It’s been a while since we’ve shined a spotlight on our uber-talented Parisian friend, , and his unparalleled ability to create an interior of beauty that somehow always feels super exciting and new. One of his latest projects is this spectacularly beautiful in the South of France, designed for a young family passionate about art, furniture and design. Dream client alert!
“It was a quasi-total carte blanche”, says Parente of this project, who’s design objective was to evoke the apartment’s sunny location, fusing it with a deliberate mixture of textures and natural colours. “The Mediterranean spirit with a chic and contemporary lifestyle, and a cool attitude. This was my framework,” he says.
Parente met his clients through a gallerist friend. “It was a quasi-love affair,” he says. Not only is the couple of the same age as him, they also discovered they shared similar views on design and lifestyle. The pair wanted to create a global project that sat at the intersection of interior design, furniture and art. All the pieces were carefully chosen to embody a certain kind of freedom of spirit.
The generously proportioned 350-square-meter interior sits on the top floor of the building facing the sea. “It’s sunny and full of light from the morning to the evening. Like a house pending to the clouds with a 360-degree view,” explains the designer.
Parente developed the project using only natural and organic materials. “It was an important part of our studies to find new finishes and timeless textures that felt connected to the context of the location.”
Osso travertine lines the floor, while cactus-fibre carpet appears in the living room alongside cleaved travertine blocks. The kitchen features lacquered timber panels, lava stone benchtops, while black and white clay lines the floor. The entrance door handle and all metal details are crafted from bronze, textured wallpaper makes a cameo in the vestibule, while walnut timber ads a sense of gravitas to the library. Appearing in the corridor in front of metal bronze panels and terracotta lime wash paint are cupboard doors lined in cork. Dark red bamboo lines the powder room, green Mediterranean marble wraps the master bathroom, while green waxed timber panels line the walls of the master bedroom. “The rich and poor materials are assembled for a perfect story,” explains Parente.
The interplay of colours and materials is not only incredibly complex and diverse, but also dangerous. This approach would bomb in the hands of someone less experienced and a lot less talented, yet Parente manages to achieve a visual balance with effortless ease. And this is precisely why I love him so.
Art advisor played an integral part in the project, working directly with the client on the art selections. “We really love our parallel dialogue and freedom between art pieces and interior design,” says Parente, who describes their collaboration as easy and natural. “We did not build the selection project together, we worked in parallel and in the end, everything matches perfectly and in the same spirit!”
The clients’ bold furniture selections are the result of a collaboration with their friend, Arnaud Christin, a furniture dealer. He is the man behind several pieces, like the living room sofa covered in the striking striped fabric by Raf Simons for Kvadrat. Clémence and Didier Krzentowski of also played an important part in furniture and object selections.
Ultimately, the driving principle for this project was to create a family home where life could unfold daily among all the art and design pieces. Rather than creating a perfectly curated museum, it was essential for the apartment to feel cosy, real and personal. It’s fair to say they nailed it.
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