2020-11-01 The World of Interiors

1 ‘Hogla’ storage basket, £120, The Conran Shop. 2 ‘Norfolk’ storage basket, by
Adrian and Ruth Charlton, £125, David Mellor. 3 Wicker basket, £125, Raj Tent
Club. 4 Giant basket, $295, Twenty One Tonnes. 5 Seagrass laundry basket, £95,
Designers Guild. 6 Classic wicker storage hamper, £58, The Basket Company.
7 Laundry basket with leather handles, £250, Hadeda. 8 ‘Somerton’ log basket,
£175, Neptune. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book r

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SHORTLIST

HIP TO WASTE?

The throwaway culture is for has-bins, so treat your hard-working storage like heirlooms. Be it a leather log
basket, wicker hamper or steel swing-top, Max Egger has offers you can’t refuse. Photography: Franck Allais

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1 Tapered waste basket, by Bunbuku, £35, The Conran Shop. 2 ‘Dahlias’, £215,
Flora Soames. 3 ‘Double Shadowed Meaner’, by Bridie Hall, £85, Pentreath & Hall.
4 ‘Panzi’, £36; 5 ‘Nzuri’, £39; both The Kenyan Crafts Company. 6 Hand-painted
faux-panelled hexagonal waste-paper bin, £840, Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler.
7 ‘Floral Vine’, £95, Must Have Bins. 8 Hexagonal bin, by Veere Grenney, £545, The
Lacquer Company. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book

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SHORTLIST

1 ‘18’ open bin, £249, Vipp. 2 Waste-paper bin, £48, Labour and Wait. 3 Swing-top bin, £160,
Simplehuman. 4 ‘C19’ feed bin, £750, Howe. 5 ‘Casa con Colonne’, by Fornasetti, £800,
Harrods. 6 ‘Emma’ wood basket, by Emma Olbers for Eldvarm, £465, Tollgård Design
Group. 7 ‘16’ bin, by Korbo, £95, Skandium. 8 ‘Bin Bin’, £40 approx, Alessi. 9 ‘Water Bath’
with leather handles, £330 approx, Tina Frey Designs. 10 ‘Paper Paper’, by Clara von
Zweigbergk, £20, Hay. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book r

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The Decorative ONLINE ADVANCE TICKET
Antiques & Textiles BOOKING ONLY

FAIR Evolution London
Battersea Park
AUTUMN Learn more at

22-25 October 2020 decorativefair.com

ANTIQUES AND 20TH CENTURY DESIGN
FOR INTERIOR DECORATION

If you are unable to visit we have an interactive 360º virtual tour
of the fair and offer a shopping service for both trade and private buyers

SHORTLIST

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1 ‘Barbentane’, £710 approx, Atelier Vime. 2 Tan leather log 6
basket, by Otis Ingrams, £1,900, The New Craftsmen. 3 Toron 7
calfskin ‘Equilibre d’Hermès’, £5,950, Hermès. 4 ‘Newport’,
£125, Balineum. 5 Rattan ‘Hurlingham’ vase, £740, Soane 53
Britain. 6 ‘Porcupine’, £140, SCP. 7 Rainbow bronze ‘Cascade’,
by Julia Knight, £135, Amara. Set throughout: rush matting,
£222 per sq m; bolts of rush, £33.60 each; both Rush Matters.
All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book $



THE WORLD OF INTERIORS  PARTNERSHIP

PHOTOGRAPHY: OPPOSITE AND THIS PAGE, TOP: PAUL PRESTREAU. BOTTOM: STEPHANE BRIOLANT DECO DUET

A Parisian gallery owner and a designer,
both steeped in interwar craftsmanship,
have collaborated on a new furniture range

THERE IS A SPECIAL CHARM that only a

Parisian art gallery can hold. One such is Galerie Marcilhac
– the oldest institution in the capital dedicated to 20th-cen-
tury decorative arts – located in the sixth arrondissement.
Specialising in works from 1920 to 1940, this revered venue
of the French art world represents the great names of Art
Deco alongside contemporary artists.

In the latest collaboration between gallery owner and
namesake Félix Marcilhac and designer Nicolas Aubagnac,
the duo’s expertise and shared passion for exquisite and
high-quality furniture shine through in an elegant contem-
porary addition to the collections on display. The resulting
range, a limited edition of 12 numbered and signed pieces
per design, includes two console tables and two smaller
pedestal tables, each individually crafted to embody and
sustain the legacy of decorative arts.

Refined and contemporary lines are reflected in the
diverse geometrical shapes that are a design motif cher-
ished by the pair. In essence, the collection is a homage to
Galerie Marcilhac itself and the distinctive works by past
masters on display: from Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann to Jean-
Michel Frank, from Jules Leleu to Süe & Mare.

The highlight of this joint enterprise revolves around
craftsmanship; each table is carefully produced in a com-
bination of bronze patina and stone, which stems from Au-
bagnac’s deep knowledge of interwar design. The architec-
tural structure provided by the ‘rough formwork’ finish and
angular details is offset by a softened travertine top.

