The Art of Gainage

Gainage.  No, it's not what happens to your body after, say, a holiday season spent eating fattening foods.  Rather, it's the term for the French style of upholstery in which fabric is applied to hard surfaces, such as moldings (see above) and furniture.  Although I've known about this type of intricate upholstery for years, I never knew what to call it. But thanks to the July-August issue of Veranda, I can now put a proper name to a technique that must take great skill, not to mention great patience.  According to Veranda, one of the leading firms that specializes in gainage is that of Charles Jouffre, a master upholsterer with workshops in Paris, Lyon, and New York.  One of Jouffre's notable clients is Chilean designer Juan Pablo Molyneux, whose work sometimes features gainage beds.  Can you imagine how luxurious it must be to sleep in a velvet-covered, four-poster bed?

I don't know if the late designer Alberto Pinto was a client of Charles Jouffre, but I do know that his green velvet-drenched dining room is a prime example of gainage.  Look closely at the photos below, and you'll see that his dining room's shell corner niche was completely covered in the same velvet that was applied to the walls.  And gainage beds can be found in a number of country houses in the U.K., including Dumfries House and Houghton Hall.  (I'm not sure if British craftsmen refer to this type of upholstery as gainage.  Perhaps they have an English term for it.)

Of course, not all gainage is as elaborate as fabric-wrapped state beds or corner niches.  Look at those David Hicks wall brackets, below, that were covered in the same claret-colored velvet that graced the room's walls.  Fabric-covered brackets are perhaps a more manageable way to indulge in the art of gainage.  (I know a clever New York designer who executed his own gainage brackets, which are most becoming.)  Or, you could simply hunt for an antique or vintage gainage table or cabinet.  The beauty of an old fabric-wrapped piece is that its fabric, likely velvet or silk, has patina, which only adds to the allure of gainage. 

Two different examples of gainage beds, which were designed by Juan Pablo Molyneux.

Two views of Alberto Pinto's dining room.  This has to be one of design history's most memorable dining rooms.

Both the walls and molding in this Georges Geffroy-decorated room were covered in green velvet.

Dumfries House's famous Chippendale bed, whose canopy cresting is covered entirely in blue damask. 

An early eighteenth-century tester bed in the Wentworth Bedroom of Milton, a country house in Cambridgeshire.  Recently restored, the bed is covered in a silk damask that is based on the bed's original fabric.

This William Kent-designed bed is located in the aptly-named Green Velvet Bedchamber at Houghton Hall.  The double-shell motif is a reference to Venus.

In this David Hicks-designed room, claret-colored velvet brackets match the room's walls.



Images #1 and #2 from Veranda, July-August issue; #7 from Town & Country, Harry Cory Wright photographer; #8 from The English Country House; #9 from English Country House Interiors; #10 from David Hicks Style and Design

Behind the Velvet Walls

I still can't get Alberto Pinto: Table Settings out of my head. I've already told you how gorgeous the photos are and how enviable Pinto's collection of china, linens, and flatware is. But there is one image in particular that really caught my eye: that of Pinto's dining room. Is it because of the table? The Rose topiary? Yes, and yes. But what really makes this room so memorable to me are those green velvet covered walls. Pinto even covered the shell niches with the fabric! The way the light hits it, it almost looks radioactive.

One might argue that Pinto really gilded the lily with his use of velvet on walls and niches, and perhaps he did. There is a very fine line between fabulous and frightful when that much velvet is involved. And to some of us, copious amounts of green velvet bring to mind images of Scarlett O'Hara in her curtain dress...or Carol Burnett in her Bob Mackie curtain-rod version. But in this case, I think it's pretty terrific. Both the setting and the furnishings are right for this kind of luxury. Would it work in a late 1960s high rise in Buckhead? Probably not. But in an elegant Paris dwelling? Yes. In fact, here are some other examples of velvet clad rooms, all of which happen to be in France.



Both the walls and the crown molding were dressed in moss green velvet.



Dove gray velvet walls were made even more elegant with that embroidered valance.



The Paris living room of Raymond Guest as decorated by Emilio Terry. That bold rug gave an edge to an otherwise proper room.



Love the velvet walls, green velvet chair, and leopard print velvet sofa. Too much? Not in my book.



If velvet is too fancy for you, how about corduroy? Corduroy sofa, corduroy walls, and corduroy curtains. I suppose it's no surprise that this Paris apartment was owned by an American. Corduroy is, in a way, like the American version of velvet.

(Top image from Alberto Pinto: Table Settings by Alberto Pinto, Giorgio Baroni photographer; other images from The Finest Rooms in France)

Alberto Pinto Table Settings

You know how I have lamented on more than one occasion that very few books on table settings come close to my much loved Tiffany books? Well, enough of the doom and gloom, because I have found a book that I believe rivals those by John Loring. (Sacrilege, I know.) If, like me, you are transported by images of beautiful tables, then buy, borrow, or even steal Alberto Pinto's new book, Alberto Pinto: Table Settings (Rizzoli). I kid you not- the photos of Pinto's table creations will positively enchant you.

My favorite Pinto table settings are those in his super stylish and somewhat opulent Paris home. This is where he uses his enviable collection of antique china, linen (including a tablecloth embroidered with the Bonaparte monogram), and crystal. His stash seems limitless, so it's no wonder that he has an amazing china closet filled to the brim with plates, tureens, and tea services. But, if you prefer a more casual approach to decorating your table, then you will probably be inspired by his tables in more laid-back settings like Morocco or various seaside locales.

I really think that you'll be as wowed as I was while reading the book. While you're mulling over your decision to buy it or waiting on your copy to arrive, here are a few images to whet your appetite.


Dinner is served in Pinto's sepia toned dining room.



A collection of rock-crystal pieces hold court with Baccarat stemware.



Teatime in Paris includes an 18th century faux-bois tea service and a porcelain macaw.



A more casual setting, this time overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.



Back to Paris and Pinto's porcelain collection including famille rose china and 17th c. Compagnie des Indes porcelain magots. The moss covered orchids were designed by Bruno Roy whose floral work is featured prominently in the book.

(Photo credits: Photo #1 by Giorgio Baroni; #2 by Jean Pierre Peersman; #3, #4, and #5 by Jacques Pepion. All images courtesy of Alberto Pinto: Table Settings by Alberto Pinto with text by Dane McDowell; Rizzoli, 2010.)