Here, the art of living is given pride of place. Artists' portraits, contemporary furnishings, decorative items, beauty products and restaurants meet everypossible desire.
Founded in 2004, the style design studio Lucea Illuminotecnica brightens up our daily lives. The showroom displays the very best brands (mostly Italian) which specialize in lighting : Foscarini, Luce Plan, Venini Artlight, Diluce, Fontana Arte, but also Lumen Center, Artemide and Swarovski. Here, design is celebrated in lamps, wall and ceiling lights… As well as selling, Lucea proposes an after-sales service, installation, mounting… and, of course, advice. Lucea Illuminotecnica, via Cavour, 33/b, Vintimille (00 39 01 84 35 56 87).
“We wanted to propose an innovative concept,” says Vincent Roulon, the project’s initiator - who has succeeded beyond all expectations ! Vidéhome is not a store but an audio-visual showroom, designed like a large loft where nothing is seen but merely guessed at. Waxed concrete flooring, furnishings and panelling in wengé (signed Patrick Gaziello) all set the tone. Then, make way for high-tech (Bose in particular), cleverly staged and totally integrated. The aim is to show architects and other clients the many possibilities of incorporating these systems. The traditional home movie room becomes a lounge dedicated to the seventh art, with an appropriate atmosphere, very “design”. An art-form in itself… Vidéhome, Beaulieu Palace, 10 boulevard Maréchal-Joffre (04 93 01 61 97).
Intemporal, handmade by cabinetmakers in a Parisian workshop, these exclusive models are produced in limited series, with a practical and playful dimension invented and maintained by Uniq’s founder, Patrick Hobeika. The brand proposes made-to-measure, to satisfy the desires and whims of each and every client. A study costs 200 €, deductible if the piece is produced. www.galerieoberkampf.com and 01 58 30 84 04.
Introducing perfect high-tech storage, the “nec plus ultra” called “Case System 2.3”. The sophisticated design of this model in oakwood proposes intelligent and innovative solutions. In order to preserve the kitchen’s total minimalism, handles have been incorporated into the doors and are thus invisible. Another detail synonymous with elegance is “Blumotion”, a mechanism ensuring that drawers and doors close both gently and silently. Boffi, 127 rue d'Antibes, Cannes (04 93 39 32 16).
Lema dreams up the structures indispensable to our well-being. For storage, it will be a bookcase like “Selecta”, either open or closed, a custom-made closet (“Anta” collection) or a wardrobe system fitted down to the very last centimetre. For the bedroom, “Loto” beds of Japanese inspiration, “Quaranta” with its clean design or “Kon Tiki” with its bedhead in two sections. www.lemamobili.com
The “Saruyama Islands” range from Toshiyuki Kita has attained the rank of a real icon in the world of contemporary design. Its curvy, organic shapes allow everyone to find their very own version of comfort. This modular line comes in the form of sofas, armchairs and pouffs (3,286 € + VAT for the 2-seater sofa, 511 € for the small pouff, 620 € for the medium size, Moroso). www.moroso.it
With its high-teck elegance, the Cellar Box certainly won’t go unnoticed ! Designed by Pablo Reinoso, it has a metal case whose interior and sides are in “Jaune Clicquot” foam. Optimising conditions for keeping rare vintages, it is intended for wine-buffs who are city-dwellers, rarely with room for a real wine cellar. www.veuve-clicquot.com
After 15 years of activity in the Netherlands, these professionals have been working out of Mougins for the past two years. Specializing in planing, sanding and selling parquet, the firm already had many French clients and decided to serve them more efficiently by opening this spacious showroom here in France. Still obtaining its supplies from its Dutch saw-mill, it mainly proposes oversize strips of solid wood (old and new), plus real service, both of very high quality. The choice is very wide (fir, larch, oak, ipe, ash, plane, jatoba…) and Parquet Provençal provides excellent advice on finishes and treatments (varnish, oils…). You can also acquire a coffee table in the size of your choice to match your floor ! 1476 chemin de la Plaine, Mougins (04 92 92 99 70).
This year, Zofia Rostad proposes more colourful designs than ever. As witnessed by “Vitrail” (or “stained-glass window”), designed for Toulemonde Bochart. A real festival of cheerful colours for a hand-tufted carpet in nacryl. From 134 €. En vente aux Galeries Lafayette, Cap 3000, Saint-Laurent du-Var (04 93 14 82 12).
Introducing the first pressure system for the home. “BeerTender” sees that you enjoy the quality of a great draught beer thanks to its really high performance. All yours, the glowing brew, its creamy froth and inimitable coolness. Guaranteeing these three features, a disposable keg of draught Heineken and a “Krups BeerTender B85” which maintains beer at a temperature of 5° C. Machine : 249 €. 5-litre keg of beer : 15 €. www.beertender.fr.
