Ask anyone in the high-style firmament—philanthropist Annette de la Renta, Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, interior designer Michael S. Smith—to name the perfect New York City shop for romantic garden accessories, and they’d likely send you to Treillage. But after nearly 25 years of putting multitudes of stylish temptations in our way, that Manhattan institution will close its doors at the end of June.
“Treillage is this magical place in an out-of-the-way spot on the Upper East Side, which really cuts down on your foot traffic. People shop online so much more now,” says Bunny Williams, the AD100 interior designer who launched the firm in 1991 with antiques dealer and showroom leader John Rosselli, whom she later married. “Plus, it’s much harder to find great things. John and I used to be able to go to Europe and fill a container easily. Now you go around the countryside and to markets and find two or three things that you really like, and that’s just not enough.”
Because of the owners’ collective eye for the timeless and the unusual, Treillage (French for trelliswork ) swiftly became what The New York Times described as a leader in “creating home-furnishings trends rather than simply reflecting them.” Fashionable homes across the country began sprouting lichened stone urns and zinc-top pedestal tables bearing sun-bleached patinas. “I think we really inspired companies like Restoration Hardware, because low-key and well-worn really wasn’t the vogue 25 years ago,” Williams says, adding that banking heiress Bunny Mellon was a fan of Treillage’s pioneering aesthetic. Building on its early success, the shop eventually branched out with smart dinnerware, chic yet humble European and Asian antiques, and memorable gifts such as bamboo lanterns, horn cups, and a bottle opener in the shape of a hedgehog.
No need to go into retail mourning just yet though: Treillage the shop may be disappearing but Treillage the website will live on—so keep your credit card at the ready.
Treillage will be open through the end of June; 418 East 75th Street, New York.
