How the de Gournay dynasty decorate: Hannah Cecil Gurney's London flat
Stepping over the threshold into Hannah Cecil Gurney's west London flat is like being Lewis Carroll's Alice - who Hannah does resemble, with her blonde hair and blue eyes - plummeting down the rabbit hole and encountering a series of ever more bewitching worlds. One minute you are in a tropical paradise with peacocks and pomegranates, the next by the riverbanks in India. Each scene is drenched in colour.
Hannah is the daughter of Claud Cecil Gurney, who founded the handmade wallpaper company de Gournay in 1986. She and her sister Rachel bought this flat together four years ago, but today Hannah lives here with her husband Eddie Harden. The abundantly decorated two-bedroom flat is on the ground floor of a Georgian town house which Hannah has decorated with the help of good friend, the fabulous interior designer Tara Craig, who also styled this photoshoot for House & Garden. Hannah has, by her own admission, let her 'crazy imagination run wild'. For her, more is more. 'I'm used to living in colour,' she says of her childhood, which was spent immersed in her father's business, which started in the basement of their family home. 'Colour is invigorating. It gets all the receptors in your mind going.'
When she and Rachel first moved in, they had to navigate a tricky layout, which included two side-by-side doors that opened into the flat from the entrance hall of the house. The doors were a remnant of an earlier conversion into two separate homes. One, which opened into the dining room of the newer conversion the sisters moved into, has since been closed off to create space for a cupboard. Now, as you enter the flat, the light and airy sitting room bears almost no resemblance to the space that Hannah and Rachel first encountered, which had boxed-in ceilings that created 'an awful coffin effect', says Hannah.
To the right of the entrance is a hallway leading to a long and narrow dining room and a galley kitchen. Hannah says the dining room was the hardest of all the rooms to decorate due to its size and shape, although two large mirrors that dominate one wall make the room feel bigger than it is, and the contemporary artworks give it a feeling of freshness. The almost floor-to-ceiling windows allow for shafts of natural light to filter through all day long and the ceilings have been restored to their original double height throughout the flat, apart from in the kitchen.
Lining the kitchen walls with gold leaf and painting the woodwork turquoise has made the tiny cooking space feel like the inside of a delicious chocolate box. The wenge worktop was chosen to be 'more cosy and warm than stone', says Hannah. It is neat and chic, and the perfect size for Hannah, who would happily survive on 'popcorn and Champagne'. Luckily, Eddie is a great cook, and the one in charge at dinner parties. 'It's probably why I married him,' she says jokingly.
Beyond this are the bathroom and two bedrooms. The clear division between living and sleeping spaces, as well as the use of slimline furniture in tight spaces, lends the flat room to breathe. 'We can easily entertain in the sitting room and kitchen without anyone needing to know where the bedrooms are,' Hannah says.
Certainly the flat has proved to be a perfect testing ground for de Gournay's hand-painted wallpapers and Hannah, who oversees global marketing and development, is more than happy to bring work home. 'Silk wallpapers feel softer, richer and more textural, and they're better for acoustics,' says Hannah. 'Painted walls feel much colder as it becomes part of the architecture, not the decoration.' Traditional roses and urns cover the walls of the spare bedroom, while there are gilded lucky fish in the bathroom. 'The joy is that I can take it with me if I move; it just peels right off in full pieces.'
In the main bedroom, the cosseting warmth of de Gournay's antiqued 'Badminton' wallpaper provides 'a cocoon of birds and butterflies that makes me so happy', says Hannah. Its rich depth and texture owe much to a new technique inspired by the 'happy accident' of a client. The Californian fashion designer Erica Tanov left a similar de Gournay silver-gilded paper tucked away in a damp, dark attic for over 10 years. 'The silver tarnished even more dramatically than it was designed to,' explains Hannah. The same ageing effect has been applied here, but without all that wait.
It is impossible to take in every element at once. 'Not one machine goes near anything we do at de Gournay,' she says. 'It's what gives our designs soul and meaning.' Reflecting this approach, Hannah has created a home that feels personal to her. 'I love that there's always something new to look at, always new things to find,' she says.
de Gournay: degournay.com Tara Craig: tcraig.co.uk
Simon Brown1/11Hallway to Dining Room
The long narrow spaces of the flat posed the biggest decorative challenge, when Hannah and Rachel first moved in the space was boxed in and almost 'coffin-like'. Now the space is bright and airy without compromising on privacy - this corridor separates the bedrooms and entertaining areas.
Simon Brown2/11Hallway
De Gournay's 'Early Views of India' lines the hallway walls; the pineapple sconce was a wedding present, while the brass-shaded lamp came from Collier Webb. This wallpaper is a perfect example of why Hannah feels that 'there's always something new to look at, always new things to find' in her home.
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Simon Brown3/11Small Kitchen
'Lining the kitchen walls with gold leaf and painting the woodwork turquoise has made the tiny cooking space feel like the inside of a delicious chocolate box'. The room was designed with cosiness in mind; it is the only space where the celing was not restored to double height and the wenge worktop was chosen specifically to be 'more cosy and warm than stone'.
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Simon Brown4/11Living Room Table
A table and chair create a work space in the living room. The table is placed next to one of the double height windows which is accessorised with dark blue blinds. de Gournay wallpaper once more makes an appearance, one of the joys of the paper is that it can be taken from house to house as Sophie explains - 'I can take it with me if I move; it just peels right off in full pieces'.
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Simon Brown5/11Living Room
In the sitting room, velvet pieces, including an antique lamp from Les Couilles du Chien, contrast with the peacock-print wallpaper from de Gournay. Hannah prefers silk wallpapers, explaining how 'painted walls feel much colder as it becomes part of the architecture, not the decoration'.
Simon Brown6/11The Dining Room Table
The artwork in the dining room includes a painting by Alf Löhr from Broadbent Gallery and a graphic piece based on a design by Kelly Wearstler - contemporary artwork freshens the space. Two mirrors are included in the long, narrow dining space to make the room feel bigger.
Simon Brown7/11Spare Bedroom Mirror
Similar to the main bedroom, an ornate mirror is used again to mimic the pattern of the branches on the floral green de Gournay wallpaper. The mustard lamp matches the headboard, complementing the green wallpaper and creating a light earthy scheme.
Simon Brown8/11Spare Bedroom
Cushions from Beaumont & Fletcher are among the golden accents in the spare room. Despite the small floorspace of the flat, the ceilings were restored by Hannah to their original double-height meaning every space in the flat has been made larger without losing its cosiness.
Simon Brown9/11Main Bedroom
The main bedroom in the flat features an ornate cream mirror which elegantly mimics the branches in the pattern of the antiqued 'Badminton' de Gournay wallpaper. Floral bedding as well as a floral lamp build on the theme.
Simon Brown10/11Bed in Main Bedroom
In the main bedroom, hand-painted silk cushions and a Burmese lamp pick up on the green in the 'Badminton' wallpaper from de Gournayhttp://degournay.com/ which 'provides a cocoon of birds and butterflies that makes [Hannah] so happy'. The paper has been antiqued in order to give a tarnsihed effect.
Simon Brown11/11Bathroom
Glass shower cubicle in the bathroom allows the de Gournay wallpaper to become the main decorative feature of the room. Though neutral in colour the paper is not devoid of interest - it features gilded lucky fish.
