We spent more than 10 years gravitating around the same agencies, where we trained. Nowadays, we are still learning, but this time from each other and in our own studio, which we established in 2020.  The decorator’s job is a never-ending and inexhaustible learning process, every day and in every situation. Forming this complementary partnership has put us in a better position to meet the challenges our clients present us with. We fell into our respective roles quite naturally, each taking care of the stages we liked the most. Stéphanie sketches out her vision of the project, taking inspiration from materials and objects, and she sketches by hand, much as filmmakers do when designing their film sets. While Raphaël – inspired by this first draft – locks himself away to conceive the ideal plan, leaving no technical detail aside, envisioning himself in the spaces and coming up with the best possible layout. We each work in a very different way; Stephanie has a more visual approach and excels in composition; she visualises well-lit and softly furnished areas, which she subtly enhances with stronger touches, contrasts, and happy accidents, much as a painter would. Raphael takes a more global, architectural view, seeking balance and symmetry. He focuses on the usage scenarios and the logistics that bring the project to life.

Thrilled from the very beginning! It was the day before we went on holiday in August 2020! It was such an exciting subject. We signed the contract right away and worked quietly all summer, ready to start the whole amazing project when we went back to work in September. We read a lot of books on the subject. It was a time of unprecedented energy and activity. What’s more, it was close to our hearts because Stéphanie Lizée studied interior design in the workshops of the Académie de la Grande Chaumière opposite the hotel.

We are in the heart of the artistic district of Paris during the Belle Époque. Between Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the Montparnasse of the early 20th century. Our client’s wish – they’re the Adresses Hotels collection – was to rekindle this history and create an “Atelier” or studio hotel.. A place for artists, which would also should become a patron of the arts. We didn’t want to copy the conventions of the artist’s atelier or studio style but to try to create our own vision of this type of hotel. A space that has to give the impression that it is not necessarily completely finished, but in the process of being created, of being composed, of shifting spaces in which the objects give the feeling that they can be moved around easily. It was important to avoid making everything static, but we wanted to maintain a sense of balance and unity. We preferred to compose with disparate elements to draw the traveller’s eye in all directions. The straightforward colour on a black and red striped stool, the reflection of a stainless steel lamp, wall hangings in fawn silk, a monumental fresco on the ceiling, studs at the top of the walls, a reference to hanging pictures. And there are many different rooms, which avoids repetition. We believe this illustrates the vision of an artist who is always on the lookout for new discoveries and new compositions. The impression of sleeping in the bedroom of a popular artist of the time. The choice of decoration and furniture, devoid of excess, is made up of natural materials, with lime plastered walls, dark wood with knotted oak, dark sisal on the floor, muted tones such as bronze-green… An almost bare interior with no superfluous layout or decoration so as not to restrict the visitor’s imagination and to leave room for the artists and their works.

We participated in the curation of the hotel’s artworks. They were integral to the architectural project, and we selected and met all the artists who participated in the project alongside the clients. Like the Parisian ceramic artist Maximilien Pellet – who created a large-format figurative glazed earthenware piece for the hotel that can be seen at the entrance door. His works are exhibited alongside Charlotte Culot’s collages, Caroline Leseur’s paintings, Marie Laure André-Novak’s sculptures and other – more academic – drawings from Galerie Française, which are also present in some of the rooms, and in the Studio. We want to discover new artists in the future, and to continue the synergy – which already exists – with the Académie de la Grande Chaumière opposite the hotel. It currently offers life drawing classes in its iconic studios to guests here. And all the works here are for sale! On the other hand, we also worked with craftspeople to make all the hotel furniture we designed (from breakfast tables to chairs, headboards, lighting, desks and even the stools in the bedrooms…)

Room 52: a studio room with a sublime view of the Parisian rooftops and the most beautiful high ceiling.  It also contains our favourite fresco by Franck.

We’re currently working on some apartments in Paris with stunning proportions, but we’re working on our very first furniture collection, too.