Here, the art of living is given pride of place. Artists' portraits, contemporary furnishings, decorative items, beauty products and restaurants meet everypossible desire.
The revolution in the kitchen goes by the name of “Qooq”, an integrated solution offering culinary content and interactive services. A new coach who teaches, counsels, assists and adapts to the user. Furthermore, it doesn’t mind splashes, fat or moisture, as its legs are non-slip and its screen waterproof. 349 € for the screen and 12.95 € per month to access all the services. In sales at La Fnac, 44 avenue Jean-Médecin, Nice (0 825 020 020). www.qooq.com.
The “Premium Espresso” collection came out of an encounter between Christian Ghion and Nespresso. The saucer has concentric circles and the porcelain cup becomes a luxury item, hand-decorated in 20-carat gold or platinum. Elegant sets of two cups from 60 €. 0 800 55 52 53.
Today’s images are characterized by movement, offering interior decor some interesting prospects for mobility. They are invading cityscapes and commercial premises, houses and apartments. An expert in individual design and display technologies, Dalcans offers products that are pleasing to the eye, scalable, immersive or even interactive, such as mirror TVs, built-in screens, TV fixtures, banks of LED images or panoramic projections, to professionals, architects or designers, as well as private individuals. Always searching for perfection, the company has enlisted service-suppliers, craftsmen, carpenters and locksmiths for the structures, graphic and video designers for the content. www.dalcans.com
Collection Maison (www.collectionmaison.net) has launched a new website : www.voilagesdesign.fr. For the past three years, the talented designer Arielle.D has been creating made-to-measure transparent fabrics with digital printing for Japanese panels and roller blinds. They can now be found on the Internet and, thanks to interactivity, you can see the composition with the chosen pattern and in the dimensions required. A great way to test and finally find your perfect decor ! www.voilagesdesign.fr
This site resulted from the realisation that lighting designers are rare on the web. No longer a problem ! Here is a savvy selection of brands and designers, Italian, Scandinavian, French... offering ceiling lights, sconces, table lamps and outdoor lighting. An e-shop brimming with light and spearhead design to illuminate our everyday lives ! www.lightonline.fr.
The specialist for indoor and outdoor renovation for over 15 years, from designing plans to carrying out the work itself, Made In Beaulieu has undertaken to observe five crucial points : delivering on time, compliance with requirements, clear and precise invoicing, safe and clean worksites. Over the years, the company has enlisted experienced professionals and specialized craftsmen to work at its side. Made In Beaulieu, 18 boulevard Marinoni, Beaulieu-sur-Mer (04 93 27 09 18). www.madeinbeaulieu.com
Scented candles are fashionable and appeal to our senses. Will you opt for the dark and mesmerizing “Boisée” range or the lighter and more candid “Hespéridée” ? The first gives off scents of wengé, the second citrus fruit. Treats for the nose and the eyes... En vente chez Casa di Colori, 14 avenue Jean-Mermoz, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (04 93 53 97 22).
Based in north-east Italy, MD House has been synonymous with quality furniture for over 35 years. Today, it is turning its attention to design. One of the firm’s characteristic features : systems (day room, bedroom, walk-in closets...) allowing the home to be fitted out from A to Z in an extremely coherent manner. Shown above and opposite, “All Day” is a programme based on modular components catering for horizontal and vertical design. It’s all a matter of combinations, variations in volume, and total freedom. Make way for essential, minimalist lines which become the very embodiment of modernity, ergonomics, attention to detail. The bookshelves can be open or closed, without ever losing the concept of elegance so inseparable from this Italian brand. MD House, Arredamenti Mire Spa, via A. Durante 28 (00 39 04 34 62 04 81).
Casamanara has put its name to the Maya Bay restaurant in Monaco, the lobby of the Roccabella, and is currently working on the new project for the Hôtel Mirabeau, also in the Principality. Italian by birth, Piero Manara has lived in Monaco since 1977. Though this graduate from Camondo is in fact an interior architect and designer of the world. An associate of Robert Couturier for three years in New York, he spent a lot of time in Mexico designing Sir Jimmy Goldsmith’s “hacienda”. This year, he opened a showroom on the Rock of Monaco where his designs are quite logically acclaimed by an international clientele. Casamanara, 24 avenue Princesse Grace, Monaco (00 377 97 98 30 46).
After Lacroix and Gaultier, Evian has entrusted the design of its glass bottle to Paul Smith who has wrapped it in ribbons in glowing, bittersweet colours, coiffed by a bottle top in five different hues bearing the initials PS. 1.98 €.
