A Paris renovation

A client asked our design team recently, after reading our blog post, Place Dauphine: A before and after Renovation,  “Wow, how do you get all these great gigs?”  We’re the first to tell you that we pinch ourselves when these come through, because they are great gigs, and we love doing them. But how does it happen when we are an ocean away? And how can we pull off the final reveal in just a few days? And what makes a great gig anyway?

This has come to mind again as we embark on another cross ocean renovation, this time for a house in the South of France that needs a refresh.  We’ll start by revisiting the Place Dauphine renovation for a little inspiration.

So how does it work when you’re an ocean away?  It takes lots of planning, a wonderful client who shares a million pictures along the way and has faith that it will all come together, some trusted vendors in the U.S. who help us navigate the perils of metric conversions, and an amiable hometown airline, who lets us carry on multiple bags of heavy home furnishings! Oh, and did we mention, a little vision and a lot of brawn? And, in the case of Place Dauphine, strong legs that got stronger with our Parisian workout, running up and down seven flights of stairs. (The beautiful elevator was installed, by the way, but not until AFTER we finished our job!)

The gorgeous elevator that we never got to use!

So here is a glimpse of the process, from the early visits to the many emails back and forth with our client, to the final install (which included 41 pillows stuffed into multiple bags on Delta!).

The initial plans that were sent from the architect.

 

The first visit in January. Taking pictures and measurements.

After this, we started a long back and forth via email, sending inspirational images, and loads and loads of pictures of furniture selection.

Helping our client choose the furniture involved a lot of back and forth PowerPoint presentations via email.

We have often been inspired by our first apartment in Paris, a beautiful one that is now for sale <a href="https://www.parisperfect.com/investors/own-your-own-pied-a-terre-in-paris.php" target="_blank">called Beaune.</a>

 

Some of the selections of sconces that our client looked at. We nixed some, approved some, and congratulated her on the broad selection.

 

A winner

 

Let’s not do this one!

 

When we arrived for a site visit in March, it was starting to come together.

 

We visited some flea markets and found a fabulous collection of 19th century gouaches that we knew would work well in groupings.

 

There was a lot of back and forth about framing, until our client got it just right.

Fast forward two more weeks, and we returned to Paris, armed with 41 pillows, a suitcase filled with decorative objects, books and anything else we could fit in at the last minute.  When we arrived, our client had done the bulk of the work, and it looked great.  With a few more adjustments, some furniture rearranging and the placement of accessories, it went from great to fabulous, within three days.

Before : With so many gorgeous architectural details serving as backdrops, it only took a few tweaks to make a wow.

 

After:  We let the art dictate the color in the beautiful <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/muscat.php" target="_blank">Muscat</a> apartment and gave the couch a more tailored and sophisticated look with black pillows.

 

The <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/ceron.php" target="_blank">Ceron</a> apartment went from great to ….

 

Fabulous — with the addition of a few pillows, accessories and punches of color!

 

And again, we let the art dictate the color scheme.

 

The lively colors in the <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/ceron.php" target="_blank">Ceron</a> bedroom just brought everything to life – and yes, we hand-carried the pillows across the pond!

 

The view from the bedroom, onto the Place Dauphine, makes waking up even more of a pleasure every day!

 

The warm and welcoming <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/loupiac.php" target="_blank">Loupiac</a> apartment

 

We found some original paintings from the flea market and loved adding them into the <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/loupiac.php" target="_blank">Loupiac</a> bedroom.

 

Before:  The charming <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/monbazillac.php" target="_blank">Monbazillac</a> needed some fluffing when we arrived.

 

We love the grey and gold sophisticated palette in this beautiful penthouse apartment.

 

A view towards the terrace on the 6th floor of <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/monbazillac.php" target="_blank">Monbazillac.</a>

 

Love is always in the details.  Here we went for crusty textures, with the clean lines of the sofa, and the classical mantel.

 

Our favorite cozy bedroom: <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/monbazillac.php" target="_blank">Monbazillac’s</a> beautiful linens, custom pillows, taking their cue from the artwork, and the piece de resistance:

 

Breakfast on the terrace of <a href="http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/monbazillac.php" target="_blank">Monbazillac!</a>

So are we up for it again?  Bien sur! With lots of photos back and forth, dozens of Powerpoint presentations, and help from an accommodating hometown airline that doesn’t blink an eye when we have a few extra bags of curtains, rods, pillows and accessories, we’re there! Because there’s nothing we love more than using art and design (and a little vision and brawn) to transform a space into something fabulous, whether it’s in Paris, Provence, Peoria or Palmetto.  It comes down to working with great clients and loving what we do.  And that’s what leads to great gigs and great digs!

Ta ta,

HH

P.S.  If you can’t do a Paris apartment but you love the look … we’ve just unpacked another container of one-of-a-kind rare finds from Paris that our team of designers will happily share!

Meet Anne + Meg

What happens when two committed Francophiles, art lovers and design junkies get together over a bottle of red wine? A fine art gallery with a little je ne sais quoi is born, followed a few years later by its home furnishings and décor sibling.

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ABOUT HUFF HARRINGTON

What happens when two committed Francophiles, art lovers and design junkies get together over a bottle of red wine? A fine art gallery with a little je ne sais quoi is born, followed a few years later by its home furnishings and décor sibling.

  • the mirror and over mantel mirrored TV treatment in the 6th floor of Monbazillac. So you have the plans & specs for the TV behind mirror mantel treatment? Can you get another of the very large Louis mirror’s behind the sofa. Dimensions? Price

    LL
  • would love for you to contact me to give me a price and dimensions of the very large Louis mirror behind the sofa. Also on the TV behind the mirror.

    LL
  • love, love, love, once again you ladies accomplished amazing things!

    Rebecca Hinkle
  • We LOVED staying in the Loupiac apartment Place Dauphine last January. So much so that when it came time to decorate our “pied de terre” we rented in Philadelphia, I studied the photos and used your designs as inspiration and guidance. Now every time I walk into our apartment it reminds me of Paris!

    Liz Donaghy

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