New Paris Interiors (italics)
by Ian Phillips
Edited by Angelika Taschen, Taschen 2008
Reviewed by Annie Kelly

Cabinet of Natural Curiosities, (italics) from Taschen in 2005,
with its coral colored cover, was one of the best books of the year and is still placed prominently on most chic coffee tables. I should know, as I even bought the companion calendar The Cabinet of National Curiosities Big Wall Calendar (italics), which pages I later framed and hung in a guest bedroom in the country. Based in Germany, Taschen has cornered the market in well-priced art and design books, but they often have a repetitive quality to their sometimes recycled subject matter. However New Paris Interiors(italics), ably20written by design journalist Ian Phillips, and edited by Taschen's ex-wife Angelika, is a real stand-out. Of course some credit is due to the French designers themselves, and, naturally Paris looks pretty good too.

Angelika explains in her introduction that her first book on Paris interiors was fifteen years ago, and much has changed since then including the layout process itself. She adds, “Now that French designers like Jean Prouve, Charlotte Perriand, and Jean Royere are regarded as classics worldwide, a new international generation is setting the tone in Paris – like the Bouroullec brothers, Martin Szekely, Marc Newson, and India Mahdavi.”

The book goes on to show probably the most sophisticated collection of interiors in any city right now – including New York – as the French, as well as all the international residents of Paris, have their
collective fingers on the art and design pulse of the world. My favorite is Jean-Louis Deniot's small apartment near Saint Germain-des-Pres (most places here are tiny as a lot of them are just pied-a- tierres). Here, he has created a deeply chic space, using furnishings mainly from the twentieth century, tied together with a Madeleine Castaing-designed striped rug.

Designer Didier Gomez has also created a beautiful apartment in the Marais from what was once a pharmaceutical factory. He painted it in a combination of white and peaceful greens, and has combined the art by Emile Baez and Abel Seguin with modern furniture of his own design, plus an Eames chair, and an elegantly shaped white armchair by Pierre Paulin. The cluttered comfortable apartment of Michelle and Yves Halard, parents of the photographer Francois Halard, still seems modern, despite the couple being in the decorating business since 1950. I loved their skillful use of greens, reds, and yellows, as well as the occasional note of purple in their lived-in rooms which overlook the church of Saint Sulpice.

A big surprise was Carine Roitfeld's apartment. As the editor-in-chief of French Vogue,(ITALICS) I expected something a little more daring. Instead, the apartment that she shares with her husband, Christian Restoin, is very conservatively modern, as if they were afraid to make any kind of statement. On the other hand, Christian Liagre does modern with the supreme confidence of the excellent20designer that he is. Liagre’s place is elegant and filled with works of art and objects brought back from his travels. By way of a total contrast, we get a look at Tony Duquette's apartment for Dodie Rosekrans in all of its over-the-top glory. Packed full of spoils from India, Duquette gave his client, and dear friend, a place that would set Paris talking, which was probably exactly what Rosekrans had in mind.

As you can see, New Paris Interiors (italics) shows a deliciously
wide range of apartments. If you are interested in the kind of decorating that you can’t easily find outside one or two more adventurous magazines available today, then this is a book for you.