Benjamin Dhong Interiors

Over a cocktail last night, naturally lol, I was curious about my Artificial Intelligence app. So I asked it to “write a 100 word poem in the style of Shakespeare about cars and horses”

In 30 seconds it wrote this. What do you think?

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Upon this day, when autumn's leaves are gold,
I weave a tale of horses strong and bold.
In ancient times, their steely hooves did trot,
Through fields and forests, none could be forgot.

But now, a new creation takes the stage,
With wheels and horns, the modern world engage.
The car, a beast that roars with thunderous might,
Speeds through the streets, a vision in the night.

Yet still, our hearts yearn for the days of yore,
When horses galloped freely evermore.
For deep within our souls, a truth remains,
A love for creatures that bear noble reins.

So let us honor horses and cars alike,
In symmetry they stand, a timeless strike.

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Remembering those who continue to Protect us All 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🙏🙏

Initial Designs for a young surfer…Malibu with a Tibet vibe.

Lots of TEXTURE, historical references, relaxed upholstery, tribal fabrics…and of course Wallpaper! 🌊🏄‍♀️🐅

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I am sadly parting with this gorgeous sideboard.

I purchased it from a French Antique dealer about 10 years ago.

Although an antique, it would look amazing in a modern setting, hotel or restaurant.

Both C. Mariani Antiques and Antonio’s Bella Casa said that they had never seen such a beautiful example of Art Moderne. craftsmanship. Its sumptuously restrained lines can be both traditional or modern.

Gilded accents, mirrored base, Cream colored Marble top.

If you are unsure if it can work in your home or project, text me and I can advise.

120” x 20” x 40”

$12,000

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I’m honored to be bringing the best American designers to England next year for a private tour and Symposium on 18th century Chinese wallpaper and chinoiserie in the Stately Homes.

I don’t know how I conjured this up but de Gournay, Curators from Bright Pavilion, the V&A, and the National Trust are participating along with coverage by Veranda Magazine!

I’m quite proud that nothing like this has ever been done before! And mostly done with Instagram in my pajamas on the couch! 😂



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Custom carved mirror by the talented Peter Werkhoven for Sony CEO.

I wanted to bring life to this corner with a cozy banquette and made it tufted and lower profile to make it more elegant.
Commissioned a Wade Hoefer cloud painting to add a bit of Dreaminess! ☁️☁️

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In light of the Horrors going on in the Middle East, I am especially proud and honored to be part of the interior architecture and designs for a new ground-up Chabad House at Stanford University.

EVERYONE deserves to gather, commune and share meals in peace without fear of violence. ✡️✝️☪️☮️

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Art Lover. Honey and Roy de Forrest.

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Thanks to 3-D Printing our Chinoiserie Bar will soon have a HAT!

Hand carving our Pagoda top would have cost $18k so we are 3-D printing it for under $4k. Then Ann Getty’s decorative painter will do her Magic and none will be the Wiser except for a Happy Husband! 🏮🏮

BOO! 👻👻👻

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🎃

Thank you Alexis Traina and de Gournay for my own stationary for texting inspired by our SF Fall Show Vignette!! 💙💙

Now I can send very classy APOLOGY texts out!! 😂😂

When I text I try to be as expressive as possible and have been limited to emojis… But now with High Notes I’m able to send a wide variety of gorgeous texts with lots of different stationery to choose from… But of course the best ones are from de Gournay!!

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Bubblies with Aunt Suzanna for Scott Powell’s new book on Frances Elkins with France’s Elkins in attendance!

A visionary designer,
For her clients, she brought a modern European chic as well as a melding of the best of American, English, French,, Asian and Mexican traditions. A talented furniture and fabric designer as well as interior designer, she collaborated with many luminaries, including Frank; architects Adler, Gardner Dailey, and William Wurster; weaver Dorothy Liebes; decorator Syrie Maugham; the artist Bruton sisters; and furniture maker Myron Oliver. Her carefully planned interiors were known for their distinctive sophistication and polish, and an inviting sense of comfort.

