Client: Hôtel Vernet, Bessé Signature Family Group
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Interior designer: François Champsaur
Size: 230 sq m
Duration: Three months
Words by Emily Martin
Marseilles-born François Champsaur has lived in Paris for more than 20 years. Co-founder of the furnishing brand Beijing HC28, which is inspired by traditional Chinese furnishings, Champsaur is renown for his design creations that ‘echo history’ within their contextual specifics around the world. He was approached by the owners of the luxury Hôtel Vernet with the design brief to renovate the hotel as it enters the age of modernity. ‘The brief was to bring it into a new era, to celebrate its centenary,’ explains Champsaur, ‘but to do so while maintaining the spirit of the original building and not undermining its integrity.’
It was a brief not to be undertaken lightly, with the hotel a veritable Parisian secret garden that pays tribute to French elegance and savoirfaire. Boasting features such as a magnificent original glass roof by the French civil engineer and architect Gustave Eiffel (as in Tower, built for the Universal Exposition in 1889) in the restaurant, which dates back to the hotel’s opening 100 years ago. Striking a considered balance between old and new was one of the biggest challenges faced by Champsaur.
In the bar a hand-painted ceiling is mirrored by the carpet, while a folding copper screen sits behind a Carrara marble bar.
‘It is always challenge working with such an old building, which is often the case in Paris,’ he explains. ‘There was a lot of work to be done and it was tricky because we wanted to completely redo some parts, and preserve others, such as the original plaster mouldings on the ceiling, the glass roof by Gustave Eiffel and the original elevator, which is also 100 years old. You have to be careful when working around these things so that they do not get ruined.’
A passionate collector of contemporary art, Champsaur chose a mix of art and design for the hotel revamp’s focus and commissioned several handpicked artists to work alongside him. He also selected a series of drawings, original watercolours and engravings to form the beginnings of a private collection aimed at ‘reinforcing the private and intimate side of the entire hotel.’
Folded copper wall lights, designed by Champsaur.
Selecting glass panels hand-brushed with blanc de Meudon (a white chalk-based material taken from the nearby Meudon quarries) in a traditional French handicraft technique to line the hotel’s entrance, the reflected sunlight creates a ‘kinetic art effect’ says Champsaur. The modern, bright and visual contrast of the panels creates a concealed, double-doored, entrance from the street to the lobby. In the hotel’s entrance hall, blue armchairs designed by Bassam Fellow and Rodolfo Dordoni accompany a Champsaur-designed blue leather bench. He also designed the folded copper wall lamps featured in the space.
Minotti armchairs and a Fifties’ ceramic coffee table sit on an artist-designed carpet.
Continuing the materiality theme in the reception area is a Carrara marble floor with a black graphic oak reception desk, perched on two brass feet that sparkle in the soft lighting scheme. Copper and nylon woven panels surround the reception area, and a large abstract carpet, created by artist Jean-Michel Alberola, brightens the length of the lobby between sets of white columns and arches.
The bathroom sits behind curved screens in oak.
More sparkle awaits guests in the hotel’s dazzling bar, which features a large folded copper screen in front of a Carrara marble bar, blending with the hotel’s original red marble fireplace and marrying the old with new. In keeping with the finest tradition of painted ceilings, Alberola painted a fresco to mirror the carpet below, which he also designed. ‘The carpet, by the amazing artist Jean Michel Alberola, and his matching fresco on the ceiling is very special I think,’ says Champsaur.
Artist designed asymmetrical mirrors feature in guest rooms.
In the restaurant, bathed in light from the original Eiffel-designed glass roof, two large semi-circular green and blue leather benches face each other, sitting an enormous rug designed by Champsaur. To the rear of the restaurant, an intimate golden-coloured lounge can accommodate up to 10 guests. Here artwork from Katrin Bremermann and Gérard Traquandi is featured on the walls.
Blanc de Meudon glass panels line the main entrance.
In the 50 guest rooms, Champsaur opted to feature large curved oak screens to separate off the en-suite bathrooms. ‘The oak screens leads the room towards the bathroom and is one of the project’s most unusual design elements,’ he says. Inside the bathroom, marble ‘rugs’ sited underneath the basin and bath and soften the graphic style of the black-and-white striped glass mosaic tiling. Solid brass taps by Stella Roma are featured.
Back in the bedrooms asymmetrical mirrors, designed by Alberola, sit above long, white-lacquered desks that incorporate blue writing cases with the richness of the textures aiming to create a cosy atmosphere.
Lighting by Eric Schmitt
‘The project is special as it strikes a very careful balance between old and new,’ explains Champsaur. ‘Featuring original iconic pieces such as the glass roof in the restaurant designed by Eiffel versus the new elements designed and made by contemporary designers and artists makes it unique.’
Main suppliers
Furniture: Minotti, Larforma, Bassam Fellows, Viriato, l’Atelier Delaroux, François Champsaur
Lighting: Eric Schmitt, Pouenat
Panels and partitioning: l’Atelier Bonnefille,
Taps: Stella Roma