Thanks to the duo’s meticulous reworking of venerable
craft skills, and the ease with which any individual console
would sit alongside the gallery’s great names, these pieces
will emphatically enter the realm of collector’s furniture.
Indeed, without doubt, they are destined to cross the
threshold of many a connoisseur’s home $
For more details,ring 00 33 1 43 26 47 36,or visit marcilhacgalerie.com

Opposite: ‘Orion’ console, 2020, with bronze patina and sof-
tened travertine, a limited edition of 12 numbered and
signed pieces. Alongside sits a vase and pin box by Jean
Dunand and above it hangs an original lithograph – Black
Panther Standing – by Paul Jouve. This page, top: Nicolas
Aubagnac (left) and Félix Marcilhac pose inside the gallery
on 8 Rue Bonaparte. Right: small ‘Orion’ pedestal table,
2020, with bronze patina and softened travertine, a limited
edition of 12 numbered and signed pieces

SERIOUS pursuits

Auctions, antique fairs and diverting
activities, chosen by Gareth Wyn Davies

THE INVISIBLE LIGHTSWITCH® 1
www.forbesandlomax.com
1 A large Koran leaf in gold Kufic script on blue vellum, ninth-
2
to tenth-century, Sotheby’s, 27 Oct. See Things

to Buy. 2 Maison Saint-Cyr, Brussels. See Things to Do

THINGS TO SEE

What exactly is a dandy, and how should they deport themselves and
dress? Such vexed questions probably keep fewer people awake into
the small hours these days, but they can still spark a thoroughly
engaging discussion – especially when it’s conducted by art histo-
rian Stephen Calloway, a WoI contributor, and‘drag king’Holly James.
Catch them both on Aubrey Beardsley, subject of the Tate show cu-
rated by Calloway (WoI May 2020),and THE ART OF BEING A DANDY at tate.
org.uk. Thus suitably apprised – and attired – the aspiring aesthete
may then want to wend their way Willesden-wards for… the BRENT
BIENNIAL art extravaganza,which is not half as bathetic as it sounds (de-
tails: brent2020.co.uk), before sauntering over to South Ken to check
out CROMWELL PLACE,a new arts hub designed by Buckley GrayYeoman
that is home to a dozen different galleries (details: cromwellplace.
com).Still in the capital,more visual treats await in the form of FRIEZE
SCULPTURE in Regent’s Park until 18 OCTOBER (details: frieze.com) and
the DECORATIVE ANTIQUES AND TEXTILES FAIR from 22-25 OCTOBER, when
140 dealers descend on Battersea Park with everything from, say, a
17th-century coffer to a 1970s couch (details: decorativefair.com).

THINGS TO DO

Brush up on your SUMI-E skills with master calligrapher Akemi Lucas,
who leads a Zoom workshop on the Japanese art on 17 OCTOBER (details:
hyperjapan.co.uk). Fin-de-siècle fans should beat a path to Brussels,
travel bans permitting of course, where sundry architectural events
are en train, including, until 11 OCTOBER, the Art Nouveau-flavoured
ARTONOV FESTIVAL (details: festival-arto-
nov.eu).Also there, until 22 OCTOBER: an
exhibition devoted to the work of that
Modernist par excellence LOUIS TENAERTS
(details: villedarchitectes.brussels).

THINGS TO BUY

Apropos 20TH-CENTURY DESIGN,Artcurial
in Paris is selling all sorts of Art Deco
(and later) delights on 14 OCTOBER (de-
tails: artcurial.com),while Phillips’s star
lot in London on 4 NOVEMBER is a mar-
ble-and-gilded-wood wall-mounted
console, c1950, by Lucio Fontana and
Osvaldo Borsani – estimate £100,000-
£150,000 (details: phillips.com). Before
then, on 27 OCTOBER, Sotheby’s serves
up ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND INDIA,
if ancient bits and bobs are more your
tazza of tea (details: sothebys.com) $

Green

A collection of authentic National Trust colours including original shades from the homes
of Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw and Beatrix Potter. Available now.

littlegreene.com
0161 230 0880

Order your free colourcard or find your nearest stockist at littlegreene.com
Colour Consultancy service available nationwide

SOUTHERN
COMFORTS

From the chic cafés of Maldonado to the rugged coastline of Punta del Este, tourists are attracted
to Uruguay’s Atlantic coast. Many Italian immigrants were also drawn to these shores in the
past, and now new arrivals from the same country are surfing in on a style wave – Milan’s finest
furniture flatly demands to be welcomed, says Jessica Hayns. Photography: Ricardo Labougle

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1 ‘Cavalletto’ table, by Luigi Caccia Dominioni for Azucena, £6,090, B&B Italia.
2 ‘Manta’ table, £7,310, Rimadesio. 3 ‘Nonaro’ outdoor sofa, by Luigi Caccia
Dominioni for Azucena, £11,876, B&B Italia. 4 ‘Walter’ armchair, by Vincent van
Duysen, from £2,574, Molteni & C. 5 ‘Frost’ table, from £2,010, Natuzzi. 6 ‘Mon­
drian’ table, from £2,680 approx, Poliform. 7 Lounge chair, by Vipp, £1,699,
Skandium. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book r

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1 ‘Adam’ sofa, by Carlo Colombo, £11,557, Giorgetti. 2 ‘Gentleman’ sofa, from £3,365 approx, Poliform.
3 ‘Square XL’ sofa, by CRS, from £4,270 approx, De Padova. 4 ‘Bocca Unlimited’ sofa, by Studio 65, £3,970,
Gufram. 5 ‘Horizontal’ sofa, by Time & Style, from £4,930 approx, De Padova. 6 ‘Blazer’ seating system, by
Rodolfo Dordoni, from £12,035, Minotti. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book

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SOUTHERN COMFORTS

1 ‘Don Giovanni’ chair, by Fornasetti, £3,400, Harrods. 2 ‘Epi’ leather football table,
£61,500, Louis Vuitton Home. 3 Original vintage screen, by Giacomo Balla, £4,050
approx, Paradiso Terrestre. 4 ‘Band’ dining chair, by Patricia Urquiola, from £885
approx, Kettal. 5 ‘Calamobio’ chest of drawers, by Alessandro Mendini, £14,200
approx; 6 ‘Mezzadro’ stool, by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, £620 approx;
both Zanotta. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book r

