gournay wallpapers originate in astudio near shanghai. they're painted on silk or gold-leaf paper. customers pay between five and twenty fivethousand euros to decorate a single room. "when you see something that’s handmade,you can feel the imperfections and that’s what makes it beautiful. you can see the brushstrokes. you can see that human hand has made thatproduct. and you can feel the spirit of the artistwho created it when you’re in the room.”

this is the home of the company founder. as a child, he loved his parents' hand-paintedwallpaper. but later he searched in vain for a wallpapercompany for his own home. that's when claud cecil gurney came up withthe idea for his company. “i don’t think we should be calling themwallpapers, really. i think we should be calling them more liketapestries or murals or something like that. it creates a wonderful, in a way country-idyllicenvironment in a place where otherwise you walk outside and there are motor cars andchimneys and steam and dirt and dust and pollution. it’s just very pretty.”

these kind of hand-painted designs may beunaffordable for most. but interior designers say wallpaper generallyis back in fashion. “wallpaper is becoming more everyday-useand more and more clients are asking us to add wallpaper to the room or the space.” countless manufacturers now offer all kinds of designs, often digitally printed and much more affordable. and there are definite trends too. elaborate floral patterns have made it …from the catwalk back into homes and interior designs. “last year the big trend was greenery and we saw a lot of foliage on the wallpaper.

with the new trend, the new pantone of the year – which will be ultraviolet – we will see the trend taking that direction, which is a very sophisticated colour and a very bold colour.” but at de gournay, it's less about trendsand more about fulfilling customer's individual dreams. their showrooms in london, paris, new york,moscow and elsewhere are especially busy at the moment. “in the new year, people really feel a surgeof energy. they want to come to us with completely wildideas. they’re sort of rested and they’ve said:actually, i don’t want to do something run-of-the-mill

– i want to do something really wow in thisnew year.” the company often works with celebrities. this autumn, supermodel kate moss unveiled "anemonesin light", produced together with the de gournay design team. one strip costs 1350 euros. so what happens if you spend thousands andthen move house? “the silk is very, very strong. so you can literally peel the silk off fromthe bottom up, send it back to us and we'll put a new paper backing onto the back – andyou can then reinstall it in a new home.”

but as with every work of art, it takes time. so if you feel inspired to rush out and orderyour own de gournay, be prepared to wait about three months for it to be completed.

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