Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1412885
TK M ichael S. Smith, one of America's most celebrated designers, whose interiors are informed by studies at the Victoria and Albert Museum and extensive work in the antiques business, is also the designer behind the redo of the Obama White House. Recently, he collaborated on five new wallpaper designs for de Gournay, each inspired by themes and patterns from the natural world and hand-painted by artisans using ancient techniques. Botanical Studies features large-scale botanical illustrations painted on individual sheets of India tea paper, a reference to the 17th-century house of Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, who papered the walls of his home with studies by the artist Georg Dionysius Ehret. Uki Hana's composition of flowering chrysanthemums was inspired by artwork of Japan's Edo period, which often depicted flowers and animals on metallic backgrounds. Braganza takes cues from original tiled murals from the Palácio dos Marqueses de Fronteira in Lisbon, featuring a grid effect and a glazed finish in the manner of porcelain. Nordic Garden is a scene inspired by the original wallpapers of Svindersvik — a Rococo-era mansion located outside of Stockholm. And Marble references specimens, colors, and patterns of stone as found in Istanbul's Hagia Sophia mosque and the Pantheon in Rome. To launch the collection, de Gournay commissioned esthetes, makers, and dealers to interpret Smith's designs in a range of vignettes, all captured by photographer Miguel Flores Vianna. Michael Smith for de Gournay, to the trade at Culp Associates, Dallas Design Center, 1025 N. Stemmons Freeway, 214.651.0510, culpassociates.com. By Rebecca Sherman MICHAEL S. SMITH X DE GOURNAY Clockwise from top left: Marble, curated by Ting Ying; Uki Hana, curated by Kusheda Mensah; Nordic Garden; Botanical Studies; Braganza, curated by Jermaine Gallacher.