25 May 2015
Parisians tend to get it right, decoratively. Karen McCartney finds out why...
I have made something of a study of Parisian style for professional and personal reasons (by this I mean trying to find a good Airbnb in the Marais) and there are a few key findings I would like to share.
One, unfortunately, is hard for us to emulate and that is the scale, age and grandeur of some of the interiors, with their elaborate cornices, herringbone floors and floor-to-ceiling casement windows. At their stylish best these are painted soft, gradated shades of grey and emit an art gallery ambiance generated by curated furniture pieces of both ancient vintage and modernist cool.
However - take heart - I have also seen small unprepossessing garrets and ground floor apartments remade with a creative energy that definitely displays a certain savoir faire.
One was a makeover of a tiny courtyard apartment that used white to neutralise the space and introduced slices of apple green to link the interior with the external greenery. The apartment was sparsely furnished with a few well-chosen artworks. Overall it was an exercise in restraint and good taste.
The other, equally successful interior was a riot of colour, market finds and classic vintage pieces. The original warren of rooms had been opened up and the owner, who is an art director for fashion brands, had included some of his props and design experiments in the interior. This is a space that never stays still and he is constantly moving things on, even major pieces, and bringing in new finds.
What struck me about both these apartments was their ability to bring out the best in what exists, working with the bones of the space, and then within that context exercising a tremendous sense of confidence while maintaining the ability to play.
The decorative lessons I have taken out of my Parisian study are the value of having one strong decorative idea and following it through, alongside the richness an interior gains from roaming across different stylistic eras to create a new contemporary dynamic.
It is strange how the small creative moments stick in your mind. One of the apartments had a kitchen floor of rather ordinary hexagonal terracotta tiles and instead of ripping them out the owner painted an edge section with black floor paint, along with a few random ones in the centre. Suddenly a very ordinary floor had a creative flourish. Now that is chic.
Images from New Paris Style by Danielle Miller (Thames & Hudson) - find out more here.
Karen McCartney explores Paris style
Parisians tend to get it right, decoratively. Karen McCartney finds out why...
I have made something of a study of Parisian style for professional and personal reasons (by this I mean trying to find a good Airbnb in the Marais) and there are a few key findings I would like to share.
One, unfortunately, is hard for us to emulate and that is the scale, age and grandeur of some of the interiors, with their elaborate cornices, herringbone floors and floor-to-ceiling casement windows. At their stylish best these are painted soft, gradated shades of grey and emit an art gallery ambiance generated by curated furniture pieces of both ancient vintage and modernist cool.
The Paris apartment of Florence Baudoux. Image - Richard Powers.
However - take heart - I have also seen small unprepossessing garrets and ground floor apartments remade with a creative energy that definitely displays a certain savoir faire.
One was a makeover of a tiny courtyard apartment that used white to neutralise the space and introduced slices of apple green to link the interior with the external greenery. The apartment was sparsely furnished with a few well-chosen artworks. Overall it was an exercise in restraint and good taste.
Image - Richard Powers
The other, equally successful interior was a riot of colour, market finds and classic vintage pieces. The original warren of rooms had been opened up and the owner, who is an art director for fashion brands, had included some of his props and design experiments in the interior. This is a space that never stays still and he is constantly moving things on, even major pieces, and bringing in new finds.
Image - Richard Powers
What struck me about both these apartments was their ability to bring out the best in what exists, working with the bones of the space, and then within that context exercising a tremendous sense of confidence while maintaining the ability to play.
Image - Richard Powers
The decorative lessons I have taken out of my Parisian study are the value of having one strong decorative idea and following it through, alongside the richness an interior gains from roaming across different stylistic eras to create a new contemporary dynamic.
It is strange how the small creative moments stick in your mind. One of the apartments had a kitchen floor of rather ordinary hexagonal terracotta tiles and instead of ripping them out the owner painted an edge section with black floor paint, along with a few random ones in the centre. Suddenly a very ordinary floor had a creative flourish. Now that is chic.
Images from New Paris Style by Danielle Miller (Thames & Hudson) - find out more here.
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