Wow! Three Projects selected by Home & Gardens UK. I would have been thrilled by just one! 😂

Home of Sony CEO, English Investment Banker and Napa Valley.

All of which we were incredibly proud of our work!

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Wow! Three Projects selected by Home & Gardens UK.

Home of Sony CEO, an English Investment Banker and Napa Valley.

All of which we were incredibly proud of our work!

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Here’s a better picture of the detail. Went through Tina’s archives of past work for Ann Getty to@come up with this whimsical medley of rocks, arched bridges, quirky trees, Pagodas of course, and the clients Labradoodle!

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Chinoiserie cabinet missing its HAT! 🎩

Have designed a Pagoda Top and Ann Getty’s decorative painter will do the honors. 💙

We surprised the client by painting in her Labradoodle!! 😹

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Thank you Alexis and Trevor Traina for yummie Pigs’n Blankets 🐖 and old school cocktails🍸 in your FABULOUS home!!😍😍😍

So happy to have finally met and

But ESPECIALLY to see the Elsie de Wolf’s faux bois furniture from Villa Trianon!!!🥰🥰🥰

When Ken Fulk isn’t killing it in the design world he’s been such a full throttled supporter of the SF Fall Show.

Ken, I WANT that jacket!! 🖤🖤🖤

Thank you Alexis for my stationery you so thoughtfully gave me from .app

Now I can thoughtfully text APOLOGY texts! 😂😂

Thank you the talented Willem Racke who created my PROSCENIUM to frame our Ara Pacis “Altar of Peace”. I envisioned the image of a curtain being pulled back to reveal our Vignette! 💙👀

Thank you Suzanne for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the Fall Show!! 💙💙💙🥰🥰🥰

Tomorrow is INSTALL DAY!

Beyond excited and a tad nervous about our Vignette for the San Francisco Fall Show!!!

However I am in amazing company with Lauren Santo Domingo, Nina Campbell, and Paolo Moschino & Philip Vergeylen also creating vignettes.

and have gifted me with the most fabulously indulgent wallcovering.

The team has been amazing.

And THANK YOU for the great honor and all your sage and wickedly funny advice!

It’s Show Time!

When you tell de Gournay you would like CLOUDS for the SF Fall Show, this is what they CONJURE up!🌞🔥🔥🔥

How dreamy to sail on the last surviving Junk on the Hong Kong Harbor! This has been the most AMAZING Adventures. All my preconceptions of China have been blown away. Isn’t that why we travel in the first place??

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Get to your airport gate in style! ✈️

You’re not a Gentleman without an umbrella…There still was a certain dignity in this fellow. 🌂🌂

Looking SHARP Gents! Greeters at a Tea Shop.

We have lost all those wonderful UNIFORMS which visually enriched our lives.

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Thank You Connie for showing me Beijing and parts of China I probably would never have seen!! China is very much focused on gathering with friends and family and your family was so welcoming!!❤️❤️❤️

Last Night in Beijing.

Will miss all the historic and lively Hutong neighborhoods.

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#北京 #旅行 #旅行記 #海外旅行 #海外旅行好きな人と繋がりたい #老北京 #胡同 #観光 #高級ホテル

As close as I will get to the army of 8000 burial soldiers AND horses as Xian Tombs of the Qin Dynasty are 600 miles away.

The burial tomb of the first Qing Dynasty Emperor.

Quite a progressive burial as earlier dynasties would sometimes sacrifice up to 20,000 people and animals to serve as serve in the afterlife.

For me it’s the horses which really fascinate me. The sculpting of the head is more stylized. So beautiful.

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#アート #世界遺産 #中国

Where are the Americans?! The “Foreign Devils”? 🙀

Saw my first in Beijing at the National Museum.

Plenty of Russians so far but no Americans. Not even at the Forbidden City.

Gweilo means "ghostly man" or "devil man". It is sometimes translated into English as "foreign devil". In Chinese, "ghost" can be a derogatory term used as a curse or an insult. The term ghost has also been used to describe other ethnic groups, for example, a 17th-century writer from Canton, Qu Dajun, wrote that Africans "look like ghosts".

