If you, like us, are hungry for a trip to Paris after watching the Olympics, consider this the perfect time to go: There’s a cache of off-the-tourist-path design gems to discover. Consider this our editors’ shortlist, a mini guide to just a few of our favorite design-forward places.
(Note: If you’re headed to Paris this month, double check that shops and restaurants are open; Parisians famously take les grandes vacances in August, which, if you ask us, we all should adopt.)
Château des Fleurs
Above: First on the list? Château Des Fleurs, a new hotel near the Champs Élysées done by Spanish designers Quintana Partners (their first project in Paris). The 37 rooms and interiors draw on “the new Art Nouveau”, with wood paneling, “sinuous wooden doors reminiscent of Antoni Gaudí,” woven floors, and terra cotta. Above: A detail in a guest room. (There’s also a high-style gym and spa.) Find it at 19 rue Vernet.
Landline
Above: “On a trip to France not too long ago, I had two days to get reacquainted with Paris when Landline came to me at the top of a stylist friend’s tip sheet,” writes Margot. “Located in a former pharmacy in the 11th arrondissement, the emporium is a general supply store stocked with everything from kitchenwares and carpet beaters to wardrobe staples, all made of natural materials (no synthetics or plastic) and cherry-picked from French and European workshops.” Find it at 107 Avenue Parmentier—and read more in Shopper’s Diary: Landline in Paris, a French-American Shopkeeper’s Answer to Plastic-Free Living. Photograph by Pierre Prospero.
La Blouse de Lyon
Above: If you’re in search of a few quintessentially French wardrobe staples, head to La Blouse de Lyon, a decades-old uniform shop featuring hardwearing basics from heritage brands. It’s under new ownership and has been injected with fresh style. Find it at 21 Rue Gérando in the 9th arrondisement and see Shopper’s Diary: Traditional French Workwear from La Blouse de Lyon in Paris.
La Soufflerie
Above: We’re longtime admirers of La Soufflerie, makers of ethereal mouth-blown glass vessels, vases, and objets, so we were thrilled when they opened a shop near the Luxembourg Gardens not too long ago. (A bit of history: The space opened in the early 20th century as one of the first woman-owned bookstores, run by Adrienne Monnier and famous American-in-Paris bookseller/publisher Sylvia Beach. “The facade has always remained the same,” according to La Soufflerie). It’s at 7 rue de l’Odéon, captured here by Annie on an autumn trip.
La Trésorerie
Above: Our friend Gesa Hansen first tipped us off to La Trésorie in 2014, and we’ve made pilgrimages ever since. It’s a veritable treasure trove (hence the name) of French essentials. They now have two shops: the General Store (“in the tradition of general stores and old bazaars, drugstores, hardware stores and haberdasheries where you could find everything you needed to equip your household”) and Suite, for furniture and lighting, just across the street. Find them at 11 Rue du Château d’Eau (General Store) and 8 Rue du Château d’Eau (Suite). (For a look back at our very first post on the store, see La Trésorerie: A New Interiors Shop in Paris.)
Store MK2
Above: “The conceptualization of the MK2 store was in the works while I was staying with the store’s creative director, designer and director Clarisse Demory,” writes Alexa. “Clarisse and her team worked with the famed French cinema and production company MK2 to renovate the MK2 Bibliothèque store. With an interior designed by Ciguë, the store is equipped with unique home goods, books, music, and objects inspired by specific films: an out-of-print Bauhaus book seen in Les Amour Imaginaires, for example, or a sweatshirt listing Gus van Sant’s filmography.” Find it at 128-162 Avenue de France near the Seine in the 13th arrondissement (and see more of Alexa’s picks in The Paris Review). Photograph courtesy of MK2.
Maison Empereur Pop-up
Above: This summer only, France’s oldest hardware store, Maison Empereur—operating in Marseille since 1827—is in Paris, with a pop-up at Le Bon Marché as part of a celebration of Marseille makers (including Remodelista favorite Oeuvres Sensibles). It’s on through August 18 on the ground floor of Le Bon Marché, 24 rue de Sèvres in the 7th arrondissement. See also: Best Browsing: France’s Oldest Hardware Store and Home Emporium, Now with a Pop-Up in Paris. More info here.
Musée Bourdelle and Cafe Rhodia
Above: On a recent whirlwind trip to Paris (she only had one afternoon) Margot was looking for “something bite-size and uncrowded but memorable” and found it in The Musée Bourdelle and Rhodia Café. “The museum is devoted to the art of sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, a student of Rodin’s and a teacher of Giacometti’s. It’s set in his preserved Montparnasse studio enclave and has a new restaurant in what had been the apartment Bourdelle’s daughter, Rhodia, and her husband, Michel Dufet, the Art Deco interior designer, built for themselves in the late 1940s.” Well worth a browse and a bite. Read more in A Perfect Small Museum and Lunch Spot in Paris: The Musée Bourdelle and Rhodia Café. Photograph by Marielle Gaudry.
Café Compagnon
Above: In the 2nd arrondissement is Café Compagnon, a day-to-night cafe/bistro designed by our friend Gesa Hansen for her restaurateur husband, Charles Compagnon. “The idea was to create an homage to Charle’s late grandfather, sculptor Carlos Ferreira de la Torre,” Gesa says. And to make it cozy: “In Paris, the apartments are often so small that your favorite restaurant becomes your living room where you also work, and where you have all your lunches and dinners,” she adds. “That’s why I put sockets everywhere.” Find it at 22-26 rue Leopold Bellan and see more in Calm, Protective, and Rosy: 12 Ideas to Steal from a Paris Cafe By Gesa Hansen. Photograph by Nathalie Mohadjer.
And an honorable mention: “Interior designer Florence Lopez’s amazing atelier is open by appointment,” reports Margot. “At the rear of a courtyard of an 18th century building, this amazing studio was built in the 1920s, and its decor is changed every year in tune with Florence’s favorite designs,” according to the site. Find it in Saint Germain des Prés, but contact first for an appointment via FlorenceLopez.com.
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