Samantha Milios and Xavier Didero form a twosome, and their firm M&D wears two caps. “We are property dealers and have added renovation and interior decor at our clients’ request.” The advantage is that they cover everything from A to Z. A daunting, dilapidated apartment will be given a soul to match its architecture. Then they attack its interior layout, naturally following the future owner’s desires. A touch of psychology comes in handy : studying and interpreting the client’s needs… Samantha and Xavier are past-masters. In handling technical problems and setting up relationships with building specialists too. “Starting from zero and achieving the final product while playing with existing volumes, materials and light is a real passion.” M&D, 226 avenue de Fabron, Nice (06 03 29 14 88).
Lucrèce Picchioni is the daughter of an antique-dealer. Though she has just made her entrance into design by opening a boutique of 50 sq. metres… just next door to her father’s gallery. Here you’ll find oak furniture sheathed in leather from Maître en Scène, creations by Ponti Terenghi, Calla armchairs and the “Vitesse” bar-stool by Domodinamico. Plus Kollection, whose inventiveness caused a stir at the last “Maison&Objet” fair. Emergence Design, 2 rue François-Arago, Cogolin (04 94 54 71 01).
This is a website dedicated to deco : www.designers-avenue.com. Chic, elegant, refined, or decidedly “off the wall”, it also offers ideas for gifts (for yourself or your friends). Fans of leading designers will linger over lamps signed Verner Panton, Patrick Jouin or Tord Boontje. A website well worth investigating ! www.designers-avenue.com
Straight or rounded, kitchens proposed by the Italian firm Tomassi are always very trendy : elegant, flowing and welcoming. They provide spaces for living which give new apppeal for the eye while maintaining 100 % practicality. “Andromeda” is a perfect example of this. With its straight lines and delightfully sensual curves, it comes in an attractive palette of colours ranging from softer shades (egg-shell, white, sky blue) to the very flashy (red, black and orange…). A versatile model that can become open-plan, giving onto the rest of the home, or a closed space, more private and taking on the air of a culinary laboratory.
We’re all familiar with garden centers, so now meet “the” stone center on the Riviera. Clivaparc presents itself as a unique showroom, open-air and entirely dedicated to stone. Two brands, Asohill and Clivapierres, share a circuit on different themes, staging typically Mediterranean products. Clivaparc in fact offers vistors an attractive array of solutions for imagining, designing and creating one’s home, pool and everyday environment. Distripierres, 842 route de Grenoble, Nice (04 93 08 83 75).
Those who love linen and patinas already know La Demeure, an interior decor boutique of real charm (sofas, items for the lounge, bedroom, delicate fabrics…) run by the Dumay family. Which, to meet the tastes of today, is opening a second store devoted to contemporary deco, with discreet touches from yesteryear. La Demeure, 21 et 25 rue Sylvabelle, Marseille (04 91 53 95 58).
Only Hilton McConnico could have designed a carpet called “Undress Me”. In rose, blue, brown or yellow, this model dreamt up by the American designer for Toulemonde Bochart expresses all his humour and fantasy. Youngsters will love it, their elders too, as long as they’ve hung onto the soul of a child. In a bedroom or elsewhere in the house, these three buttons will be a huge success. 130 €, size 110 x 170 cm. On sale at Galeries Lafayette, Cap 3000, Saint-Laurent du Var (04 93 14 82 12).
Everyone should be able to live in the home that resembles them best. L’Univers Agem has taken up the challenge. For this specialist in cupbards and storage, it’s all a matter of making the most of available space. It knows how to track down the tiniest square centimetre of space, in all the rooms in the house ! Avaialable from L’Univers du Placard, 18 boulevard de la Madeleine, Nice (04 93 44 85 41).
For over 30 years, the Italian company Policchi has excelled in the production of sunblinds, verandahs, gazebos, arbours and other means of protection from the sun. The range of materials used includes canvas, of course, wood, wrought-iron and PVC, not forgetting various motorisation systems with remote control and anemometer captors. The services proposed are intended for both professionals and private clients, and cover western Liguria and the Côte d’Azur. Whatever your requirements (and budget), the Policchi team will take care of everything, from project to installation. What’s more, their estimates can be accompanied by 3D simulations, enabling you to visualise the final product “in situ”. Customized design (including shop names, logos etc…) are other specialities perfectly mastered by this firm. Policchi, Corso Inglesi, 634, San Remo (00 39 0 184 66 72 11).
Simple, efficient, free… and fast, this is a site that will be talked about. Its aim is to help private individuals (and companies) to obtain comparative estimates and find the ideal partner to execute their plans. Launched at national level by two young entrepreneurs, “devispresto” is one of the intermediary platforms currently very much in vogue. www.devispresto.com.
