Hotel des Grands Boulevards Paris Dorothee Meilichzon

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Dorothée Meilichzon is still in her early 30s and already has six hotel designs to her credit. Five are in Paris, where Meilichzon runs her own firm, Chzon, and one is in London; we’d gladly check in to any of them (scroll to the end for a sampling).

Meilichzon is a designer who never repeats herself, but her work has certain things in common: She loves to pick a historic period and riff on it, treats building materials as playthings, has a weakness for potent colors, and always styles beds with derring-do. Her latest project is the Experimental Group’s newly opened Hotel des Grands Boulevards in an 18th-century building in Paris’s Second Arrondissement (closest Métro stop: Poissonnière). The structure went up on the grounds of a garden just before the French revolution, so here Meilichzon took the opportunity to tip her hat to Louis XVI style. Allons y.

Photography by Karel Balas, courtesy of Chzon.

set back from the street, the hotel—formerly used as an office building& 17 — Above: Set back from the street, the hotel—formerly used as an office building—is entered through a broad courtyard surrounded by plantings.

the courtyard&#8\2\17;s herringbone brick is continued in the interior parq 18 — Above: The courtyard’s herringbone brick is continued in the interior parquet of end-grain wood. Aside from the ground-floor’s 16-foot ceilings and “a few plaster decorative elements,” the details are all new. The slatted dining chairs are by Slovenian architect Niko Kralj.

chef giovanni passerini&#8\2\17;s french italian grand restaurant is on the 19 — Above: Chef Giovanni Passerini’s French-Italian Grand Restaurant is on the ground floor, as is The Shell, a moody cocktail bar, shown here. The chairs are 1960s designs by Italian architect Eugenio Gerli, which Meilichzon sent back in time by upholstering them in a flame stitch and carmine-red velvet.

the hallway carpeting mimics the old brickwork on the exterior of the building. 20 — Above: The hallway carpeting mimics the old brickwork on the exterior of the building.

each of the 50 guest rooms has lime plaster walls and custom dyed linen draperi 21 — Above: Each of the 50 guest rooms has lime plaster walls and custom-dyed linen draperies: materials and colors that reference the late 18th century and Marie Antoinette’s high-low tastes in particular.

The lime plaster appears in three custom-mixed period colors: dark blue, light gray-blue, and off-white/pale pink. (Read about lime plaster in Remodeling 101: Modern Plaster Walls, Six Ways. And for a simpler alternative, see DIY: Limewashed Walls for Modern Times.)