Donghia showplace

Reflecting the Italian heritage of its founder with an eye toward fashion, Donghia is a one-stop resource for designers.

A high-end source for furniture, textiles and accessories, Donghia recently moved into an expanded showroom in the Holsum Lofts building on West Charleston Boulevard.

According to the company, entering the new showroom will be like entering into a fabulous residence with decorated rooms that flow into one another. It allows the opportunity to truly showcase a complete Donghia lifestyle.

A grand opening celebration is planned for February.

Leslie Mack, showroom operations manager, said before the move they weren't able to display any furniture and only had a few racks of textiles. In the expanded space, they are able to display a variety of upholstery and furnishings for the living room, dining room and bedroom, which are showcased in small vignettes, as well as feature samples of a greater number of textiles.

"It really has a good feel to it -- a lot of character," she said of the new showroom.

Open solely to the trade, Donghia specializes in high-end home décor. In addition to its own designs, the company offers fabrics by Bergamo, Brentano Calvin and Castel, Townsend Leather, Boyd Lighting, drapery hardware by The Bradley Collection and wallcoverings by Élitis, Maya Romanoff and Weitzner, among others.

Like pieces of a puzzle, the lines complement each other and work together to express Donghia's vision of lifestyle inspired by its surroundings, said a company spokesperson.

For those that do not have an interior designer, Mack said they do have a referral list at the showroom, along with a list of workrooms for custom upholstery and drapery.

Mary Rose Grippe, a sales representative specializing in hospitality and commercial design, said the furniture designs are transitional in style, using the classic designs of company founder Angelo Donghia and giving them a modern flair, particularly in regards to fabrics.

A much sought-after designer in New York during the 1970s and '80s, Angelo Donghia worked with many celebrities and in numerous landmarks. According to company history, though Donghia was an interior designer, he entered the home-furnishings market because he found a lack of innovative, quality products to use in his interiors. His creative vision prompted him to launch a textile firm, called Vice Versa that was later renamed Donghia Textiles.

A few years later, he began offering his original upholstery designs to others through his self-named furniture company. After success with the upholstery, wood case pieces were added to the collection, all of which used centuries-old construction techniques. Grippe said all of the company's furniture designs are carefully crafted with hand-tied springs, solid hardwood frames with wood joints and dowels. No nails or screws are used to make the heirloom-quality pieces, she said, which also have features such as hidden hinges and self-closing drawers.

"The key inspiration for Donghia is making things that will last and creating beautiful designs," she said.

After selling both textiles and furniture from his New York City showroom, he eventually began offering cutting-edge designs from others, giving birth to a host of showrooms nationwide.

Angelo Donghia was inducted into the Interior Designers Hall of Fame in 1985, the same year he died.

In 2005, the company was purchased by Rubelli, a Venetian family business that designs and manufactures textiles.

The showroom is located at 231 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 160.