A Tour of Bunny Williams' shop: Treillage
Blue is big at Treillage
Come with me on a little tour of the shop Treillage in New York City, owned by Bunny Williams and John Rosselli. With my gracious new friend, New York City interior designer and blogger Tamara Matthews-Stephenson of Nest by Tamara fame, we found unique and beautiful juxtapositions everywhere in the shop. I love shops where my eye is drawn toward different vignettes and tableaux, one more beautiful than the last. Treillage is full of unique and charming pieces I wanted to take home.
I’m not sure if the styling was intentional or not, but the fresh blue in the vignette above is set off by reds and oranges and brings to mind her Kips Bay Showhouse 2009 All-in-One room. I know there was a controversy over the red chair, but I like it myself. My eye zooms right to the red chair and then meanders around the room, taking in all the details. A blue, red and yellow color scheme is one of my favorites.
Bunny Williams Kips Bay 2009 All-in-One Room
This framed tile mural from Spain caught my eye with its fine detail and riot of color – and birds, I love birds! I’d love to hang it where I could see it everyday. It is haunting me, it would look wonderful in my lanai or kitchen. You can just see a little of Tamara on the side.
closeup of Spanish tile mural
If wishes were dishes, I’d have an entire room set aside just for china. I love to mix and match to create different place settings; it spices up the table, just like seating unknown guests next to each other. Sometimes you just have to experiment and see what happens!
Placemats edged with a row of circles
This table setting is interesting yet understated, and it would not overshadow the food, important for a foodie like me. Aren’t these Greek Key Hurricanes marvelous? The compotes are sitting on French hand-painted Limoge porcelain plates. The flatware is pretty wonderful too.
One of the things I love about Bunny Williams’ style is how she uses color. Triadic color schemes are one of my favorites because they feel so well balanced. The neutral seating gives the eye a place to rest and the touch of blue helps turn down the temperature. The plant in the Chinese urn reminds me of a boiled egg in a cup, a touch of whimsy, or maybe I’m just hungry!
love these Indian hand embroidered pillows!
I have a small collection of blue and white Chinese pottery and could easily go overboard. The designs painted on these vases are striking!
blue and white, and birds
This is a set of 18, Boch Vieux Luxembourg plates from the 18th Century. There’s something so fresh about blue and white.
antique plates
Can you believe these tangerines are not real? This Tromp-l’oeil tangerine dish is extremely realistic. My eye is certainly fooled, how about yours?
no they are not real!
Purples, greens, and gold, backlit with blue, another luscious color combination. Sparkle always catches my eye too.
Here’s a closeup of the silver fluted flute vase/votive holder that Tamara and I both liked.
texture and sparkle
The petal-like footed bowls hold a glass insert so they would make charming candle holders as well as compote dishes. I have a set of blue glass compotes from Spain that I confess I don’t use often, but nevertheless, I love looking at how they glow in my china cabinet.
The number of patterns here is amazing but restricting the colors makes them play nicely together.
a masterful use of pattern and texture
It seems every store we visited that day featured a stone deer, but none so attractive as this deer from France (circa 1890) with its peaceful, regal air. The gilt faux bois mirror is perfect with the deer on the rough hewn console, an elegant rustic luxe look.
much nicer than just the head on the wall
Who could resist looking at their reflection in this star mirror? Love that chandelier too!
An antique armoire with interesting lines, although I prefer curves with straight lines. More interesting to me are the chairs with their beautiful backs that incorporate both straight and curved lines.
antique armoire being held for a famous designer
I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour of Treillage. To see more, you can visit them at their two locations in NYC. I visited the shop on Lexington but next time I’m in NYC, I’m making it a point to visit the shop on East 75th.
A profile of Treillage (the E. 75th St. shop) in New York Magazine states: With exposed beam ceilings, huge skylights, and the soothing sound of running water from an indoor fountain, this expansive space feels more like a sanctuary than a home and garden design store. Co-owners Bunny Williams, an interior designer, and John Rosselli, an antiques dealer, met while attending the Chelsea Flower show in London, where they bonded over a mutual dissatisfaction with how difficult it was to find lovely things for the garden. In 1991, they opened Treillage in a former nineteenth-century blacksmith shop. Today, they fill the rooms with a mix of new and antique furniture (cast-iron tables, hand-carved limestone birdbaths, Chippendale garden chairs), lighting (copper-and-glass hand-blown lanterns, porcelain lamps, scrollwork sconces), urns, finials, topiary forms, and an assortment of vases and pots. While the staff is generally attentive, service can be a bit fickle on busy days. And they have much to keep them busy: They’ve been featured in Elle Decor, House & Garden, and Martha Stewart Living and have an impressive clientele (including Oscar de la Renta) rooted in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. — Bree Sposato
You can also shop online at www.treillageonline.com.
business card (on top of fabric)
My Facebook & Twitter friend Tobi Fairley of Tobi Fairley Interior Design featured Bunny Williams recently in a series of blogposts about her books and designs complete with a contest to win her books. I already own Bunny Williams’ Point of View so I entered the contest hoping to win An Affair With a House but alas it was not to be; guess it’s time to pull out my credit card!
