Here, the art of living is given pride of place. Artists' portraits, contemporary furnishings, decorative items, beauty products and restaurants meet everypossible desire.
House ouvre aussi ses 250 mètres carrés à des plasticiens émergeants. Design From Arne Jacobsen’s legendary “Egg Chair” to the organic “Stingray” by Thomas Pedersen (3,131 €), half a century has passed without the well-defined Danish line ever being broken. It is to offer purists this ever-renewed heritage of Scandinavian design that Mark Jochumsen has launched his boutique, both a showroom and an art-gallery. For in addition to original pieces designed by the founders and their disciples (Wegner, Mogensen, Koch…), the Danish Design House opens its 250 sq. meters to emerging artists. 135 rue d’Antibes, Cannes (04 93 68 68 66).
Such is the credo of Corine Jahn, who has embarked on the adventure of home decor via her store “Decor'In”. She tastefully presents the best of Lemani : astonishing screens and frames made of wax, together with an appealing selection of candles, scents and objects. Decor’In, 5 rue Alphonse- Karr, Nice (04 60 44 81 53).
<u>Cagnes-sur-Mer</u> “The aim behind my approach is to set my clients dreaming. I voluntarily step outside traditional concepts to create a decor.” At RCF, the focus is on stage-setting, as in the cinema. Nothing is left to chance, and here, thanks to its notoriety, it now sells projects : garden layout, courtyards, facades and even home interiors. The star material is quite evidently polyurethane epoxy resin, a product 100 % natural and highly resistant, 100 % draining (and thus not requiring any slopes) and allowing for the laying of perfectly uniform and seamless floors. For innovative materials, innovative projects : RCF has signed on, among other things, for the landscaping of Marineland in Antibes. At Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, in a private property, the firm has installed a huge wall of natural vegetation. “We also pay great attention to lighting, including LEDs. The use of light is an important factor in stage-setting which enables us to obtain unexpected effects.” Would there not be some magic in that ? No, just skill and lots of imagination. RCF, 5 avenue des Alpes (04 93 20 30 30).
Outdoor lighting has taken centre-stage at Valente Design. When it opened, Christopher Tollemer was entrusted with the showroom’s design. Now he has put his signature to the new floor space of 150 m2 dedicated to outdoor lighting. The designer-decorator has opted for the spirit of a classic French garden, playing on volumes, colours and huge photographs of illuminated trees. Here, one enters a museum where light and its sources show off their many applications. Valente Design, ZA Saint-Maur, route de Collobrières, Cogolin (04 94 54 46 84).
V.I.P. from Casamance gives voile a place of honour. The collection takes a fresh look at this item, offering crisp pleats, subtle metallic effects and Lurex-style stripes. Design, lightness and wafting movement combined with natural hues are an absolute must this spring. En vente chez Début de Siècle, 9 rue Gubernatis, Nice (04 93 62 25 29)
120 square meters, the surface area available to Christine Camera to give free rein to her passion for interior decoration. This self-taught decorator with very sure taste has opted for different ambiances (lounge, dining-room...) with corners devoted to tableware, fabrics (Zimmer Rohde, Sahco Hesslein, Canovas...) etc. Visitors find a selection of well-known designer brands : Axo Light for light fixtures, Antonio Lupi for the world of bathrooms, Giorgetti, Varenna, Manutti… Villeroy & Boch is also well represented through its latest collection while house linen is entrusted to Sonia Rykiel and Anne de Solène. 64 route de la Paoute (04 93 09 43 40). www.caprice-creation-interieur.com
Contemporains, Sacha Lakic has designed “Quantum”, a 3-seater sofa clad in leather with tone-on-tone stitching. The range called Les Voyages now features “Tahoma”, a model whose materials come from controlled and renewable sources. Its solid beech, for example, comes from supervised forests and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Roche Bobois, 3015 chemin Saint-Bernard, Vallauris (04 92 96 55 70).
A revamp for the Clair Azur showroom. Brighter, more functional, it now extends to 250 m2 and consists of different areas dedicated to well-being and relaxation with spas, swim spas, saunas and hammams. Among the latter, the brand’s latest offering called “Ovation” offers an impresive array of equipment. Clair Azur, Espace Laporte, 1170 route de Nice, Antibes RN7 (0 825 825 818).
Jean-Louis Sacco and Marie-Brigitte Duvernoy, piano-makers and “Meilleurs Ouvriers de France” restore collectors’ gems here in Nice (Pleyel, Gaveau, Erard and Boisselot & Fils). Tired of seeing some late 18th-century models demolished, which no-one plays any more but which have retained their beautiful woodwork, they came up with the idea of dismantling them and making Dadaist sculptures. Reorchestrated pianos which always ring true ! <a href="http://www.pianoazur.com/">www.pianoazur.com</a>
Available in two sizes, the “Hikime Or” teapot is inspired by the great Japanese tradition. Its matt gold spangled surface brings out its polished black handle, its sensual curves promise moments of bliss with the magic of tea. Its designer, a celebrity in the Land of the Rising Sun, is none other than Hisanori Masuda. From 105 €. Also available, the cup (20 €) and its saucer (20 €). In sales on <a href="http://www.palaisdesthes.com/fr/">www.palaisdesthes.com</a> and on 01 43 56 90 90.