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Design
that lasts
a lifetime

SOUTHERN COMFORTS

1 ‘875’ armchair, by Ico Parisi, from £3,150, Cassina. 2 ‘Oblo’ 1
sofa, from £2,720, Natuzzi. 3 ‘Duc Duc’ sofa, by Mario Bellini,
from £5,640, Cassina. 4 ‘Blogger’ sofa, by Roberto Tapinassi
and Maurizio Manzoni, £2,870, Roche Bobois. 5 ‘Piccadilly’
chair, by Rodolfo Dordoni, from £2,886, Molteni & C.
6 ‘Solecentrismo’ table, by Fornasetti, £2,970, Harrods.
7 ‘Fynn’ armchair, by Gam Fratesi, from £3,495, Minotti. All
prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book r

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GREAT HOMES MADE GREATER

Award-winning residential construction and project management

Architects and Project Managers – Hacke Holland Architects Ltd

Main Contractor – Markstone Construction UK Ltd

markstone.co.uk

e World of Interiors magazine would like to thank Markstone Construction
for their collaboration on all exhibition and fair projects in 2019

1 SOUTHERN COMFORTS

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1 Fabric-covered ‘Camaleonda’ sofa, by Mario Bellini, from £18,792, B&B
Italia. 2 ‘Bocca Unlimited’ sofa, by Studio 65, £3,970, Gufram. 3 ‘801’ bar
stool, by Maarten Baas, £630 approx, Lensvelt Furniture Design. 4 Leather-
covered ‘Camaleonda’ sofa, by Mario Bellini, from £20,817, B&B Italia.
5 ‘Redor’ mirror, £7,255 approx, Nilufar. 6 ‘Baby Vanity Fair’ armchair, £2,415,
Poltrona Frau. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book r



SOUTHERN COMFORTS

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1 ‘Page’ dining table, £25,650, Armani Casa. 2 ‘Nuvola Rosso’ bookshelf, by
Vico Magistretti, from £3,120, Cassina. 3 ‘Nara’ coffee table, by Jean-Marie
Massaud, from £1,215 approx, Poliform. 4 ‘Jupiter’ table, by Studiopepe,
from £14,160, Baxter. 5 ‘Stool Strap’ bag, by Atelier Oï, £510, Louis Vuitton
Home. 6 ‘Penthouse’ dining table, by Rodolfo Dordoni, from £14,800,
Minotti. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book r

SOUTHERN COMFORTS

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1 ‘Tessa’ armchair, by Antonio Citterio, £2,800 approx, Flexform. 2 ‘Uragano’ chair, by Vico
Magistretti, £1,060 approx, De Padova. 3 ‘Any Day’ ottoman, by Christophe Pillet, £825 approx,
Flexform. 4 ‘C’ chair, by Marcel Gascoin, £747, Gubi. 5 ‘Gold’ bar cabinet, by Mimmo Paladino,
£16,490 approx, Dilmos Milano. 6 ‘Tessa’ ottoman, by Antonio Citterio, £1,700 approx,
Flexform. 7 ‘Wiggle’ side chair, by Frank Gehry, £765, Vitra. 8 ‘Gamper’ chest of drawers,
£38,480 approx, Nilufar. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book r



SOUTHERN COMFORTS

1 ‘Comfortable’ club chair, by Jean-Michel Frank, $33,700; 2 Three-drawer
dressing table, by Jean-Michel Frank, $45,300; both Hermès. 3 ‘Naeko’ sofa,
by Kazuhide Takahama, £7,655 approx, Paradiso Terrestre. 4 ‘Wrongwoods’
cabinet, by Richard Woods and Sebastian Wrong for Established & Sons,
£4,195 approx, Dilmos Milano. 5 ‘Dolls’ chair, by Raw Edges, £13,900, Louis
Vuitton Home. 6 Plastic armchair, by Charles and Ray Eames, £320, Vitra.
7 ‘Labbra’ mirror (a tribute to Man Ray), by Dino Gavina, £1,345 approx, Para-
diso Terrestre. All prices include VAT. For suppliers’ details see Address Book $

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network

Sophia Salaman chooses the best
merchandise and events worldwide

Jamb’s ‘Kemble’ stool (seen here on the left) is made using the finest
English oak and takes its inspiration from the Arts and Crafts move-
ment. Marrying classic design with exceptional quality, the stool stays
true to the company’s distinctive country-house aesthetic. Jamb, 95-97
Pimlico Rd, London SW1 (020 7730 2122; jamb.co.uk).

Roca’s ‘Jump the Gap’ competition harnesses the best in international
design, especially as it applies to innovative bathroom solutions. This
year saw 297 projects from 1,567 participants in 94 countries, and the
five ideas that won awards (Rafael Vinader’s entry is shown) combine
functionality and flair. For details, visit jumpthegap.net.

Perrin & Rowe’s ‘Hoxton’ collection mixes traditional manufacturing,
new technology and contemporary design. Every piece is available in
either chrome, nickel and pewter or luxury finishes: satin or polished
brass, English bronze and plated gold. Perrin & Rowe, Design Centre
Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 (020 7351 3085; perrinandrowe.co.uk).

