Posted on by

How the antique paper in Condé Nast’s 1920s ballroom became a popular decorator, Deep Cut

How the antique paper in Condé Nast’s 1920s ballroom became a popular decorator, Deep Cut

Photo: Simon Upton.

Nast's Ballroom, circa 1927.

Nast’s Ballroom, circa 1927.

Photo: Courtesy of the New-York Historical Society.

The 18th-century Chinese wallpaper that decorator Elsie de Wolfe installed in publishing magnate Condé Nast’s Park Avenue ballroom around 1925 lived a long life before ending up in the Big Apple – it was found in the attic of the English mansion Welbeck Abbey unearthed and hung at Beau Desert Hall, the estate of the Marquess of Angelesey in Staffordshire. When the scene, depicting a dreamy walled garden, was mounted in the magazine man’s Manhattan party pad, it served as a backdrop for fashionable events of all kinds (owned by Nast). fashion and finally a few other titles) that cement it in the memory of aesthetes then and now.

A Gracie artisan at work.A Gracie artisan at work.

A Gracie artisan at work.

Photo: Courtesy of Gracie.

Let’s rewind to the 1950s: After Nast’s death, Gracie, the hand-painted and antique wallpaper dealer, purchased this famous setting and sold the remains to interior designer Michael S. Smith in 2011. “I’ve always been obsessed with its distinctive architectural quality,” says the AD100 talent, who installed restored fragments in his New York dining room. “There’s a real magic to it.”

The Art of Gracie (Rizzoli).The Art of Gracie (Rizzoli).

The Art of Gracie (Rizzoli).

Photo: Courtesy of Gracie.

Gracie has been a family business for decades and is celebrating its 126th anniversary this year (they just released The Art of Gracie with Rizzoli), dealt in first-class antiques like this. At some point, as customers began requesting additions or adjustments to fit their respective spaces, the company began offering hand-painted paneling based on this and other historic patterns. Since then, such papers have repeatedly ended up in luxurious homes, regardless of trends. Jennifer Gracie, fifth-generation creative director, explains it this way: “Beauty never goes out of style.”

Alex Papachristidis installed a version of Condé Nast's iconic design - enlarged and rendered in grisaille - in his Kips Bay room in 2016.Alex Papachristidis installed a version of Condé Nast's iconic design - enlarged and rendered in grisaille - in his Kips Bay room in 2016.

Alex Papachristidis installed a version of Condé Nast’s iconic design – enlarged and rendered in grisaille – in his Kips Bay room in 2016.

Photo: Tria Giovan

When interior designer Alex Papachristidis inquired about this Ming Garden pattern for the Kips Bay Decorator Show House in 2016, Gracie worked with him on an offshoot—oversized and recolored grisaille—to match the dining room’s grand proportions. “It’s actually an incredible bargain,” explains Papachristidis, given the high price. “You don’t have to buy paintings! The wallpaper is the work of art.” graciestudio.com

Originally published by Architectural Digest

More great stories from ADVERTISEMENT