Ines De La Fressange
So often, I am asked to define parisian style… I am indeed not from Paris but from the South West of France, but spent a great deal of time during holidays in Paris, at my family's apartment overlooking the Parc de Vincennes. A few things have stayed with me from my early education…always be polite, have good manners, be assured of yourself, be cultured and well read, know when it is your turn to talk, dress as you please but make sure it is chic, have a natural look. I guess my mother did a good job as to this days, those simple rules are ingrained in my brain and apply to my design affinities.
For most editors, Ines de La Fressange is the aristocrat of chic with impeccable taste and style.
A parisian apartment is rarely contrived, does not follow a design formula. In France, we tend to be more conservative, inheriting family furniture and houses are lived in from generations to generations. Traditionally, the french furnish and design their apartment or houses themselves and occasionally with the help of their antiquaire, dealer or designer. We are not scared to be bold, buy on impulse , mix grand mother's buffet with a fabulous mid century chaise and a great lamp found in a flee market. We tend to tell a story by juxtapositioning the pieces we love, we design for ourselves , rooms that are comfortable, interesting and truly reflect the personality of who lives in the space. A few must… a library, great wine, carpets, some old and some new and an open door… for friends to pop in and say hello, laughs over cocktail, and serious political conversations with cognac and cigars…
Living in Connecticut for the past 20 years, my house is always open and ready for friends, I still have my great great grand mother's armoire and the house is filled with personal travel treasures, art, furnitures of contemporary as eclectic style. A house in which my sons are just at ease as we are, well lived, constantly evolving and being an integral part of our lives.
A Bientot,
Francine
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