Wedding the best of American design with handcrafted English pot- Forbes & Lomax is opening its new LA showroom, in West Hollywood.
tery, the ‘Burleigh’ collection for Ralph Lauren Home celebrates the This will be the company’s third addition alongside its New York and
heritage of these classic blue-and-white ceramics while infusing them London showrooms. The light-switch supremos join a host of other
with a contemporary feel. Ralph Lauren Home, 1 New Bond St, London prestigious brands based here. Forbes & Lomax, 936 N. La Cienega Blvd,
W1 (020 7535 4600; ralphlauren.co.uk). West Hollywood, CA 90069 (001 424 382 1050; forbesandlomax.com) $





PICKETT.CO.UK

10-12 BURLINGTON GARDENS, LONDON W1S 3EY
149 SLOANE STREET, LONDON SW1X 9BZ
+44 (0) 20 7493 8939

bookADDRESS

SW3 (020 7581 0022; giorgetti.eu). The Grand Tour Palm Beach. Ring 001

561 508 8102, or visit grandtourhome.com. Gubi. Ring 00 45 3332 6368, or

visit gubi.com. Gufram. Ring 00 39 01 735 6102, or visit gufram.it. Habitat.

Ring 0344 399 4686, or visit habitat.co.uk. Hadeda. Ring 07775 824597,

or visit hadeda.co.uk. Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1 (020

7730 1234; harrods.com). Hay. Ring 00 45 4282 0820, or visit hay.com.

Heal’s, 196 Tottenham Court Rd, London W1 (020 7636 1666; heals.com).

Hermès, 155 New Bond St, London W1 (020 7499 8856; hermes.com).

Houlès, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 (020 7352 0117;

houles.com). House of Hackney, 131 Shoreditch High St, London E1 (020

7062 3608; houseof hackney.com). Howe, 93 Pimlico Rd, London SW1

(020 7730 7987; howe.com). Jamb, 95-97 Pimlico Rd, London SW1 (020

7730 2122; jamb.co.uk). James Hare. Ring 0113 243 1204, or visit james-

hare.com. John Rosselli & Associates, D&D Building, 979 Third Ave,

Suite 1800, New York, NY 10022 (001 212 593 2060; johnrosselli.com).

Julian Chichester. Ring 020 7622 2928, or visit julianchichester.com. Kate

Medlicott. Ring 01458 851668, or visit katemedlicott.com. The Kenyan

Crafts Company. Ring 07717 476874, or visit thekenyancraftscompany.

com. Kettal. Ring 00 34 93 487 9090, or visit kettal.com. Kvadrat, Design

Centre Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 (020 7324 5555; kvadrat.

dk). Labour and Wait, 85 Redchurch St, London E2 (020 7729 6253;

labourandwait.co.uk). The Lacquer Company. Ring 020 7460 9599, or

visit thelacquercompany.com. Laura de la Mare. Ring 01798 344154, or

visit lauradelamare.com. Lensvelt Furniture Design. Ring 00 31 76 572

2000, or visit lensvelt.nl. Ligne Roset. Ring 020 7323 1248, or visit ligne-

roset.com. Lisa Corti, 2 Via Lecco, 20214 Milan (00 39 02 2024 1483;

lisacorti.com). Louis Vuitton Home, 17-20 New Bond St, London W1 (020

7998 6286; louisvuitton.com). Maison Bengal. Ring 07894 671681, or visit

1 3 maisonbengal.co.uk. Minotti, 77 Margaret St, London W1 (020 7323 3233;
2 minottilondon.com). Molteni&C. Ring 00 39 03 623591, or visit molteni.it.
Must Have Bins. Ring 020 3744 2384, or visit musthavebins.co.uk. Natuzzi,

80-81 Tottenham Court Rd, London W1 (020 3219 7840; natuzzi.com).

Neptune, 87-93 Wandsworth Bridge Rd, London SW6 (01793 427300;

neptune.com). The New Craftsmen, 34 North Row, London W1 (020 7148

3190; thenewcraftsmen.com). Nilufar, 34 Viale Lancetti, 20158 Milan (00

39 02 3659 0800; nilufar.com). Osborne & Little. Ring 020 8812 3123, or

Alessi. Visit alessi.com. Amara. Ring 0800 587 7645, or visit amara.com. visit osborneandlittle.com. Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam, 8-14
Aram, 110 Drury Lane, London WC2 (020 7557 7557; aram.co.uk). Armani Holbein Place, London SW1 (020 7730 8623; nicholashaslam.com).
Casa, 37-42 Sloane St, London SW1 (020 7079 1930; armani.com/casa). Paradiso Terrestre, 4 Via de’ Musei, 40124 Bologna (00 39 051 506 1212;
Atelier Vime. Ring 00 33 4 66 72 29 11, or visit ateliervime.com. B&B Italia, paradisoterrestre.it). Pentreath & Hall, 17 Rugby St, London WC1 (020
250 Brompton Rd, London SW3 (020 7591 8111; bebitalia.com). Balineum. 7430 2526; pentreath-hall.com). Petal Cloud Studio. Ring 07564 196544,
Ring 020 7431 9364, or visit balineum.co.uk. The Basket Company. Ring or visit petalcloudstudio.com. Philippe Hurel, 4 Rue du Bouloi, 75001
01202 422600, or visit thebasketcompany.com. Baxter. Ring 00 39 03 135 Paris (00 33 1 53 00 95 00; philippe-hurel.com). Pinch, 200 Ebury St,
999, or visit baxter.it. BDDW. Ring 001 212 625 1230, or visit bddw.com. London SW1 (020 7622 5075; pinchdesign.co.uk). Poliform, 51-61
Bennison Fabrics, 16 Holbein Place, London SW1 (020 7730 8076; Wigmore St, London W1 (020 3967 5000; poliformuk.com). Poltrona
bennisonfabrics.com). Blithfield, 1a Inkerman Terrace, Allen St, London Frau, 147-153 Fulham Rd, London SW3 (020 7589 3846; poltronafrau.
W8 (020 7460 6454; blithfield.co.uk). Cassina, 238-242 Brompton Rd, com). Raft, Westfield, London W12 (020 3667 8349; raftfurniture.co.uk).
London SW3 (020 7584 0000; cassina.com). Chaplins, 477-507 Uxbridge Raj Tent Club. Ring 020 8847 2212, or visit rajtentclub.com. Rimadesio,
Rd, Hatch End, Pinner, Middx HA5 4JS (020 8421 1779; chaplins.co.uk). 83-85 Wigmore St, London W1(020 7486 2193; rimadesio.com). Roche
Chelsea Textiles, 40-42 Pimlico Rd, London SW1 (020 7584 5544; Bobois. Visit roche-bobois.com. Rose Uniacke, 76-84 Pimlico Rd,
London SW1 (020 7730 7050; roseuniacke.com). Rosebank Fabrics.
chelseatextiles.com). Christopher Farr Cloth, 15 Lots Rd, London SW10 Ring 0800 304 7201, or visit rosebankfabrics.com. Rubelli. Ring 020 7349
(020 7349 0888; christopherfarrcloth.com). Colefax & Fowler, Design 1590, or visit rubelli.com. Rush Matters. Ring 01234 376149, or visit

