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Meeting Marion and Guillaume Gruber during our visit to the South-West of France was an obvious choice! A desire that we had been nurturing for quite some time. Eager to help their two children, Romy, three, and James – just one year old – grow up with their feet in the sand, this creative couple chose the much-loved Landes coast. A generous region alternating between beaches and spellbinding green spaces. Leaving the Paris region for this haven of peace, the creator of the Fedora brand FRINGE&FRANGE and her sound-designer companion have now opted for a totally different lifestyle. A blend of what they love from the depths of their being: their unconditional love of California and Australia – whose French version of the “surfing atmosphere” they find here – and the opportunity to develop at their own pace, day by day, close to the water. Their house, acquired from a pair of transitory Australian architects, suits them perfectly in this respect. A single visit was enough to convince them. Perfectly integrated into the environment by its eco-friendly structure, this “virgin canvas” with its elegant blend of wood, concrete and steel was just waiting for them. Marion and Guillaume were delighted to be able to move into its spacious interior. Beach houses from Southern California, vintage Palm Springs style, travel souvenirs and bohemian influences rub shoulders in their decoration with a few discreet nods to the favourite domains of White_Canyon’s founder. Automobiles, pop culture, music… and art! A mutual passion, driven by the desire to showcase talented personalities. On the sliding wall separating the timber-clad ground floor from the master suite, we can see the 3.5 x 2 m work of art designed by the brilliant MadiplusMarynn. One of the many strong pieces that characterise this home, and which help to make it a distinctive world, as personal and as warm as its inhabitants.
Marion, Guillaume: can you introduce yourself, please?
My name is Marion, I am just 30 years old, and I’m from Perpignan. I grew up at the seaside, and I went up to Paris to pursue my marketing studies when I was 18. I’m the founder of the hat brand FRINGE&FRANGE, as well as the blog and the Instagram account with the same name, which I have had for about 10 years. I am the mother of Romy and James, who are three and one years old respectively, and I’m married to Guillaume. I’ve been sharing my life with him for the past 13 years. We’ve been married for six years this year! I’m passionate about fashion, I always have a hat on my head, and I love travelling. I carry California and Australia in my heart all the time! I’ve been knitting all my life, and at home, I’m told I’m the queen of banana bread.
Guillaume, 36 years old, I was born in Paris. I lived all my life in the Paris region before we moved to Landes last year. I’m a musician, and in parallel, I’ve always worked in digital marketing. I’ve been helping Marion with all the iconographic stuff ever since she began the blog. This year I launched white_canyon, a sound design project that I manage from my home studio here in the house. I create sound identities for brands to echo the look and feel of their video content. My influences range from instrumental rock to electronic music, and my work is available on streaming platforms.
Why did you choose the south-west and its coast for your new life project
We thought for a long time about where we were going to build our little nest and settle our family. One thing was for sure: we were going to leave Paris and head for the ocean, space and nature. We seriously considered California, but we quickly withdrew to our own beautiful country. The south-west seemed an obvious choice to us. It’s a bit like having our own French California, with its wide-open spaces, its sublime beaches and forests. There is a surfing atmosphere and culture that you can’t find anywhere else in France. We want our children to grow up with the feel of the sand under their feet!
You’ve been here for a year, how do you feel?
Although we may leave our house or our region for a trip, we are so very happy to come back. We feel really at home here, and I think that means our gamble has been a complete success. We love everything here, we feel very much at home here – we’re really happy here.
Tell us the story of this house. Did you buy it as it is now, have it built?
We bought it just as it was – all we had to do was to bring our things here – onto a piece of land where everything had to be done. We were very fortunate to find something that ticked all our boxes and suited our tastes perfectly. It’s a recently built house, built by a couple who love Australian architecture, just as we do. An ecologically sound structure, designed to integrate as closely as possible into the natural surroundings. In the photos, we could already see ourselves living here. And when we went in for the first time, we knew it was the right one. In fact, it was the only one we visited! We were thinking about building, but we couldn’t have done better if we had started this project on our own. The choice of materials, the size of the rooms, we liked everything right away. It was a blank canvas, and we could decorate it as we wished. Outside, on the other hand, it was a completely different story. We did everything from A-Z: transforming the land into a garden, fencing it, creating an entrance, building a swimming pool and terrace, planting trees and landscaping the area. This was how we brought our own personal touch to the place.
What kind of atmosphere did you want to create?
We wanted to play with the living spaces and create a home that feels good to live in, a cocoon, despite the large footprint on the ground. We wanted to create contrasts with the materials used in the house (wood, steel and concrete), while still showing respect for them. We are very inspired by the Californian look in terms of decoration: the beach houses of Southern California, the vintage feel of Palm Springs, and also the bohemian and surfing culture we found in Australia, on the side of Byron Bay. Guillaume is passionate about all sorts of things, including cars, pop culture and music, while I am very creative and hands-on. We’ve tried to blend our passions and inspirations, making a strength of them, to create a world that is 100% our own.
