This opulent paper is Vogue editor Anna Wintour's wallpaper of choice. As chair of the Met Gala, Wintour this year chose arguably the world's finest bespoke wallpaper, by London-based firm de Gournay, to transform the Metropolitan Museum of Art into an "enchanted garden" dining hall for the world's biggest names in fashion, film and music. Rooms were designed to tie in with the gala's theme, China: Through the Looking Glass, with invitations, place settings, backdrops and tablecloths decorated in custom de Gournay Chinoiserie designs.
Now Parnell antique store Baran de Bordeaux, de Gournay’s exclusive Australasian showroom, is offering New Zealand homeowners the same opportunity to customise their rooms. With hundreds of hand-painted designs to choose from, every element from wallpaper to curtains, pillows and fine china can be customised with unique Chinoiserie, Japanese and Korean drawings.
The process of having a wall decorated by de Gournay is far more complex than ordering a roll of wallpaper off the shelf and takes around 12 weeks, starting with a home consultation and followed by a miniature model.
Store owner Chrystelle Baran says anything and everything can be customised.
"Everything is hand-painted to the scale of your room. The idea is that if you have a tree going up the wall it will stop just below the corners of the ceiling."
• Pictured is de Gournay 'Askew' on Emerald Green India Tea Paper. $1300 a panel (915mm wide), from Baran de Bordeaux, 367 Parnell Rd, ph (09) 307 1201.