Centre Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 (020 8874 6484; colefax.com). rushmatters.co.uk. SCP, 135-139 Curtain Rd, London EC2 (020 7739
The Conran Shop, Michelin House, 81 Fulham Rd, London SW3 (0844 1869; scp.co.uk). Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, 89-91 Pimlico Rd, London

848 4000; conranshop.com). Cox London, 194 Ebury St, London SW1 SW1 (020 7493 2231; sibylcolefax.com). Simplehuman. Ring 01491 875974,

(020 3328 9506; coxlondon.com). David Mellor, 14 New Cavendish St, or visit simplehuman.com. Skandium, 14 Bacon St, London E1 (020 3478

London W1 (020 8050 4259; davidmellordesign.co.uk). De Le Cuona, 44 4715; skandium.com). Soane Britain. Ring 020 7730 6400, or visit soane.

Pimlico Rd, London SW1 (020 7730 0944; delecuona.com). De Padova, com. Style Library. Ring 020 3457 5862, or visit stylelibrary.com. Tina Frey

161 Draycott Ave, London SW3 (020 7581 7928; depadova.com). The Designs. Ring 001 415 223 4710, or visit tinafreydesigns.com. Tissus

Design Archives, World’s End Studios, 132-134 Lots Rd, London SW10 d’Hélène, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 (020 7352 9977;

(020 7349 7018; thedesignarchives.com). Designers Guild, 277 King’s Rd, tissusdhelene.co.uk). Tolix. Ring 00 33 3 85 86 96 70, or visit tolix.com.

London SW3 (020 7893 7400; designersguild.com). Dilmos Milano, 1 Via Tollgård Design Group, Grosvenor Waterside, Gatliff Rd, London SW1

San Marco, 20121 Milan (00 39 02 2900 2437; dilmos.it). The Fabric (020 7952 6070; tollgard.com). Turnell & Gigon, Design Centre Chelsea

Collective, 9 Langton St, London SW10 (020 7384 2975; thefabriccollective. Harbour, London SW10 (020 7259 7280; turnellandgigon.com). Twenty

com). Flexform, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 (020 7376 One Tonnes. Ring 001 424 610 7304, or visit twentyonetonnes.com.

5272; flexform.it). Flora Soames. Ring 01747 445650, or visit florasoames. Vaughan, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 (020 7349 4600;

com. Frag. Ring 00 39 043 267 1375, or visit frag.it. Fratelli Boffi. Ring 00 39 vaughandesigns.com). Vipp. Ring 00 45 4588 8800, or visit vipp.com.

0362 564304, or visit fratelliboffi.it. Frenchy Furniture, 46 Queenstown Visionnaire, 3 Piazza Cavour, 2021 Milan (00 39 023 651 2554; visionnaire-

Rd, London SW8 (020 7622 9786; frenchy furniture.com). George home.com). Vitra, 30 Clerkenwell Rd, London EC1 (020 7608 6200; vitra.

Spencer Designs, Design Centre Chelsea Harbour, London SW10 (020 com). Warner House. Ring 0330 055 2995, or visit warner-house.com.

7584 3003; georgespencer.com). Giorgetti, 52-58 Fulham Rd, London Zanotta. Ring 00 39 0362 4981, or visit zanotta.it $ FRANCK ALLAIS

1 Jute basket with charcoal stripes, £54, Maison Bengal. 2 ‘Andika’, £30, The Kenyan Crafts Company. 3 Jute basket,
£150, Rose Uniacke. Background: rush matting, £222 per sq m; bolt of rush, £33.60; both Rush Matters. Prices include VAT



Pierre Paulin’s house stands by the entrance to the Cévennes
National Park. The mountainous region has a rich history
that stems from the Camisard revolt, hot on the heels of the
Edict of Nantes, after which Protestants were persecuted

ACID REIGN

In the mid- to late 20th century, Pierre Paulin was a king of playful Modern furniture – tubular structures in striking forms
and candy colours. Reminiscent of mushrooms, tongues or tulips, his pieces rule the roost in an externally traditional-
looking home that the late designer conceived in the Cévennes region of southern France. And now, as Valérie Lapierre
reports, family members are marketing his prototypes to become new jewels in the crown. Photography: Roland Beaufre

