Chinoiserie

With the very exciting and imminent publication of Domino's new book, The Book of Decorating: A room-by-room guide to creating a home that makes you happy, I thought it the moment to take a look at the history of chinoiserie wallpaper and the house of de Gournay, as the cover of this new and soon to be interior junkies 'bible' is just that - chinoiserie.

The Chinese began to produce silk wallpaper in the early 1600’s and it was these rice papers, hand drawn and painted with flowers, birds and landscapes that became fashionable in Europe in the 1700’s. 

In France, during this time, wallpaper became the mode in the Court of Louis XVI. Wallpapers resembled the end papers of books, and were hand-printed in small squares that were then joined together and rolled. By 1785 the French had invented a machine to print paper and so the scope of the patterns broadened and local artists started to design images for the papers.

But the Chinese paper, known as chinoiserie, was ever popular and became the fashion for royalty and the establishment. These wallpapers depicting classical Chinese landscapes, birds and figures were painted in panels and hung side by side to tell a story.

Today, the house of de Gournay specializes in 18th century chinoiserie patterns and also French designs from the 19th century. They offer a bespoke service that custom designs and hand prints all of their designs to wallpaper, fabric or porcelain. Take a look at de Gournay, their images are gorgeous.

My idea of heaven would be to have a bedroom wallpapered in de Gournay but for now I must content myself with an old tea chest picked up on my travels long ago - one of my favourite, favourite finds of all time. The inside of the chest is just as pretty as the outside, with an embossed lid, that closes the tin container. It was originally used for Orange Pekoe tea leaves and is labelled as such on the inside.

top images - from de Gournay

below - me