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Elegantly covered

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IN THE WORLD of interiors, British brand de Gournay stands out from the pack with its beautifully hand-crafted wallcoverings that raise the luxury bar to a new level.

The company's products - which also includes porcelain, fabrics and furniture - are used in some of the most exclusive hotels and residences around the world. De Gournay also regularly works with top interior designers, including Michael Smith, Miles Redd, David Collins and Graham Viney.

Founded in 1986 by Claud Cecil Gurney, today de Gournay is jointly run by Claud and his nephew Dominic Evans-Freke. The company is inspired by 18th-century chinoiserie and 19th-century French designs, and from the outset, they have favoured traditional construction techniques: wherever possible, pieces are made by hand using methods and materials which have been around for centuries.

This sits at the heart of de Gournay's ethos to take a classical starting point of design. As Evans-Freke explains, when looking at an antique object for inspiration, they seek out the elements that make it beautiful and translate them into a modern context. In other words, they imagine how some of the great 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century designers would create today.

'It's a shame these traditional things are viewed as dowdy because they weren't. When new, they were cutting-edge,' says Evans-Freke.

De Gournay's use of traditional materials and period finishes isn't to give the objects esoteric meaning. Rather, these techniques are implemented because they last. Evans-Freke explains that despite the variety of clever, synthetic alternatives available today, none have been tested over long periods of time. They use classic techniques that guarantee the products will still be around in 150 years time.

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