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14 Trompe L’Oeil Decor Ideas That Will Fool Your Guests

From a faux marble daybed to an imitation French door, these fanciful furnishings are sure to deceive the eye

ByHannah Martin

March 30, 2016

Photo: Maurizio Galante

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As the story goes, around 400 B.C. a Greek painter named Zeuxis produced a still life so convincing that birds flew down to peck at the painted grapes. Admiring such skill, another artist named Parrhasius asked Zeuxis to judge one of his own paintings, which was stowed behind tattered curtains in his studio. Zeuxis went to pull back the curtains, but he could not—they were part of the painting. Such examples of trompe l’oeil—ortricks of the eye—have cropped up throughout history, from 18th-century ceilings painted to look like magnificent domes to Rene Magritte’s The Human Condition to Peter Fischli and David Weiss’s convincing polyurethane re-creations of the mundane objects in their studio. Since Piero Fornasetti began applying the technique to furnishings in the 1960s—famously creating a dinner plate that appeared to hold a fish, and a folding screen that resembled shelves of books—designers have been employing the style in even more inventive ways. Here, we’ve collected 14 examples of modern trompe l’oeil that are just as deceiving as their predecessors.

Shown: Upholstered in digitally printed fabric,Maurizio GalanteandTal Lancman’sMies Visit Carrera daybed is much more comfortable than it looks; price upon request.maurizio-galante.com
Photo: Courtesy of Maitland-Smith

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Alexa Hampton’scast-resin stool forMaitland-Smithappears to be draped in fabric, mimicking a neoclassical English design; $1,347.maitland-smith.com
Photo: Courtesy of Valtex Group

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Painted-porcelain Trompe L’oeil plates byScully & Scullyfool the eye with their three-dimensional snacks; $350 each.scullyandscully.com
Photo: Courtesy of Moroso

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If you’re expecting a timber bench, a seat onMoroso’sSoft Wood sofa will be a pleasant surprise; it’s made from cushy, polyurethane foam; $7,790.moroso.it

Photo: Courtesy of Henzel Studio

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This New Zealand wool rug byHenzel Studiois modeled after an Anselm Reyle artwork made of foil; $18,400 for 100" x 126" rug.henzelstudio.com
Photo: Courtesy of Fornasetti

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Bring modernist architecture into your home withFornasetti’sprinted and lacquered Scaletta screen; $9,520.fornasetti.com
Valtex Group

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This cotton chair cover fromValtex Groupturns any old seat into a classic Thonet bistro chair; $70.valtex-group.com