The building is there. Proudly enthroned between the Gare de l’Est and the Rue d’Alsace, a road in the 10th arrondissement in Paris. The...
We were going into a decline. We longed for the sunshine and our morale was at rock bottom. We were in despair. And then everything changed. The sun’s rays returned to caress our skin, the little breaks on café terraces got longer – summer was (finally) here! So the timing was perfect for My Little Paris. The Parisian concept and master of bright ideas and go-to places, is stepping out of the digital world to set up where we were expecting it to – in the real world – and not just anywhere. In a 1,000 square metre holiday home that has been completely redesigned for the occasion. From the cabin to the salon, it’s an experience that’s enjoyed at a slow pace. You can sip an aperitif as you would in Cap Ferret, you can discover the joys of the vegetable garden before tucking into the harvest over inspiring talks whilst relaxing in a hammock. It’s a wonderful initiative of which Céline Orjubin, the co-founder, tells us the story under the watchful eye of a Pierre Paulin seat, like a queen amongst the cement tiles. The scenography is fresh, with a feelgood factor. You might think you were in the countryside. Perfect for a Friday afternoon.
Céline, how did the idea for the holiday home come about?
My Little was born in an apartment, around a kitchen table. Our current offices are in a former apartment, we have a bathtub and a kitchen on every floor. It is a member of the team and part of our history.
After several years of on-line existence, we wanted a place that embodied our brand and found it in this 1000m2 house and garden. Entrepreneurs conference is there to follow in a hammock whilst apple pie is in the kitchen and slow dance dinners with candles and an outdoor cinema to watch Jacques Tati movies. Our purpose was to have every moment resonate with the feeling of holidays.
What are your inspirations?
We wanted to create a piece of the countryside in Paris. A house where time stopped; the swings in the library are reupholstered in fabric from Caravane, we took out furniture from attic sales to give them a more modern touch. When entering the house, you don’t know immediately the era of decoration, it could be 40’s, 50’s and it’s 2016. Another thing is not knowing where we are; countryside, vacation or in Paris.
Who do you receive? Whom does she address?
We receive readers, friends, leaders, entrepreneurs, gardeners. In brief, any Parisian that wishes to take the time to exchange tales, have dinner, meet and discuss.
Can you introduce us to the girls that participated in the project?
First we have Julia Rouzaud, the founder of the site Goodmoods dedicated to inspiration. She is the artistic director of the House, without whom the project would have never been born. We had such pleasure working together in the daytime and nights also. She knows how to mix vision and resources, she and knew how to make our crazy ideas become a reality. It is especially thanks to her that we feel so comfortable in this house and that we fall in love with it a little more each day.
There is then Céline Perrin from Les Mauvaises Herbes. She is the gardener with cat eyes and who is afraid of nothing. She arrives in high heels, spends the day digging and transforms with a nonchalant manner the disused courtyard of 700 m2 into an English landscape garden.
What is your favourite room in the holiday home?
The kitchen, in which Marion, our My Little Chef, presides every day. She arrives in the morning loaded with shopping from the market and prepares vegetables tians and raspberry tarts. Just like on holidays, we begin to pick at the dishes and the cocktail hour moves forward day to day.
The piece of furniture you dream of?
There are two pieces of furniture which I dream of. La Pet Lamp was a fantasy since I saw it at Maison et Objet 3 or 4 years ago. This object is made by women who use a traditional knowledge and recycle bottles. Beyond the aesthetics which rather please me a lot, it is the whole reflection on the women that make it and the recycling involved which touches me.
F444 by Paulin, little bit of a patina and thus almost pink. With the armchair in green, the entrance takes airs from Cuba.
Beyond their price, these items require for a volume, light, which we were lucky enough to to find in this house.
So when can we come?
The house is open July 3rd and for the registrations it’s here !
Credits : Constance Gennari @thesocialitefamily
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