Home of Chanel to LVMH, Paris extends its style influence well beyond Fashion Week. By the time the renowned furniture trade show Maison et Objet opens its doors, the French fashion capital reveals itself to be a barometer of taste and aesthetics and a magnet for the who’s who of the interior design world. Caroline Sarkozy is one of the insiders who knows precisely how to lend apartments, houses, and lofts that “je ne sais quoi” factor. Sarkozy, who lives and works in Paris, has tremendous expertise and a unique, elegant style that is perfectly at home in luxurious interiors around the world. She grew up in the USA, the Middle East, and Africa, and together with French photographer Jean-François Jaussaud and journalist Caroline Clavier, she whisks us into the personal living spaces of the most beautiful arrondissements of Paris in the second edition of Living in Style Paris. From timeless, understated interiors and ornate, yet refined Art Deco apartments to spectacular dream oases at the city’s edge: captured in opulent pictures and carefully curated, this book provides an intimate look at the work of design greats such as Muriel Brandolini, Juan Montoya, Joseph Dirand, Christian Astuguevieille, Luis Laplace, Olivier Dwek and Chahan Minassian, Studio KO, and the exclusive hideaways in the metropolis on the Seine that are normally hidden away from prying eyes.
Caroline Sarkozy, how was this generous and eclectic book project born?
This project is the continuation of a very successful first collaboration with teNeues 8 years ago. Hendrik teNeues, a friend of thirty years contacted me to imagine a book on Parisian interiors. He gave me all editorial freedom to express my vision of Parisian interiors. I wanted to show the Paris of today, while inscribing it in the tradition and French artistic excellence that has kept the world dreaming for centuries. For that, I asked two great professionals, who share my eyes and my enthusiasm for Paris to join me. Caroline Clavier for the sensitivity and excellence of her writing and Jean-Francois Jaussaud for his vibrant eye and his search for balance in images. Naturally, to find exceptional homes commissioned by collectors or travelers in love with Paris who were looking to test the myth of French excellence, I appealed to my colleagues.
What is your definition of a Parisian decorating spirit?
What drives the Parisian spirit is dialogue, between creativity and quality, between tradition and innovation. Paris follows both with its immense historical heritage, the great tradition of excellence and with its role as cultural capital, a quest for research and creative innovation. The result is eclectic, imbued with influences and movements because Paris is a city open to the world. The search for harmony and creative excellence is the common ground nourished by the work of a vast arsenal of exceptional French craftsmen.
Is there a tribe of French designers?
Tribe… maybe… we know and appreciate each other, we discuss and meet regularly in events like that of AD Interieurs organised by Marie Kalt, or during major design shows like in Maastricht, Design Miami or at Patrick Perrin’s PAD shows. We all have good relationships although we each have our own personality, our unique style and way of doing things.