How does your environment inspire you from day to day?
When it comes to work, being an environment like this is wonderful: every corner of the house inspires us. As people who create a lot of content, it’s ideal! Whether it’s at home, or just a few minutes away on the beach, we have no shortage of inspiration and places for photoshoots. Personally, too, it’s incredible. The children are growing up with sand between their toes. We take them to the beach every day and being able to offer them that is a joy! We are in such a beautiful region. It has absolutely no shortage of nooks and crannies, and we know we haven’t nearly finished exploring it! We’ve slowed down our pace of life too, we live from day to day. It’s totally different from what we knew in and around Paris!
We really are fans of the architecture of our house, and we never get tired of it. The fact that everything is so open is an inexhaustible source of ideas. We just have to look at the souvenirs brought back from a trip, or the trees, which change colours with the light wherever we are. It’s a peaceful place and inspiring at the same time! I have never composed so much music in a short time as I have within these walls.
Marion, you are the founder of the Fedora brand FRINGE&FRANGE. Where do you work when you’re at home?
I have set up my office on the mezzanine that is suspended above the living room, but I admit I don’t spend very much time there yet. At the moment it’s my storage area, the place where I keep my treasures and my collections. I love working in the living room, sitting on a Togo, or out on the terrace facing the trees, it’s so relaxing!
To which style are you particularly sensitive?
We are both very attracted to contemporary art in general. As the daughter of an architect, I grew up watching my mother design houses that inspired me. Guillaume also considered this profession when he was growing up, and we found ourselves certain that contemporary architecture, A-Frame, the Australian movement, would be part of our lives. We also draw a lot of inspiration from our travels and the places we visit around the world. We bear all this in mind when we work on our personal projects, with a strong preference for kinfolk, bohemian, mixed with neo-vintage.
You already knew The Socialite Family before we met. What does it mean to you?
The Socialite Family is a constant source of inspiration. We love to discover the profiles of ultra-interesting families and dreamy interiors, and useful addresses too! We are incredibly proud to be a part of it today. Really!
What is your latest/next acquisition?
Our latest project is artistic! The artists Marynn and Madi – through their creative duo MadiplusMarynn – came to the house to create a fresco on the sliding wall that separates the master suite from the rest of the ground floor. A 3.5 by 2 m work, for which we gave them carte blanche. They succeeded perfectly in playing with the colours of the house and the light that floods through it. This is really something we had been dreaming of doing since we first visited the house, and I couldn’t think of anyone better suited than these two artists to carry out this work. I’m their biggest fan! We can spend ages looking carefully at the details of their work, but we also love the way you can play with it, depending on the position of the door, wide-open or partially closed and so on. Our daughter loves it!
You have travelled a lot; how has that influenced your interior?
Our travels are everywhere at home: on our shelves in the souvenirs we bring back, the books in the bookcases (especially the children’s! We bring them back something from everywhere we go, so they don’t forget any of their past adventures), in our wardrobes – we often find something special where we are, and on our walls, through the photos we take on our travels. When it comes down to it, it was our adventures that designed our interior.
What are the next destinations you are looking forward to discovering?
We have so many! We dream of going back to Japan to explore it in a different way, and this time with the children (we went there for the first time seven years ago, we got engaged there!). We want to go back to Australia, this time to travel the West Coast, and we want to explore Seattle and go all the way down to San Diego via our favourite city in the world, Los Angeles, which we miss as soon as we leave it. We also want to go to Portugal, travelling from home by car, to see friends who are settling in Porto!
More locally, if you were to give us your favourite addresses, what would they be?
I love Waxed in Hossegor! Their breakfasts, the atmosphere, the fact that they speak English… I’ll spend my days there. On the beach, you will probably find me at La Cabane des Estagnots, sipping a Topa at the end of the day. For lunch or dinner with friends, head to Epoq in Biarritz – grab a pita to share and a dessert from HungryBelly to finish it off in style! And for a Sunday brunch, the Mango Tree at Lake Hossegor is always a good idea.
Head to Hossegor for a coffee at Volt Café Brûlerie, a speciality coffee roaster (the best!). Their coffee shop is fabulous, and we buy a packet to make the pleasure last at home. In Biarritz, we always go to Deus Ex Machina, the only French shop. Down there, you can stop for a bite to eat and do some shopping at the same time. Perfect!
We thought for a long time about where we were going to build our little nest and settle our family. One thing was for sure: we were going to leave Paris and head for the ocean, space and nature (...)
Photography : Eve Campestrini – Text: Caroline Balvay @thesocialitefamily
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