“I like the feeling of delivering a finished product.” This blond Italian knows what it takes. After studying architecture in Florence, Michela Fabbri set off for London to get experience and study interior design. When she opened her own agency 4 years ago, she could thus offer a “cast-iron project” : nothing, from the first pencil stroke to the arrangement of flowers, escapes her vigilance. The Michela Fabbri touch ! “When I start building a house, I already see it finished. Decor is a customer service. Each client has his own personality, I have to convey it in his home.” Think a lovely villa, a loft in Mougins, an on-going project in New Delhi, “1,000 m2 of living space”. Her approach differs slightly for sites such as the Royal Mougins Golf Resort. A focus on the place and its visitors with a specific aim. Future plans ? The Dominican Republic and Florence. “A resort in the Florentine hills, where everything will concentrate on well-being.” A return to her roots, awaited with impatience. One day, she will also produce her own line of furnishings. A finger in every pie ? Yes, that’s what she likes. 06 17 24 28 95.
Modern and youthful in appearance, an elegant lounge approach, this blind called “990” is essential for those with limited space. Its forte : its small size and compactness, combined with modern design. It offers fine lines and organic rounded shapes. Available in white, dark brown and metallic aluminum, it is now also proposed (at extra cost) in metallic anthracite, metallic stone grey and creamy white, all self-cleaning. <a href="http://uk.markilux.com/">www.markilux.com</a>
After Pretty You, here comes Pretty Me. A second shop in the Principality, which focuses on luxury and originality in interior design. The showroom is, in fact, an all-round life-style concept presenting the collection of German interior designer Marieux van den Broek, plus items designed by other emerging European artists. Here, the most noble materials rub shoulders with refined fabrics : precious woods, crystal, leather, silk, velvet... Pretty Me, Le Montaigne, 6 boulevard des Moulins, Monaco (00 377 98 80 00 80).
In Nice, her city by adoption, this beautiful Danish girl specializes in creating prints as pertinant as they are impertinant, on different supports that one notices right away in trendy, festive addresses. Handling English humour with real subtlety - a great source of motivation, she says -, she invents logos and juggles with words and materials for her brand, Kaviar. Working on clothing for individuals or companies, this very feminine Viking with a romantic soul has built her renown by proposing T-shirts with playful lettering both back and front. As she adores bright colors, Lisou also makes frame-paintings that she personalizes depending on her clients’ wishes : an exquisite gift to suit all occasions ! Sales office on <a href="http://www.popart.fr/kaviar/">www.popart.fr/kaviar</a> and lisou@popart.fr
Vividly contrasting colours, mixtures of warm and cold notes for ultra-trendy compositions. The tulip is the diva, accepting the company of hyacinths, fritillaries, narcissus, ranunculus, viburnum... The idea : combine the plant with an unexpected container. Customize and create ! <a href="http://www.fleursunpeubeaucoup.com/">www.fleursunpeubeaucoup.com </a>
This hand carved from Ciporex whose fingers form an “OK”, universally identifiable in Yogi, is the first stage of a humanist work-in-progress initiated by Célia Gouveiac. “If a hand has no life-line, it means that its fate remains to be written !” says this Brazilian artist trained at the Académie de Pétrus (Paris), an adept of “carpe diem”. Indeed, the “Yes to Life” concept is required to travel in order to spread this spiritual message all over the world. 1 rue Valperga, Nice <a href="http://www.yes-to-life.org/main/crbst_0.html">www.yes-to-life.org</a>
<u>Nice</u> A 29 year-old stylist in Nice who inherited a love of knitting from her grandmother has just up-dated the cosy world of wool, knitting needles, garter stitch and balls of wool. Just when we thought all this paraphernalia had been relegated to the dungeons ! Well, no ! Emmanuelle Barrere was about 20 when she decided to revive this material as soft to caress as it is to wear. When not designing 100 % pure wool clothing with matching, off-beat accessories (rings, bracelets, Mac covers…) under the name of Emmanuelle Esther, she turns into Ema Tricopathe to set her stamp on furniture. Feminine tags all in provocative knit-and-purl which, already victims of their success, are snapped up as fast as they appear. A new kind of "street art" which is all the rage in the USA where Lolitas, addicts of these new kinds of needles, devote themselves to “knitta please” : a few grams of softness in a very tough world.
It took 3 months to save this oven from oblivion, one of the last of its kind, on which chef Alain Ducasse worked from 1987 at the Louis XV and obtained three Michelin stars. Transforming this object symbolic of the cult of gastronomy into a sculpture was a challenge taken up by its manufacturer Serge Hairabetian (Molteni), together with the SBM. A heavy responsibility for artist Frédéric Vermorel, one of Arman’s former assistants, selected to give a second lease of life to this ton of cast iron with a past. Unveiled in Monaco in September, the reborn oven has now been shipped home : to the Molteni plant in Saint-Laurent-du-Var.
Cécile and Philippe Fouzon wanted their boutique to be rather intimate. The place certainly lends itself to that : a stone wall and a charming atmosphere. Besides the decorative items and furniture they unearth, the couple give priority to tableware, in porcelain, stoneware and ceramics. Brands include Jars, Jacques Pergay etc. Cécile makes raku and, for oneself or for a gift, Table des Matières is an excellent address. 7 rue Jean-Daumas, Cannes (04 93 39 26 53).
Sébastien Coste’s first Honeymoon creation saw the light of day in 1999. It was then a teak bed crowned by a marine canvas roof which was to be installed in Saint-Tropez. Since then, the brand has produced gazebos, day-beds, huts, pavilions and various other kiosks, the art of living outdoors, for a couple or more, in contemporary or more exotic style. The goal is to provide a good measure of comfort and very easy usage while making these living spaces little havens to be enjoyed by day and by night. Protected from sunlight and damp, Honeymoon beds and lounges become natural extensions of the home around the pool, in the garden or even on a beach. Private clients and hotels (L’Hôtel du Castellet in the Var, for example) all applaud these products which also attract architects, decorators and landscapers.
