Trading Places

A friend recently gave me a copy of the December 2003 issue of House & Garden. While reading it, I found an article on the Jacques Grange designed New York pied à terre of Mathilde Agostinelli and family. When I saw the photo of the pink tufted guest beds (see the photo towards the bottom of the post), I immediately recognized them as those that also appeared in the Agostinelli's Paris apartment, featured in House & Garden, May 2006. After comparing the two articles, it seems that many of the pieces that once graced their New York apartment later ended up in their main Paris residence (also decorated by Grange.)

Of course, if I had that gorgeous Grange designed plaster mirror, the Lalanne side table, and those embroidered panels, I too would make sure that no matter where I lived, there would always be a place for those blue chip pieces. They look terrific on both sides of the pond.



In the New York apartment, the Jacques Grange designed mirror was placed in the foyer.




In Paris, it's in the living room.




To the left of the New York living room, a pair of 18th c. bénitiers (holy water vessels) stood against one wall. One holds a silver champagne bucket with flowers. A Lalanne side table holds a drink tray.




The Lalanne table was later used in the Paris master bedroom. Note the wooden chair and Murano chandelier in the bathroom. The same pieces graced the New York foyer, shown in the second photo.




The holy water vessels later appeared in the Paris dining room, this time holding enormous shells.




Embroidered wall panels by Ernest Boiceau figured prominently into the scheme of the New York dining room.




In Paris, they were hung in the living room.




The pink tufted beds were placed next to each other in the New York guest bedroom. I'm taken with those small duvets.




And then here they are in the daughter's bedroom in Paris.



New York apartment photos from House & Garden, December 2003, Thibault Jeanson photographer. Paris photos from House & Garden, May 2006, Francois Halard photographer.

Thanks for the Inspiration, Fabrizio Rollo

I can't seem to get this photo out of mind as I find it so striking-and that goes for both the fashionably clad subjects and the decor around them. I found this photo on the blog of Brazilian based Fabrizio Rollo, the man seated in the middle. Fabrizio is currently the director of House Beautiful Brasil, though in the past he has held editorial positions at Casa Vogue and Vogue Brasil. Not only is he a natty dresser (Google his name to see what I mean; Fabrizio has a stellar wardrobe!), but he also has an eye for interior design. Even if you can't read Portuguese, it's worth visiting his blog as the images are really beautiful. The photographs transcend the language barrier...just like the one above.

What especially caught my eye was that beautiful tapestry. If it looks familiar, that's because it once graced the dining room of Yves Saint Laurent's Rue de Babylone home. The c. 1720 Gobelins tapestry, titled The King Borne by Two Moors, was purchased by Fabrizio's friend at the YSL auction at Christie's. And now it hangs in his friend's Paris apartment where the photo at top was taken. I think it's worth noting that the tapestry depicts the Dutch colony of Brazil, the (now) country that Fabrizio calls home.

I have to admit that I've never been a big fan of tapestries. That's sacrilege, I know. Still, you don't see them very often in American interiors as they're perhaps too grand for our more casual homes. Also, I've always thought the colors were a bit drab, though I realize the more monotone nature of many tapestries is due to fading and possible limitations in the number of colors used. But then I saw the Gobelins tapestry above and it completely changed my mind. The colors in this one are so vibrant, and they are made even more so thanks to the red sofa beneath it. Even the tapestry's subject, so exotic for the time, is something I find to be charming.

Perhaps someday you just might find a tapestry in my home. Will it be as grand as the YSL one? Maybe not. But in the meantime, I'll just have to live vicariously through Fabrizio.



The Gobelins tapestry as it appeared in Yves Saint Laurent's dining room.





Designer Jacques Grange has rotated this 1930s looking tapestry throughout his Paris home.




The Paris apartment of Madame Cuttoli, c. 1937. Cuttoli revitalized the Aubusson workshops during the 1930s by inviting artists like Lurcat, Matisse, Derain, and Dufy to design tapestries. In this photo, the two floor to ceiling tapestries that flank the fireplace were by Lurcat.




Here, a Beauvais tapestry, "Le Voyage du Prince".




Alidad furnished this Parisian living room with an Aubusson Louis XV tapestry.




Image at top courtesy of Fabrizio Rollo; #2 from The Yves Saint Laurent-Pierre Berge Collection: The Sale of the Century; #3 from The French Touch: Decoration and Design in the Most Beautiful Homes of France; #4 from Jacques Grange: Interiors; #5 from The Decorative Thirties; #6 from Les Reussites De La Decoration Francaise: 1950-1960; #7 courtesy of Alidad.

Jacques Grange Interiors

I've spent the past few nights in bed with Jacques Grange.


Photo by Jérôme Macé, from Jacques Grange Interiors by Pierre Passebon (Paris: Flammarion, 2009).


Can you blame me? He's awfully handsome...and so are his interiors.



Photo by François Halard, from Jacques Grange Interiors by Pierre Passebon (Paris: Flammarion, 2009).

Like this 1920s Park Avenue apartment, above.




Photo by François Halard, from Jacques Grange Interiors by Pierre Passebon (Paris: Flammarion, 2009).


Or this Paris apartment that I fell in love with when I first saw it published a few years ago.



Photo by François Halard, from Jacques Grange Interiors by Pierre Passebon (Paris: Flammarion, 2009).


I wish I could show you more, like this home, above, in Paris...




Photo by Marianne Haas, from Jacques Grange Interiors by Pierre Passebon (Paris: Flammarion, 2009).


...but unfortunately, I can't. But take my word for it, Jacques Grange: Interiors by Pierre Passebon (Paris: Flammarion, 2009) is truly fantastic. If you weren't already a Grange fan, I think you'll become a convert.