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!)
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!).
After this, we started a long back and forth via email, sending inspirational images, and loads and loads of pictures of furniture selection.
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.
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!
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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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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
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.
love, love, love, once again you ladies accomplished amazing things!
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!