DE S IGN CENTRE
private areas, whereas the other opens them up and connects them.” Within this Gallic framework, the apartment is a clever cross-channel confection. In the entrance hall, the ceiling moulding references the Palladian architecture of 17th- and 18th-century England, while Visual Comfort & Co.’s antique lantern is pure French art deco. In the living room, a pair of stools by Parisian furniture makers Hamilton Conte have been upholstered in fabric by that most English of brands, Colefax and Fowler. Deniot’s
interiors are also reflections of their
immediate surroundings. “I love the idea of the interior being a continuation of the exterior,” he says. Merging the two not only roots the interior in its surroundings, it also provides a story to base the scheme on. In the duplex penthouse he designed in the heart of New York’s Chelsea district, the hay tones of the master bedroom reflect the views towards the countryside, while in the living room, the shimmering, seven- metre-long curtains embroidered by Jean-François Lesage on Pierre Frey’s ‘Kalahari’ linen were inspired by the Hudson River outside.
This storytelling is important. Deniot’s aim is to
create an entire setting in which there is a continuous thread but each room has a sensibility all of its own. “My interiors are not a single song, they’re a whole album,” he explains. “To make people comfortable in a space, it’s important to give them options – different rooms to reflect different moods so that each person finds their perfect corner.” Deniot’s unerring ability to deliver aesthetically
beautiful interiors in which people can also live comfortably stems in large part from his architectural training. He has an instinctive understanding of space. “Each project starts with me listening to what the space has to say,” he says. “I look for the faults and focus on how to turn them into qualities, and reconfigure layouts
so the bones of the house give
maximum potential in terms of circulation, light and access. That brings a sense of serenity and tranquillity. Then I like to add a great layer of curiosities on top to keep a level of excitement – because being comfortable in a space is not only about being serene, it’s also about being captivated.”
His many international clients are so captivated that
the majority of them never change the spaces he has created for them. But Deniot himself is captivated too. Now headquartered on Paris’ famed Quai d’Orsay, and with an office in New York, the passion he felt for interior design as a boy chalking layouts on the paving stones outside his home is undimmed. He is rarely not at work, creating not only a wealth of both residential and commercial projects (many of them filled with furniture and furnishings sourced from the Design Centre – C & C Milano, Arte, Kvadrat, Holland & Sherry, Brunschwig & Fils all make regular appearances in his projects) – but also furniture, lighting and objects. Right now he is working a range of JLD decorative home accessories titled Quai D’Orsay. When I ask him how he would spend a day off, he
pauses before saying “catching up with friends, family, and my pets.” (These pets include not only cats and dogs, but also camels, donkeys, and a duck called Chatty). Then he adds, “What I do is translate a sense of beauty and my ultimate aim is to motivate dreams. I don’t consider that to be work, it’s a passion.”
ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: In London’s Eaton Square, Deniot brought together three apartments to create glamorous lateral living, with a hallway whose grand proportions are complemented
by a ‘Gale’ pendant by Thomas O’Brien for Visual Comfort & Co.; a Bangkok three-storey penthouse that features a private gold ‘grotto’ that opens at the flip of a switch – the living space includes a pair of stools by Arflex by Gastón y Daniela and fabrics and trim from Casamance, Dedar and Houlès. OPPOSITE: A duplex penthouse in New York’s Chelsea, where the ceilings are more than 7m tall: the curtains are Pierre Frey’s ‘Kalahari’ linen, custom-embroidered by famed French embroiderer Jean-François Lesage, with a water pattern that mimics the Hudson River beyond, while further fabrics were sourced from Brochier and Zimmer + Rohde
-2 2-
© Stephan Julliard
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