Above: these ‘Mushroom’ armchairs, produced by Artifort,
were created in 1960 from a Pirelli foam-covered tubular
structure sheathed in jersey. Paulin never called his models
by their popular nicknames. For him, this was the ‘F560’.
It’s a contemporary expression of the Victorian toad chair

Above: by an old Canadian quilt, the metal stove reminded
Paulin of Viking helmets. Right: this 1970 ‘Elysée’ table is
a prototype made for President Pompidou’s apartments.
It sits by a ‘Tongue’ armchair (‘F577’), designed in 1963

Radiating from a glazed central patio, this double living
room of nearly 100sq m was entirely designed and built,
like the rest of the house, by Pierre Paulin. In the back-
ground, a ‘Diwan’ rug (a prototype) continues up the wall

Above: in the television room, Picasso prints hang above
two of Charles and Ray Eames’s ‘Lounge’ chairs, made by
Vitra. Below: Pierre Paulin, photographed before a shaped
tree form in his entrance hall in 2005, sits on a ‘Ribbon’
chair (‘F582’), designed in 1966 and produced by Artifort

Above: by the bookcase, ‘Groovy’ fireside chairs (‘F598’)
perch on a carpet inspired by the Versailles gardens – a
limited edition by Paulin, Paulin, Paulin, which issues the
designer’s prototypes. The print is by John-Franklin Koenig

In the guest room is a large picture by Ado Sato and a ‘Tulip’
chair (‘F543’). The console table is formed from a simple
plank, cut into a lunette and fixed to the wall. The pale back-
drops help emphasise the furniture’s graphic silhouette

AT THE EDGE of the Cévennes National Park, more than an hour’s drive from Nîmes,

lies an unusual landscape of small mountains linked by narrow roads covered with rocks and chest­
nut trees as far as the eye can see. It is to this rugged countryside with its harsh climate, just outside
an isolated village, that the designer Pierre Paulin retired in 1990 to build his home, La Calmette,
where he was to spend his last years. His widow, Maïa Wodzislawska­Paulin – founder of the ADSA
design agency and retired today – supported him for nearly 40 years, and still lives in the house; its
décor was immortalised by our photographer just before the designer’s death in 2009.

Filled with admiration for Alvar Aalto and Charles and Ray Eames, this son of a French father
and a German­speaking Swiss mother left the Ecole Camondo, Paris, in 1953 and started to work
for Thonet, the inventor of bentwood. Jersey swimming costumes gave Paulin the idea of using
stretchy material for furnishings. In 1960, after researching textiles with the Dutch firm Artifort,
he designed an armchair with a tubular structure coated with foam and completely covered with
coloured jersey; a sort of contemporary version of the traditional toad armchair. Nicknamed the
‘Mushroom’ by the public, this seat was to be followed by the ‘Tongue’, ‘Ribbon’, ‘Orange Slice’
and other armchairs – myriad models in organic and enveloping shapes, ultra­comfortable and
functional, with removable acid­colour covers. Immediately popular in the United States, the
Netherlands and Japan, they also appeared on the sets of James Bond films and television series.
The ‘Tongue’ chair has been on display in Moma since 1968, while the ‘Ribbon’ received an award
from the American Institute of Interior Designers in Chicago the following year.

Despite his international fame, Paulin had a complicated career in France, punctuated with disap­
pointments. In 1972, he’d become celebrated for his radically modern décor in President Pompidou’s
apartments in the Elysée Palace. Other prestigious public orders would follow, but he was snubbed
by the commercial market. In 1973, an avant­garde housing project for the American firm Herman
Miller came to nothing, to his great regret. In 1975, he launched himself into industrial design. Then
he returned to classically inspired furniture in the 1980s, which disconcerted gallery owners, and
although a new generation of designers was emerging, including Philippe Starck, the Memphis
Group and Garouste & Bonetti, the 60­year­old felt excluded and withdrew to the Cévennes.

At the outset, the property, situated on a large, high plateau covered in brambles, consisted only
of a sheep pen and a ruined farm, which Paulin took to restoring before landscaping the site for
the new building. ‘Pierre wanted to build a very contemporary house, but the regulations required
a regional­style exterior in stone, so he enjoyed himself,’ Maïa explains. ‘For example, the large
enclosing wall is a nod to the wall of Osaka castle.’

Top left: these ‘Groovy’ fireside chairs sit in the office of Maïa Paulin, the designer’s widow, on the second floor. On the wall are paintings
from Iran arrayed beneath a large portrait of a close friend. Top right: in Maïa’s equally womb-like bedroom hangs a work by Gustav Bolin

Once over the threshold, we find the Modernist Paulin. Not an ounce of rustic, rather bright
pieces on the walls and light paving, dotted with his instantly recognisable furniture or prototypes.
‘The décor has not changed and it is still just as pleasant to live with,’ Maïa stresses. ‘Pierre designed
everything. Just a few objects brought back from trips, and I decided what was to go on the walls.’

The entrance, where a red ‘Ribbon’ chair has pride of place, opens on to the designer’s work-
shop/office, which took up the whole of the ground floor and where the archives are stored today.
The living rooms are on the first floor surrounding a central glazed patio. The main space is a
double living room of nearly 100sq m. On one side lies a spot for daydreaming, with a heavy white
bookcase reminiscent of the façade of Milan cathedral and four white ‘Tongue’ armchairs, like
commas floating on a geometric pattern carpet that extends into a ‘tapestry’ running up the wall.
Close by is an ‘S’ chair by Verner Panton – a great friend of Paulin – which could be a cousin of the
‘Tongue’ armchairs from its shape and which was produced the same year.

