BOLD MOVES

Transcending a brief that called for classic neutrals, design duo Le Berre Vevaud composed a rhapsody of colour, form and free thinking for this Paris home.

- IAN PHILLIPS

The owners of this Paris apartment, Mathieu and Claire, never imagined living in such a dramatic space. Their four-bedroom, 225-square-metre unit is located close to Parc Monceau in the 8th arrondissement, and is at the heart of a property development that consists of three newly renovated, adjacent 19th-century buildings.

Mathieu and Claire discovered their interior designers, Thomas Vevaud and Raphaël Le Berre, through the show apartment the duo had decorated for the project. That was certainly not bland – it incorporated both a Lindsey Adelman chandelier and a sculptural stainless-steel Ron Arad chair – but it nevertheless remained more low-key with a neutral colour palette. “In a show apartment, you have to have a taste that is accessible for everyone,” says Raphaël.

When they hired the pair, Mathieu and Claire thought they would be getting something similar to the show apartment. “It’s true that my initial tastes were rather classical,” admits Mathieu. “What drew me to Raphaël and Thomas in the first place was the chic and pared-down style in beige, white and grey.” The designers had other ideas. “They said to us, ‘Our goal is to shock you to know just how far we can push things’,” says Mathieu. “They proposed lots of things we would never have thought of ourselves.”

Thomas and Raphaël met in 1996 while students at prestigious Paris architecture and design school École Camondo, whose alumni includes iconic designers such as Pierre Paulin and Philippe Starck as well as leading decorators Jacques Grange and Jean-Louis Deniot. After going their separate ways upon graduation, they decided to reunite and set up their firm, Le Berre Vevaud, in 2008.