Gwenaëlle Leprat, Christine Besson and Philippe Saharoff have put their names to “Chalets, un art de vivre”, a personal tour of the loveliest representatives of this kind of home in the leading resorts of Chamonix, Megève, Garmisch Partenkirche, Gstaad, Crans Montana, Breuil Cervinia, from the valley of Aoste to the Tyrol, and from Switzerland to Le Queyras. Together with families, architects and decorators, Gwenaëlle Leprat tells the stories behind these magnificent mountain chalets, while photographers Christine Besson and Philippe Saharoff accompany them with close on 250 photos. All styles are represented, as well as the latest trends in chic decor - at high altitudes !
Classic, but above all contemporary furniture, is their concern ! For 40 years, GR Arredamenti has designed its own creations, following trends and fashions, if not preceding them. Architects and designers are not mistaken when they make this address one of their favorite haunts. As we’re told by the store : “A home’s interior always reflects the personality of the person living in it : it is a real mirror”. Delving even deeper into the philosophy on which the products are based : “Each piece of furniture is a portrait, a self-portrait even, every detail becomes a biography”. Something to think about, while admiring the collection. GR Arredamenti, Via Roma 149, San Remo (00 39 01 84 66 78 12).
The “Viva” fruit dish from Encore & Encore was designed by Franco Consiglio. Practical and stylish, it comes in silver, reddish gold, orange and white. 36 €. www.encoreetencore.com
Fans of fine books, gourmets and Epicureans will be delighted with “12 Balades Gourmandes”, written and compiled by Régine Rivère-Salvignol and Ralph Hutchings. “I wanted to touch fans of photographs, landscapes, interior decor and cooking,” says Régine Rivère-Salvignol. In these pages, the reader discovers beautiful table settings “to entertain in style”, moods and views conducive to escapism, original recipes from Alain Llorca and Jon Coomb. Month by month, the author relates minor and major events in life, accompanying each one with original ideas to experiment with in town, in the country or by the sea... and share with family and friends. A bible to be consulted without moderation. In sales on www.rr-concept.com
Holland Park is a mini-jungle of 1,000 m2, tamed and orchestrated by Frédéric Bonino and Guillaume Allouard. From these boutiques with objects throwing a bridge between nature and design, an XXL version was born in the midst of a warehouse. The boutique has added a radical coffee lounge to its catalogue of perennials and trendy indoor/outdoor items. “No plastic, no Coca, priority to eco-glam attitude ! We propose great vintages of tea or coffee and a fooding menu from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.” 31 bis rue Michel-Ange, Nice (04 92 07 11 77).
This dedicated jazz fan works amidst a plethora of paintings, records, images and photos that help him produce his installations dedicated to the icons of jazz. It was with the help of John Beake, who has covered Nice’s Jazz Festival and Jazz à Juan for over 20 years, that these chairs came into being, telling the history of jazz in paintings and live photos. www.myspace.com/mauromodin
According to Guy Seurat of Domotique & Habitat : “This showroom is the first of its kind in the PACA region and the second at national level”. On two floors, the store provides a comprehensive picture of home automation. Here, everyone is invited to discover the many facets of its various applications. “Home automation has been democratized, it is now aimed at the general public. A full installation costs from 150 to 200 ? per sq. metre. Today, we can also assess the energy savings it generates.” At a later stage, the shop will offer an area devoted to technological innovation. To be continued... 40 boulevard Risso, Nice (04 93 24 12 39).
Round tables, large format wall hangings, photographs on canvas along with stickers (as here), Scenolia collections play the ace of originality. An unexpected way of cheering up walls, getting rid of frames and treating oneself to dreams. 39.90 €. www.scenolia.com
“Finding ways to make carbon esthetically pleasing” is the challenge taken up by Nicolas Blin. First a painter-decorator, he used the material for the first time the day he decided to make furniture for a boat. A search for balance, volume and revelation. At the end of 2005, he designed some jewellery, mostly for fun. Fate decided otherwise. People liked his jewellery, the effect was guaranteed, success on the cards. Three years later, Nicolas Blin and Génération Carbone (a company that handles all of his production in workshops in La Gaude) had finally tamed carbon, revealing its transparency and visual appeal. Its originality too. Nicolas Blin leaps blithely from fashion to interior decor. The ideas are there, their implementation will follow. It’s a sure thing, carbon is going to enter our homes in a big way. www.generationcarbone.com
We’re all in favour of environment-friendly cooking utensils (the WWF approves !). Their non-stick coating is made from ceramic to limit their impact on nature. Evergreen by-aubecq, sur www.karis.fr