Opposite, facing the patio’s glazed bays, a Pop-style living room is brightened up by seven blue
‘Mushroom’ armchairs and heated by a monumental metal stove. Large low tables complete the
picture. The kitchen and dining room are set back to the left. A glazed corridor links the other
rooms around the patio, Paulin’s bedroom and a guest room, with ultra-modern bathrooms, and
a sitting room/library with shelves and navy blue ‘Groovy’ armchairs on a carpet with a pattern
inspired by the gardens at Versailles. A door leads to the second floor, which houses a suite with
pink walls for Maïa, with a bedroom, bathroom and office.

Today, the house, which is being listed, serves as a base for the company Paulin, Paulin, Paulin.
Maïa, Benjamin – their son, born to the couple in 1978 – and his wife, the stylist Alice Lemoine,
created the firm to promote the designer’s work, now regarded as one of the most important of
its kind from the second half of the 20th century. Complementing models marketed by Artifort,
Ligne Roset and Magis, the aim is to give life to designs that were never produced or remained a
prototype. These limited editions, prized by collectors (WoI Feb 2017), are made by local artisans.

Since Paulin’s death, there have been numerous tributes and exhibitions. His admirers include
big names in fashion and design such as Nicolas Ghesquière, Christian Lacroix, Virgil Abloh and
the Bouroullec brothers, but Maïa is still his greatest fan. In the TV room, where Paulin had in-
stalled the Eameses’ ‘Lounge’ chairs that he worshipped, she decided to replace them with her
husband’s large ‘Globe’ armchairs, which look like body-shaped petals. ‘I find them much more
comfortable for watching the television’ $
To contact Paulin, Paulin, Paulin, visit paulinpaulinpaulin.com

Obliged to construct an exterior consistent with regional styles, instead of the contemporary house he had in mind, Paulin enjoyed himself
with a homage to Japan, building an enclosing wall made of stones evoking Osaka castle and studding the path to the house with boulders



The west aula of the Republican sanctuary – dating
from around 75bc – is the best preserved of four

aulae, having been buried under the western portico
of the Capitolium, which was built over it in ad73

LATIN PRIMA

Some of the finest surviving wall paintings of the ancient Roman world can be found in a Republican-era
sanctuary within the city of Brescia in Lombardy. Their burial beneath a subsequent temple,

itself then submerged by a landslide, has left the murals in an excellent state of repair. Ranging
from expertly painted faux-marble panels and Ionic columns to a run of trompe-l’oeil curtain,

these first-rate frescoes still impress, as Sophie Barling discovers. Photography: Ricardo Labougle

Above: at a central point on one wall, the painted curtain folds over itself to reveal painted blocks of ‘masonry’ common in First
Style wall painting. Below left: trompe-l’oeil curtain rings ‘fix’ the material to a wire at dado level against a black ground, at which point

the fabric ‘gathers’. A red Vitruvian scroll forms a border. Below right: the three-dimensional effect of the paintwork extends to the
Greek key or meander, a motif that originated in ancient Greece and may signify eternity – it was common in temple architecture

Above left: although theatrical elements in Second Style wall painting often include hints of a stage curtain, this motif – a curtain
running around a room at dado level – is unusual in surviving frescoes. There is a close example at the Casa del Gran Portale in

Herculaneum. Above right: the yellow dado rail was often rendered in stucco during First Style painting, but is painted here.
Below: some of the room’s original fluted columns – brick, finished with stucco – survive, a physical counterpoint to the painted versions

Above: a different scheme – featuring polychrome imitation stucco panels (detail shown below left) and pilasters – adorns the
wall situated opposite the entrance, where an aedicule is thought once to have housed a statue of a feminine deity. Below right: painted

panels such as this one imitate rich marbles from around the world. They bring to mind the decoration in Hellenistic palaces,
which would have incorporated expanses of genuine marble. Opposite: another view of the trompe-l’oeil drapery and framed faux stone



A HALF-BURIED Corinthian column in your where eye hooks fixed it to a wire. Now and again the cloth folded
over itself to reveal – what? Another layer of fiction: more painted
garden? Not a bad conversation piece, one would imagine. That masonry. In such a place, hazy with incense and torch smoke, you
vestige in the grounds of a palazzo in Brescia was for a long time might swear you saw the statue of the goddess move.
one of many tantalising hints of the Lombardy city’s Roman past.
In 1822, however, spurred by the archaeological mania of the era, We know all this because the most westerly of the sanctuary’s
town officials decided it was time the earth around the column four little temples and its wall paintings have been especially well
revealed its secrets. Excavations began, and enough architect­ preserved (and open to the public since 2015). Its burial under the
ural fragments were found to piece together (literally) part of later Flavian building, which in turn was submerged by a land­
the first­century ad Flavian building that had stood on the site: slide in the Middle Ages, had a protective effect. Those cinnabar
a Capitolium, or temple dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. reds are fiercely fresh, the folds in that drapery almost tangible.

