Timothy Corrigan is a master at fusing an improbable pairing—European refinement and casual California chic—into a magical mix, expressing a sophisticated polish that is also unfailingly generous and warm. “Comfort is so much more than how something feels when you sit on it,” says Corrigan, who has split his time between Los Angeles and France for more than 30 years. “Comfort is also a state of mind. The most beautiful room in the world isn’t really a success if it’s not comfortable.”
A powder room in Timothy Corrigan’s home in the French countryside is papered in an antique design that inspired his new Corail Leaf Trellis wallpaper.
FRANCIS HAMMOND
It’s no surprise that each of Corrigan’s collections for Schumacher has been a runaway success, and his latest debut is as packed with beauty as ever. The new fabrics and wallpapers range widely across textures, patterns, and scales, but are united by a nuanced color sensibility. “We chose colors that aren’t easily described,” Corrigan says. “Is it blue or is it green? Is it pink or is it peach? The hues read differently depending on the light, and I love their complexity. They play well with others, but you don’t become easily bored with or overwhelmed by them.”
Elegant and opulent with a touch of whimsy, Jardin de Louis is a richly detailed cotton brocade featuring a pattern of fruit, flowers, trees, and castles. Photographed at Gill & Lagodich Gallery.
KEVIN KERR
A fantastic, fanciful cotton brocade, Jardin de Louis was inspired by an antique document Corrigan purchased at auction in Paris. The original textile—an exquisite silk lampas—once framed the windows of Louis XV’s personal chambers at Versailles, which overlooked the palace’s magnificent gardens. Corrigan’s version has a rich, heavy weight and a lighthearted pattern, all whimsical châteaux and blowsy blooms.
Fruits de Saison is a painterly, large-scale botanical pattern featuring trees laden with ripening fruits of all kinds. “It gives you a sense of abundance—you can’t help but smile,” Corrigan says. “It’s big and bold but doesn’t feel like too much because of the lovely, soft treatment of the three different colorways.”
In a light-filled living room at the Château de Chevallerie, Corrigan’s 18th-century home in France’s Loire Valley, the designer paired plush upholstery with finely detailed antique accents. Citron-hued curtains, fashioned from Corrigan’s own Château Silk Damask, frame a view of the verdant gardens.
XAVIER BÉJOT
Corail Leaf Trellis wallpaper was inspired by another of Corrigan’s plum archival finds: two rolls of 19th-century French wallpaper scored at Paris’s legendary marché aux puces. The original papers now hang in a powder room in Corrigan’s Loire Valley château, but they’ve given rise to this fetching mid-scale, allover design of coral, fern fronds, and flowers. “The regularity of the pattern makes it easy to use,” Corrigan says, “but the irregularity of the coral branching this way and that keeps it feeling fresh.” Subtle metallic accents give the wallpaper a shimmer of glamour.
Two of Corrigan’s existing, ever-popular Schumacher patterns are now available in enchanting new colorways: the botanical Huntington Gardens in delicate pinks and blues, and the leopard-print Madeleine Velvet in a duo of dusty pastels.
Timothy Corrigan at the Château de Chevallerie, his newly restored home in the French countryside. The designer chronicles the renovation process in a new book, At Home in France: Inspiration and Style in Town and Country.
Always on the hunt for his next creative endeavor, Corrigan has also just released his third book, At Home in France: Inspiration and Style in Town and Country. The tome is a trove of information and inspiration, showcasing not just Corrigan’s personal residences but also offering the inside scoop on Paris’s must-visit design destinations, tips for decorating à la française, and much more. It’s an homage to Corrigan’s carefully considered approach to transforming spaces into exquisite accumulations.
“I like to design rooms that don’t tell all their secrets in the first five minutes, rooms in which you continue to experience the small moments,” Corrigan says. “Luxury is in the details.”
