Californians in Paris: David Rager and Cheri Messerli - Remodelista
A couple of years ago, we posted on the apartment of David Rager and Cheri Messerli, who had just relocated from New York to the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Photography by Alexa Hotz for Remodelista. Rager’s background and current practice in branding and graphic design has led him to projects like Ten Belles, Les Néréides, and the Broken Arm, and, working with Messerli, designing Candelaria, Glass, and Le Mary Celeste, under the name Weekends. A graceful stairway leads to the couple’s apartment. Cheri’s go-to resources are Emery et Cie “for the paint, tiles, and lighting” and Magasin Sennelier, a classic art supplies store on the Left Bank. Cheri and David at their long dining room table. Confetti System’s Neutral Tassel Garland made from tissue paper and mylar hangs over the mirror in the living room. The kitchen, made up of raw concrete and exposed beams, opens into a tiny corner studio where Cheri designs her jewelry collection. David and Cheri’s apartment came fully furnished, and they’ve delicately integrated their own style into the framework. To lighten up the original dark burgundy velvet pillows, Cheri made cases from various striped fabrics. Paper cranes, a vintage task lamp, and driftwood collected from the shores of the west coast of California. Bookshelves in the dining room shelter not only books and magazines but ceramics, dried flowers, found objects, and collections. A garland of turkey feathers in the doorway. A birdhouse by ceramicist Stan Bitters; currently available through Totokaelo’s Art-Object in Seattle. Jonathan Adler’s Utopia Teapot and a bowl of avocado pits saved for future houseplants. A small garden of succulents set into the skylight window. Above L: When Cheri first started designing the watercolored fabric, she drew inspiration from Memphis artist Peter Shire’s splatter paint pieces. Avocado pits ready to sprout on the corner desk. Patterns and hardware for Cheri’s upcoming collection. In the back of the kitchen, you can see the hand-forged nails jutting out from the exposed wooden beams. The couple’s nook of a bedroom with a mix of linens and blankets: watercolor by Cheri and a Hudson Bay Point Blanket. Illustrated birds attached to pieces of driftwood once functioned as name tags at David and Cheri’s wedding and now as decor in their Paris home. Scout, the namesake of Cheri’s work, gazes out the living room window.