Life Love & Luxury

Charlotte Moss Townhouse

Pasting the walls (and sometimes the ceilings!) with gorgeous wallpaper is nothing new. I imagine hundreds of years ago, our ancestors eyed wallpaper samples much like we do now, enamored with the intricate designs and endless decorative possibilities. But trends come and go, dictating the “in” colors and textures, and one particular style has sashayed back into the spotlight, capturing my modern-girl-in-the-city imagination: tea paper.

I’d seen tea paper featured in several photoshoots lately and decided to do a little detective work on the luxurious wall coverings. First order of business: contact de Gournay, one of the world’s the world’s leading wallpaper and textile manufacturers with a few questions. And dear me, what a treasure trove of information I uncovered!

de Gournay "Flash Metallic" tea paper

What are Tea Papers?   The first Chinese wallpapers were initially known as ‘India Papers’ and came to England around 1695. Their arrival added momentum to the growing trend for papering walls, where previously fine interiors embellished walls with fabric.  These early wallpapers were originally made from tiny pieces pasted together to form long panels. Staying true to that tradition, de Gournay’s India Tea Paper technique recreates the 18th-century method as faithfully as possible, affixing small pieces of paper to four-by-ten-foot panels. Artists then distress the panels to replicate the look of sundried wallpaper before painting the design.

de Gournay "Hampton Court" in standard colourway on stone ochre / Photo by Eric Roth

What do Tea Papers look like?  They are distinctive in their overlapping, texturized appearance, some styles relying on the natural colors and layers to achieve the desired look while others are painted with elaborate patterns and scenes onto the paper’s surface.

Designed by Courtney Giles for Atlanta Homes

Some of these look metallic? Are they?  Yes! de Gournay offers two types of metallic tea papers that add an elegant shimmer to a room. “Gilded Tea Paper” offers the greatest texture, applying a gilded metal leaf top layer to several layers of overlapping paper. “Metallic Tea Paper” offers another texture layer under the iridescent paints applied using lateral brush strokes.

Designer Unknown

How are they applied?  Although similar to hanging regular wallpapers, Tea Paper requires expert instillation to ensure the look is properly achieved.

Designed by Jeffrey Bilhuber

Designed by Steven Gambrel

How did de Gournay become part of this trend?  The history of de Gournay is quite gorgeous…here is a snippet from their company profile:

de Gournay was founded in 1986 by Claud Cecil Gurney. The need to restore the antique wallpaper from his family house led him to research the history and techniques of this traditional Chinese art form.

Claud Gurney’s meeting with eminent artists in China spurred the creation of the first group of artists working directly for de Gournay, painting on paper and silk. From the outset, surviving Chinoiserie designs in historic houses in the UK were inspirational in resurrecting and preserving the art of handpainted wallpaper, using skills that had nearly all but been abandoned.

de Gournay’s vast variety of Tea Papers reflects this history of intricate work and historical accuracy, setting the standard in refinement and luxury. Want to see a bit more? Here are a few more patterned Tea Paper designs (if you look closely, you can see the overlapping pieces!):

Badminton on Azure cobalt india tea paper

Earlham in special colourway on Ice blue india tea paper

Earlham in special colourway on gentleman's pink india tea paper

Where is de Gournay Indian Tea Paper purchased?  Currently, de Gournay showrooms are located in London, Paris and Shanghi, though you can peruse their gorgeous designs via their website by clicking on “products“.

For New York designers, however, a special surprise: we will soon be shopping for Indian Tea Papers in our own backyard, as de Gournay will soon open a showroom on the Upper East Side!

 de Gournay – Manhattan

243 E. 59^th Street

 New York, NY  10022

**Check back to Life,Love&Luxury for showroom grand opening dates**

Special thanks to Gwendolyn Rayner of de Gournay for information and images

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