Morristown decorator offers fine European draperies, tapestries

Elegant Italian and French designer fabrics meet conservative household budgets, when an enterprising decorator’s business in Morristown brings the two together beautifully.

From her home, Isabelle LHuillier Harmonay makes sure her customers have access to the finest in draperies and tapestries — many of which have adorned Europe’s most elegant palaces.

Printed velvets and stunning woven tapestries are among her most treasured offerings. Harmonay made good use of her French and Italian connections and created an e-commerce website to showcase her home furnishings, www.KenisaHome.com, two years ago, when she left her job in Manhattan to stay closer to home.

One unique line of products she’s particularly proud of is wall tapestries, and also table throws, imported from France. Created by Jules Pansu, they bear the likeness of legendary paintings by Pablo Picasso and Henri Rousseau, among others. The tapestries, made with the agreement of the artists’ estates, make stunning wall art, either framed or hung freely. They also make magnificent throws and start at about $400. Larger versions sell for more than $2,000. Each is signed by the artist’s foundation, verifying authenticity.

“The company that does these tapestries has been doing it for over 100 years,’’ she said. “They’ve done weaving for royalty and for the White House. The fact that I go straight to them, that’s why the price is so good.”

Kenisa Home drapes and finished goods are sourced directly from leading design houses and fabric mills in France and Italy. The draperies she sells are manufactured in New York and are simple and ready to hang. And, because they’re not custom, they aren’t permanent.

“This concept is everywhere in Europe,” said Harmonay, 51, who has decades of experience in the home fashion industry. “But here, to have French-made draperies, you’d have to have them custom made.”

Born and raised in West Africa’s Ivory Coast, she studied in the south of France and traveled Europe as a young adult. Her career as a sales director for Stark, an upscale, Manhattan-based fabric and furniture company, brought her to Europe often.

Through her website, she offers 50 proprietary styles of luxury ready-to-hang draperies and more than 900 branded finished goods, including complete lines of bedding, pillows and accessories. Bedding from the south of France is exclusive to her company, she says, and the work has her visiting Europe about twice a year to search for new products.

Through her business, Harmonay says she’s filled a niche in the drapery business.

In the U.S., she saw a need for a cross between elegance and practicality.

For customers who want flexibility, she said, “you can adjust the width the way you want it. And if you move, you take your window treatment with you.”

All of the draperies are fully lined with grommets or French pleats, every single fabric comes straight from France or Italy, and most orders arrive within a few days, she said.

“It gives you a very elegant, sophisticated look,” she said. “In France, we want everything high quality, but we want to live in it, to be able to open and close a window to keep the heat in. We want everything working, as well as looking pretty.”

Throws, pillows and bedding are all available on the site. Throws range in price from $200 to more than $800, while draperies range from $299 to more than $500. Five hundred-thread-count bedding sets, manufactured in the north of France, range in price from just over $300 to more than $1,500.

Harmonay draws on her international experiences to bring uniqueness to her clients. “I have a love of different looks,’’ she said. “The colors of Africa, the really polished elegance of France and all that I learned from America.”

Harmonay offers free design consultations online. Prospective customers email a photo of the room they are decorating. “I’ll send a questionnaire,” she explained. “Then I’ll send them color boards and we do most of the consulting through email.’’

She offers decorators and architects an additional 15 to 20 percent discount.

The business has been a dream come true for Harmonay, who treasures her ability to care for her home and family while remaining active in the field she loves.

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