Later decades revealed the remnants of a 15,000­seater thea­ Another reason for these paintings’ mint condition, of course,
tre, and established that the Capitolium stood, as was typical of is their use of the fresco technique. In his treatise De Architectura,
the imperial period, at one end of a forum flanked by colonnades the Augustan architect Vitruvius advises the application of sev­
and footed by a basilica. These buildings reflect Roman Brescia’s eral layers of lime plaster to a wall, as well as powdered marble, and
status as an important regional city. Brixia, to give it its ancient painting when the topmost layer is still wet, so that the colours
name, had been a Celtic town on mostly friendly terms with its ‘do not fade but are permanent’. It’s likely that these Brescia fres­
Roman neighbours. In 89bc, it was granted Latin Rights, along coes, which date to around 75bc, were executed by artisans from
with the rest of Cisalpine Gaul north of the river Po, enabling its Campania, or Rome itself – their quality, in both detail and preser­
inhabitants to trade on equal terms with Roman citizens. In 49bc, vation, makes them the best surviving examples north of that city.
this was upgraded to full Roman citizenship, and in the reign of
Augustus the city flourished. It was under Vespasian, whose name And nothing in Roman interior decoration reflected status
is inscribed on the pediment, that the Capitolium was built. – or pretensions to it – quite like wall painting. There were strong
views on what style or subject matter was appropriate for what
Its location at the foot of the Cidneo Hill had been a sacred site kind of room – and what kind of person. Vitruvius suggested that
long before Brixia was ‘Romanised’. A succession of shrines or neither paintings on grand subjects nor delicate cornice work
temples had occupied the spot, and the imperial Capitolium had were appropriate in winter dining rooms, as smoke from the fire
simply been built on top of a Republican­era sanctuary. This, and ‘the constant soot from the lamps’ would spoil them. Half a
archaeological evidence suggests, was a complex of four small century or so later in the Satyricon, Petronius – elegantiae arbiter
temples side by side, each of whose barrel­vaulted halls, or aulae, (‘judge of good taste’) at Nero’s court – pokes fun at one of his
led to a statue of a deity. The side aisles of this central, nave­like protagonists, the wealthy former slave Trimalchio, for daring to
space were demarcated by Ionic columns, monochrome mosaic have wall paintings in his hall of scenes from the Iliad and Odyssey,
flooring and outstanding wall paintings: faux panels of richly when his acquaintance with them turns out to be passing at best.
coloured marble, the randomness of their ‘natural’ patterning set
within Pompeian­red frames and, above those, a Greek­key bor­ The 19th­century German archaeologist August Mau estab­
der. At dado level was a fringed white ‘curtain’ decorated with gar­ lished four chronological periods, or Pompeian styles, up to ad79,
lands (a symbol of religious ritual), its fabric ‘gathering’ at intervals according to which Roman wall paintings are often – not always
helpfully – categorised. The First (or ‘masonry’) Style appeared
around 200bc as an import from the Greek world, and aimed to
create in paint and stucco the illusion of real marble­panelled
walls. A shift to a Second Style came around 80bc, when walls were
‘opened up’ with columns and colonnades, ‘vistas’ of cityscapes,
landscapes and theatrical allusions (including hints of a curtain).
By the emperor Augustus’s time, this ‘architectural’ approach had
morphed into a Third, more fanciful, ornamental style. Vitruvius
was not impressed: ‘We now have fresco paintings of monstrosi­
ties, rather than truthful representations of definite things […]
For how is it possible that a reed should really support a roof, or
a candelabrum a pediment with its ornaments?’

He would have approved of the Brescia frescoes, which fall
under early Second Style: elements of the First Style are still pre­
sent, with panels of exotic, variegated marble set within borders
of red ‘stucco’; but, pushing things on a little, the sanctuary’s real
fluted Ionic columns are mirrored in paint on the wall. Then
there’s that dado. Nothing says ‘trompe l’oeil’ quite like a cur­
tain: perhaps its creators had in mind the story of how Parrhasius
fooled his fellow artist Zeuxis by asking him to draw back the
curtain covering a painting (the drapery itself was painted).

Aside from the curtain, the design here is remarkably close
to a cubiculum in the House of the Griffins on the Palatine in Rome,
from around the same time. What can we make of the fact that
the decorative scheme inside a temple so resembles that of a bed­
room? A Roman’s house was his Hellenistic palace, yes – but also, it
seems, his sanctuary. That’s certainly something we can relate to $
For more information about the ruins at Brescia, visit bresciamusei.com

Opposite: the remains of the Capitolium were uncovered and the building partially rebuilt in the 19th century. The Republican sanctuary,
with its well-preserved frescoes, lies beneath its western side. Above: a floor of tesserae marks out the side aisles within colonnades, mostly

disappeared, while the central nave has a floor of white mosaic within a black frame. Below left: in a corner of the same room, a painted
pillar divides two faux-marble panels. Below right: the frescoes were polished with beeswax and olive oil to give them a marble-like sheen

000

This page: in the master bedroom, Forquet dotted the sombrely hued
18th-century Flemish tapestry with glitter – his mother’s precious
insect brooches and butterfly micro-mosaics. Opposite: a contact
sheet shows a reversible tailleur from Forquet’s second collection
(1963) inspired by birds in flight. The sleeves are like open wings

TRIUMPH
CONVERTIBLE

Why did the couturier Federico Forquet switch his focus from clothes to interiors? Exploring Tuscany in 1969 in his
British sports car, the man who’d lit up fashion with his toga dresses and nude look came upon a peasants’ farm that
would soon serve as a living laboratory for his ideas about decoration. Closing his Rome atelier, he began dressing
the homes, rather than the bodies, of his string of starry clients. As a book about the cultivated Neapolitan comes out,
Marella Caracciolo Chia steers us through the rooms that gave his new road added vroom. Photography: Guido Toroni

Top: beyond the late 19th-century iron bed, bought at Arezzo flea market, is a wicker chair designed by Forquet for Bonacina. Above left: the secrétaire PREVIOUS PAGES, RIGHT: MODELLED BY PUPA BALDIERI. PHOTOGRAPHED BY CARL PERUTZ
by the en-suite bathroom is a Neoclassical Neapolitan family heirloom. Above right: artist Carlo Guarienti painted the small portrait of the owner
alongside the headboard. Opposite: the canopy above the bed, a Forquet ‘invention’, looks down on a swirling quilt, an Indian woollen embroidery