Superior Interiors "en France"

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, January 24, 2011 • Paris, France

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

You know the expression, "the cobbler's children have no shoes?" Our own Interior Architect, Martine di Matteo (M Concept), can attest to this as her own children slept among boxes with no heat during her own year-long renovation project. We weren't invited to come see her 'new' home until this past weekend -- a centuries-old village house near Disneyland Paris in Marne la Vallée that she 'cobbled' together on her weekends while completing such stunning apartments as Le Temple des Rosiers and La Belle Notre Dame.

Five us started out at 5:45 p.m. on Friday in rush hour to take the RER A to the end of the line, only to discover "perturbations" (disturbances) on the line creating a three-hour adventure in sardine-like circumstances to finally arrive there. Fortunately, Martine had the cold champagne ready and a "mezze" buffet dinner after taking the tour of the three-level 300 square-meter (3229 square feet) "bergerie" (sheep house) that has the date "1720" engraved in one stone.

Martine successfully married the contemporary with the old all throughout the house. When you enter the foyer, a glass and iron atelier-style wall separates you from the kitchen, it appointed in light wood of a provincial style, produced by Provence et Fils. A similar idea has been reproduced between the bath and master bedroom -- what she calls the "princess room."

The house is filled with antiques and objects she's collected at the "brocantes" (rummage sales) as well as reproductions her family manufactures, set against contemporary elements such as a sharply-curved staircase and open spaces. You remember the age of the building by virtue of the high ceilings, open beams, some of which are almost 400 years old and the stone walls. She is clever in using portions of her mother's old draperies to reconstruct new ones, the same ones whose pattern had been painted as a backdrop in a portrait of her mother that hangs near the fireplace. There is symmetry and harmony in every way that you feel unconsciously as you immediately sense the house is comfortable, warm, familiar and inviting.

Of course, this embodies Martine herself, as any of her clients will tell you. And in good hostess style, at the end of a wonderful evening enjoying the warmth of the fireplace and the ambience of her good taste, she drove us back to Paris which was a 20-minute ride at midnight instead of the three hours it took to get there!

Interior design was again on the agenda for the weekend as I headed out of Paris once again on the RER to the Parc des Expositions for the bi-annual Maison et Objet trade fair. The fair is always overwhelming with stunning product and elaborately decorated stands, to the point that even all the American designers agree, there is nothing like it Stateside to even compare. Every show I drool over the day-glo glass bathtubs (Italian design, of course), the lush French upholstery fabrics and brilliant concepts that outdo themselves year after year.

After perusing only two halls of the eight through the many elaborate stands, I attended a champagne reception honoring the 2011 winners of the "IIDA Global Excellence Competition" (International Interior Design Association) along with Chicago "Design Collaboratives, Inc." architect, Tom Marquardt, and marketing guru, Barb Westfield, whose five-bedroom house in the Luberon (Provence) is a vacationer's heaven. Arden Lee, of Tonychi and Associates, New York, was one of the young winners, among other Americans.

The day ended with a different kind of artistry -- that of the Flamenco fast footwork of dancer Alejandra Hernandez, with chanting by Leonardo Trivino and Spanish guitar-playing by Victor Marques at Flamenco en France. Hernandez was a master at dance as well as the castanets. It was SRO with and without a reservation for the illustrious artists and the performance sensational -- the audience would have stayed forever if allowed.

A la prochaine...

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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P.S. Barb Westfield and Tom Marquardt are collaborating (as his company name suggests) on redeveloping the City Hall in her tiny town in Provence to accommodate three families, one on each level. One level may be up for grabs -- so if you're interested in having your own little heaven in the South of France, let me know and I'll put you in contact with them: adrian@adrianleeds.com

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PSI Communications -- How to design your own Body Language Business Card?™

Join us on Tuesday evening January the 25th to explore your Body Language, and in particular what does your listening style say about you? How does the quality of your attention to others change how they respond to you?

Our evening salon happens every Tuesday with a lively mix of people, cultures and new ideas. Connect for business and pleasure. Make better friends with your own brain with new communication tools.

Special for Parler-Paris readers! Reserve for one person and bring a friend for free!

Visit www.psicommunications.com or email: antonio.psicom@gmail.com

Practice Your French...or English!
Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group

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