Best House Museum in Beijing. My favorite museums are always house museums and Prince Gong’s Mansion certainly ranks up there with Nissim de Camondo in Paris.

At 650,000 sf it was originally constructed for Heshen, an official renowned for being the most corrupt official in Chinese history, it was later renamed after Prince Gong, a Manchu prince and influential statesman of the late Qing dynasty, who inhabited the mansion in the late 19th century.

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#1540 #1632

Look at that SCREEN? Doesn’t it seem so MODERN?

Oh how I love the fretwork Screens….they play with shadows, blur the divide between openness and closure, offer muted pattern, and display craft as architecture.

Next time I’m asked for an “open concept” home, I’m giving them a SCREEN!

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Always Happy to be in a Museum. ❤️

Mission Accomplished. ✅✅✅

Less than a week ago i got the idea of taking advantage of my business trip to China to also research the history of Chinese wallpaper in preparation for my 18th Century Chinese Wallpaper Symposium and Tour in London next year.

In those seven says somehow access was obtained from a bureaucratic Palace Administration, Veranda Magazine was onboard, and with a very helpful primer from the National Trust UK, I made the great leap! 🙏🙏🙏

I FORGOT to pack a BELT! And today is the private Forbidden City day and my black linen pants were DEFINITELY dropping with every step! 🙀🙀🙀

Ran into a produce market and the man produced this Red string. Perfect. ❤️

But I just realized that as of that morning our tour was not 100% confirmed.

I am NOT superstitious but red IS the luckiest color in Chinese culture.

As a symbol of joy, celebration, vitality, success and good fortune, It's famously used in important events such as weddings and festivals like Chinese New Year. You'll see everything from red lanterns lining the streets to red outfits and red letters pasted on doors.

Hmmm…makes one wonder! ❤️❤️

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#17

The Rock Stars of the Forbidden City.

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17 million visitors wander through the Forbidden City annually. But NO ONE ever gets to see the innermost area. Not even Palace Museum staff.

Yet a small garden in the 72-hectare complex’s northeast corner has managed to remain secreted away for the last century.

Best known as the Qianlong Garden, the 87,000-square-foot Ningshou Gong, or ‘Palace of Tranquil Longevity’, was designed and constructed by Emperor Qianlong in the 1770s as a retirement retreat to while away his golden years. A lover of the arts who was particularly fascinated with the ornate crafts of southern China, Qianlong brought in artisans to create an elaborate complex of 27 pavilions, over-the-top interiors and four courtyards studded with rockeries, grottoes and ancient trees.

Completed in 2008 after six years of meticulous work and costing US$3 million, the first finished restoration was Juanqinzhai, or the ‘Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service’, an extravagant pavilion meant for Qianlong’s total retirement pleasure. Decked out in intricate marquetry, carved jade and embroidered silk windows, it’s a dazzling illustration of the emperor’s penchant for opulence. The building’s private theatre features the Garden’s pièce de résistance: nearly 2,700 square feet of trompe l’oeil mural paintings completely covering the ceiling and walls, which were influenced by Italian Jesuit missionary and artist Giuseppe Castiglione and executed by his assistant Wang Youxue – an unlikely foreshadowing of international cooperation that has come full circle in the restoration process.

It’s considered Good Luck to touch…and it worked! Thanks to the assistance from the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, we are getting a scholarly visit to see our wallpaper!

Since I was very young I looked forward to seeing the Emperor’s throne room. However, none of these are open to viewing!

I’m in Beijing on the hunt for the history of Chinese Wallpaper for de Gournay and Veranda Magazine for my 2024 London Symposium & Tour and a potential feature.

Today I met with the foremost scholar on wallpaper here in the Forbidden City. I did not realize what a HUGE honor this was as the area that I saw today was Emperor Qianlong’s private sanctuary and will NEVER be open to the public. And even she has only been in these rooms twice!

I had realized that with all of our love of chinoiserie wallpaper, no one know has seen the original Chinese papers which were the INSPIRATION!

Armed with I questions even from the National Trust UK, I did my best!!

Unfortunately, photos are forbidden, however no worries, the Palace Museums is opening up their digital archive!



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