The next day I visited John Rosselli Antiques, which I’ll be blogging about soon. I have a love affair going with blue and white Asian pottery and could barely pull myself away!
from John Rosselli Antiques
jeff…
[…]m I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good. I ly[…]…
Anne, Fabulous post on a lovely shop, I loved all the photos and descriptions! You made me want to visit sometime and definitely look up Bunny’s books. thanks!
If you’re still on the fence: grab your favorite earphones, head down to a Best Buy and ask to plug them into a Zune then an iPod and see which one sounds better to you, and which interface makes you smile more. Then you’ll know which is right for you.
Deep post I enjoyed it. Someone else once said: Books are never finished, They are merely abandoned.
Hi Anne,
I’ve always wanted to visit Bunny Williams’ shop and now I feel like at least a fly on wall by the great glimpse you gave me into all the treasures available. Hope to visit Treillage next time I am in NYC. Keep up the great work!!
Christine
Hi Christine (aka GlamaMama), I always wanted to visit NYC and see the great shops. So many design resources in NY! I’m glad you liked the virtual shopping! xo Anne
Terrific post. I found it to be very informative and gave me the information I was looking for. Will come again – thanks for the tips.
I’m glad you liked it!
Excellent job.
Thanks!
Wow! That’s a lot of helpful information! If only I had the time to read ALL of them.
Wonderful tour Anne; thank you. I go to NYC strictly for fun the first week of December but have not been to Treillage. I will have to visit next time now that you have introduced me!!
Lucky you, Sarah, to have a fun week in NYC! Thanks for touring Treillage with me. When you go, I’d love to see what new goodies they have in store!
Anne, thank you so much for all the nice things you have said about Treillage. I work at the 75th Street location and hope you’ll come and visit us the next time you are in NY. Best regrds, Scott
Scott, I would love to come visit the 75th St. Treillage and meet you! Wishing I could get to NY more often! Anne
Wow Anne, I really love your writing style! It is an absolutely charming post and I so enjoyed taking your delightful tour at 1am in my “jammies”!!!!
Coming from you, Marcy, that means a lot! Thanks for taking my tour in your “jammies”! xoAnne
Anne, what can I say other than to praise you for that wonderful blog post. You are truly a gifted writer and I enjoyed taking the tour of Treillage with you.
I think the red chair was great addition too. 😉
Bry, I’m glad I’m you like the red chair too. Thanks for coming along with me! xo Anne
Ooooh! Aaaah! Great photos, Anne, with delicious descriptions. I, too, love curved shapes in furniture and adornment and I favor the triadic color schemes. Thanks for the tour. Can’t wait for the John Rosselli Antiques tour.
So glad you enjoyed this, Rissi, apparently we have a lot in common! You will love all the gorgeous John Rosselli antiques!
Wow! Where do I start? I have never been to NYC – on my wish list someday.. maybe after I get a chance to see everything here in San Francisco first? Thanks for taking all of us along on your trip – like you, I was drooling over all of the china and tablescapes (my favorite thing to rearrange in my house too!), the Greek Key style hurricanes were stunning, and who could possibly resist all of the mixing of colors, time periods, styles – everything works!
Great Post!
Thanks, Caron, for coming along on my trip to Treillage! With our busy lives, I have to wonder if we love changing tablescapes because it’s the quickest, easiest way to freshen up our homes.
So much to love in your sneak peak of Treillage. I will have to stop in during my next city day.
Favorites are the beautiful tablescapes – I do love to set a table and need a full room for china too! Can’t get over the greek key hurricanes – want these.
I missed the deer trend, but have so many tromping and chomping their way through my garden that I think I will pass on statues to remind me of them!
I hear you about the real deer chomping in your garden, Catherine, we see them a lot near our house and they do eat flowers (which is why my flowers are inside my screen!) Happy to hear you are a fellow china aficionado! I hope the Greek key hurricanes are still there, I didn’t see them on the website so you might want to call. xo Anne
You girls sure know how to have fun! I have her “Affair’ book but have never seen the interior of her store. Thanks for pointing out so many beautiful details. Walking, Shopping & Touring New York City with Anne & Tamara. On my list!
xo Lisa
Lisa, we should have worn sneakers we walked so much. Tamara is very knowledgeable about NYC and was a fabulous guide! xo Anne
Love the article; made me feel like I was there shopping with you!
That’s exactly what I hoped for, thanks Beryn!
So happy to be the first leaving a comment. Anne I love how you are stretching your NYC visit into a few posts with attention to detail of all the activities you took in. This intensive look at my fave shop, Treillage, is wonderful and may inspire others to stop in. So many times in the City you hurry by store windows and never pop in because there is simply so much to do and see in NY, but this feature gives that attention to the beautiful details that are in every nook and cranny of this fabulous shop! Great post! best, Tamara
Tamara, it is fitting you’re the first, because I would never have seen all the places we visited if you hadn’t been my NYC guide. I hope it does inspire others to visit Treillage, there are just too many lovely and unique things not to stop in. Bunny Williams is one of my very favorite designers (and yours) so we certainly enjoyed her shop! Thanks for your kudos! xo Anne