Welcome to Chloe from Studio Cabana

Chloe, can you introduce yourself?

I am an architect DE. We are with my husband Benjamin the parents of a little Maxime who is one year old. Both from Lille, I joined Benjamin in Paris about ten years ago, and we live in this apartment which was my first solo project , for a little less than 2 years.

What were your first desires for your interior?

Our apartment is a Haussmann style with pretty interior shutters, interesting volumes, lots of moldings and period attributes. So I wanted to let the place speak for itself by being very minimalist with false whites, blacks, raw materials and varying textures. On the other hand, the whole apartment had to be restructured because it did not suit our needs. So I based my plan on the light, in order to let it circulate as much as possible and preserve the through side despite the new partitioning.

Then, as I collect a lot of objects, I think in advance about how to stage them and that this scenography can evolve according to my desires and needs, so that the "technical" plan allows a certain modularity of the 'space. To highlight these patinated souvenir objects, I wanted to play on the contrast with walls in cold, almost bluish whites, more or less sustained depending on the exposure of the rooms in the apartment.

How did you furnish and accessorize it?

Mainly with furniture and objects found at Le Bon Coin and Puces or family things: the Mauritanian mat that belonged to my grandfather, the William Katavolos chairs that were in my father's agency, or the small secretary of my great-grandmother. And some designer lighting that we were given as a wedding gift, like the Akari floor lamp by Isamu Nogushi, the Charlotte Perriand wall lights. For works of art, there are also sculptures by my sister-in-law Agathe Prouvost, and collages, sketches, paintings that I have hunted down or made myself while waiting to be able to offer us the ones we dream of!

Where do you find your inspirations?

Pretty much everywhere ! In Paris, with all the layers of stories present in the city, but also when traveling. At the St Ouen flea market where I try to go as soon as possible. Otherwise I closely follow the work of studios that I appreciate on Instagram, such as Studio KO, Festen... I have a real penchant for the 30's and the modern movement , so in the work of Le Corbusier, Robert Mallet-Stevens, Alvaar Alto, for the purity of the lines and the subtle pageantry. But also the sculptors of this time like Constantin Brankusi, Barbara Hepworth, Jean Arp or Isamu Nogushi for their relationship to matter and the voluptuousness of forms. Charlotte Perriand for the avant-gardism or the Italian designers of the second half of the 20th century for the fun and rock side (like Giancarlo Pierretti, the Castiglioni brothers or Vico Magistretti).

What is the room where you like to spend the most time?

I spend a lot of time in my kitchen because I love to cook, it's bright and friendly.

What is your favorite piece of furniture?

I really like my Charlotte Perriand black cashmere desk chair.

What place does the flea market take in your decoration?

A central place. Apart from the beds and a few light fixtures almost everything is vintage. I love the patina and the emotion emanating from objects that have a story. It's a bit unhealthy I can spend nights browsing the internet when I'm not dragging my family to flea markets on weekends. I love to mix styles, and for me a successful composition is the combination of simple, timeless and cool.

An old sofa covered with a large old white sheet, a rustic craft table, a designer seat, and a very 70's Italian lamp always create their effect, just like a vintage jacket, a very simple t-shirt, with a old jeans, pretty boots, accessorized with a pair of cool glasses.

What is your favorite piece from Debongout?

I love Donna, the N°12 glass table!

What is good taste for you?

I think good taste is finding the balance to create a welcoming atmosphere in which you feel good.