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Why are we so fascinated by the lives of others? There’s something almost indescribably satisfying about a peek behind closed doors into someone’s home. Curiosity is satiated, yes, but the inquisitiveness feels doubly rewarding when you learn more about others through observing how they live. Not to mention what it tells you about yourself — which pieces of furniture or art grab your attention, to be revisited later or internalised in some way. Design inspiration as it were.
It’s a big part of the appeal of a new interiors book, Paris Living, in which photographer Guillaume de Laubier, whose work has been featured in World of Interiors and Vogue, focuses his lens on 19 Parisian homes. As he explains in the book, “each of these Parisian interiors, from diverse neighbourhoods across the city, offers a glimpse into the secret and intimate lives of those who live there, whether artists, designers, gallery owners, architects, or stylists.”
From the banks of the Seine to the steps of Montmartre, de Laubier offers a tour of Paris as you rarely get to see it, his studied tableaux of sophisticated yet warm and charming homes capturing their interiors as well as hints of the city outside and of the Parisians who inhabit it.
This is exemplified by gallery owners Didier and Clémence Krzentowski’s bankside belle-epoque apartment. Even the view of the Eiffel Tower pales next to the expertly curated works of art housed and arranged throughout their home — like an electric blue Pierre Paulin sofa and an Ettore Sottsass mirror (not the ubiquitous, endlessly Instagrammed wavy pink Ultrafragola, but the Sandretta table-top mirror, seemingly more restrained until you realise the red lacquered mirror rotates).
Most notably, there’s also a swathe of copper, one piece of Danish-Vietnamese artist Danh Vo’s We the People series, an exact replica of the Statue of Liberty, the metal framework of which was engineered by Gustave Eiffel a few years before he’d go on to design the Eiffel Tower.
The rest of the apartment offers more of the same. A bedroom ceiling features an art installation of some 30-odd world globes, another installation of multicoloured cast plasters mimicking framed work hangs on the wall, a cut-out figure sculpture stands in front of the curtains and behind, again, a Pierre Paulin piece.
The layering of contrasts — the interplay of different mediums, a melange of Memphis, mid-century modern and Italian industrial design, and the mixing of historical with contemporary — creates a textural and visual dimension that appears throughout all the residences featured in the book.
At the home of Lorraine and Patrick Frey (of interior design company Pierre Frey), colourful ochre, red and fuchsia curtains frame the main room and a peek into two rooms off it reveals more colourful textiles and upholstery. Centre stage is given to an upright piano topped with fresh flowers, small sculptures and a stack of books.
Books are on display in nearly every home de Laubier features in Paris Living. At the Krzentowski home a row of books, colour-coordinated, sits with objets d’art on a low, wide, white shelving unit; in the dining room of another apartment a miniature library sits behind an oversized table dressed with vases and Pierre Jeanneret chairs. Its rows of shelves (also Jeanneret) are filled with curios and books, as is the entry library and a bedroom with a bedside table piled with stacks of books that almost tower over the bed.
In the home of gallerist Marie Victoire Poliakoff, books are everywhere, including in a room off to the side that we’re only offered a small glimpse into. Novels, magazines, tomes on design and fashion, there’s a wealth of cultural capital in these homes that goes beyond the beautiful works of art.
The only thing more satisfying than being able to glimpse what is behind closed doors is getting to do it at leisure. De Laubier’s photography invites us to linger over, and revisit, the spaces in Paris Living; they’re designed to be enjoyed by others. In doing so he provides us with a useful reminder that surrounding ourselves with beautiful things that speak to our own lives — be it fresh flowers or, yes, books — is a good rule for getting the most from our own homes too.
‘Paris Living’ by Guillaume de Laubier will be published by Lannoo in June
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