Féau Boiseries, the Parisian Atelier That Injected Opulence Into the Gilded Age, to Open in New York
PARIS — Just because an estate or chateau falls to ruin, doesn’t mean its rooms can’t be saved. Carefully removing and preserving wall panels from estates and palaces and replicating them with masterful French savoir faire is what has driven the Féau Boiseries’ popularity in the upper echelons of society for the past 150 years.
During Paris Déco Off that ran Jan 15. to 18, the design community gravitated to the family-run atelier, just a few steps from the Arc de Triomphe. Amid the floors dusty with specks of oak, guests were invited to explore old and new designs, while a gilder named Stéphanie was brushing golden dust softly onto a fanciful molded oak design. This is just one example of how this fabled firm is preserving French artisan techniques that would otherwise be forgotten.
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With this meticulous creative flair that has endured many decor epochs, the Féau family’s atelier infused French opulence into the homes of the Vanderbilts, Fords and the Gettys during the Gilded Age, and in modern times continues to outfit contemporary homes and conjure the interest of the fashion world. Before Karl Lagerfeld‘s death, the firm remodeled the suites of the H?tel de Crillon under his stewardship and with the help of visionary architect and designer Aline Asmar d’Amman. Féau Boiseries has also sold rooms from its own private collection to museums — most recently a dining room designed in 1925 by Art Deco designer Jacques-émile Ruhlmann for 19th century press baron Harold Sidney Harmsworth, Lord Rothermere. Today, its walls and pillars sit in the Louvre Abu Dhabi, along with a 17th-century ceiling, from the Louis XIV era, adorned with an allegorical painting.
“People think that when a house is torn down, the room is lost, but when it’s beautifully done it’s always reused by other people and there is a special market for this, that dates back to the 17th century,” Guillaume Féau told WWD in an interview. “Just because a new owner hired a new designer of an 18th century chateau for example and a new architect is recreating a new style . . . these panelings are not going into the garbage,” he added.
The firm was started 150 years ago by Charles Fournier, a decorator who specialised in decorative painting and gilding and who rose to the fore during the Belle époque, creating fanciful boiserie decor in ornate neo-18th-century style. He set up his workshop in Rue Laugier, where the workshop is still thriving.
Interior decorator Raymond Grellou, also passionate about boiserie, purchased his company from Fournier in 1917 and began adding geometric Art Deco design. In 1963 he sold it to Guy and Jo?l Féau. Guy had been the assistant of Jean Pascaud, a famous proponent of Art Deco and Jo?l worked for Maison Jansen when its then president, Stéphane Boudin, redesigned the White House for the Kennedys.
Guillaume has been running the company with his sister Angélique Féau-Leborgne since the ’90s and the two are currently grooming the third generation to take on more responsibility with the company.
The future is full of opportunities, Guillaume said in the interview, adding that the atelier will be opening a showroom in New York’s D&D Building building located on 3rd and 58th in March or April of this year. After all, since the industrial boom, America’s rich and famous families relied on French taste and know-how to outfit their homes with the sort of Neoclassical flair found in the palaces of France. While the Gilded Age and its families have lost some of their luster, there is a wide-open market that awaits them in the Big Apple, he said
“I think we need to show big U.S. clients what we can do in America. And I think a lot of clients, big designers and architects need to know that we have an office permanently in New York,” he pointed out.
About 98 percent of the family’s business is generated by the production and sale of replicas — full rooms range in price from about 350,000 to over 550,000 euros each. The Féaus have been approached by potential buyers, but as of right they now have no need to sell.
“We are pretty strong. We own our real estate and we have a lot of real estate in Paris. We have a 20,000-square-foot space in the center of Paris, which is not something easy to get. We have many warehouses and we have our own collection without having to ask for anything from a bank,” he said, reminiscing about how far he’s come and where he started. He took his first job at the company at only 14 years old, a gig that involved slowly and carefully removing paintings from old panelings without losing any of the natural color. His son Leo’s first job was assisting project managers so he could learn how wood-paneled rooms were dismantled, built and assembled. “They fit together like pieces of a puzzle,” said the younger Féau, who is headed to take on a sales manager position, flanking Anthony Fournier, the company’s chief operating officer who will also run the New York operations.
Angélique’s son Paul is already working inside the firm as an assistant to its curator.
Leo reminisces about major projects like a room they installed for an exhibition about the return to Antique Revival which was designed by 18th century Neoclassical architect and decorator Fran?ois-Joseph Bélanger and which was installed at the Chateau de Rambouillet. “You have to imagine that from the archive of Bélanger we were able to understand how he created around 200 designs with his special techniques that would otherwise have disappeared,” Leo said. A signature of Bélanger was among other things known for his fanciful designs of painted paper on a wooden frame with caryatid figures.
Leo also showcased the facade of the suites of Lagerfeld designs in the H?tel de Crillon — an 18th century double door that were originally designed for the Royal Opera House of Bordeaux by another 18th century architect, Victor Louis. “The originals had a little garland of flowers right underneath the head of Apollo, but Karl didn’t want the flowers because he thought they were a bit too much.”
Guillaume said the late fashion designer’s knowledge of design and decor was incredible.
“I was listening to him one day at a meeting and he was a man of great culture. He knew everything about the 18th century, the people and how they spent their time. He had some beautiful paneled rooms in his inventory for many years that he never used and he decided to get rid of them so I bought those rooms,” Guillaume said. “He was very passionate. He was a master.”
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