Peter Dunham is coming to New York. Known as the textile king of Hollywood, ELLE DECOR’s A-list interior designer has been bringing a signature English-meets-LA style from his Los Angeles base since 2003. Now he’s making a splash on the East Coast in the form of a 3,400-square-foot showroom at the famed New York Design Center at 200 Lexington Avenue. “For me, it’s always New York… and honestly, I wish I’d done it sooner,” Dunham tells ELLE DECOR.
The space, which opens August 19, will feature a mix of products from Dunham’s Hollywood at Home and Peter Dunham Textiles brands. Walking in, it’s like stepping into one of Dunham’s projects: the words that spring to mind are opulence, joie de vivre, vintage inspiration and a boisterous love of color and pattern.
Front and center is a selection of prints and weaves that are signature Dunham. His cult-favorite Fig Leaf print adorns the walls—complemented, among other outdoor furniture, by a textured beige Hollywood at Home Rush Club chair (covered in Nawab). Further back, there’s a dark green cabinet full of indoor-outdoor poufs, a huge collection of pattern-happy pillows (Dunham, the Brit, calls them Cushions), and a wall of fabric samples that you can hardly walk past without touching, including his latest Shani textile collection, inspired by Indian block prints.
For Dunham, the showroom is proof that he believes in the tactile experience despite the decline of brick-and-mortar retail. “We want our customers to be able to touch, feel and test the quality and comfort we offer,” he adds.
As you walk along, you’ll see lamps, a four-poster bed with a 100 percent alpaca duvet made by Peruvian hand weavers, and even the odd cowhide chair (yes, there’s also the Carmania weave he used for the walls of his own Paris apartment!). In some ways, it’s the ideal, store-sized embodiment of Dunham’s decades-long commitment to the art of good fabric making.
If you’re not sure what to expect yet, just prepare yourself for an unforgettable journey into Dunham’s creative process. “I layered the showroom the way I design a space,” says the designer. “It’s a mix of everything that makes me happy: art, accessories, vintage items, my own designs mixed with artisan collaborations,” says the designer.
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Stacia Datskovska, Assistant Digital Editor at ELLE DECOR, covers design, decor, and architecture with an eye for trends and culture in general. She has written for USA Today, the Boston Globe, Teen Vogue, Apartment Therapy, and more.