Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1547305
De Gournay hand-painted wallpapers, Jardin Chinois, top, and Osier with raffia threads and beading, in the new jewel-box boutique at Culp Associates. D e Gournay marries painstaking attention to detail with a breathtaking array of artistic techniques via its hand-painted wallpapers, fabrics, and porcelain. Their covetable wallpaper panels top every elite designer's wish list. Employing hand- painted patterns, subtle beading, and intricate embroidery, each design preserves and advances decorative arts to timeless effect. Over its 40-year history, the brand has honed its bespoke work to perfection. Design showroom Culp Associates has built an enduring legacy with de Gournay, Horn O' Plenty. Louis Vuitton Luna pump with horn-effect polymer heel, $1,440, at the Louis Vuitton boutique offering the company's papers to the trade for 20 years. "They're always ahead of the game," says Culp co-owner Jessica Salmons. "De Gournay not only comes up with new designs but also new techniques — metallics, embossed relief, and beautiful embroideries on silk paper. It's the combination of innovation and technology. It's always evolving but retaining their strong identity as a very luxurious, custom hand-painted wallpaper." To celebrate this partnership, Culp has unveiled a jewel-box space in its Houston showroom to present the wallpapers in a more immersive way, with five fresh papers that exemplify de Gournay's artistry. The entrance features the dimensional, delicate leaves and stems of Wild Grasses. Inside, the blooming flowers and vibrant birds of Jardin Chinois anchor the space with a hand-painted scene on a backdrop of amethyst slub silk. Dunand, rendered in gold gilded silk, pays homage to Jean Dunand, the innovative Art Deco designer known for his metalwork, while the stately cranes and willow trees of Osier gain dimension through raffia threads and subtle beading. On another wall hangs L'Eden, based on a 19th-century mural by Joseph Fuchs and recalling an abundant rainforest on tarnished-silver-gilded paper. Culp Associates, Houston Design Center, 5120 Woodway Dr., Suite 4018, culpassociates.com. Kendall Morgan Art of de Gournay at Culp 18