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THE LOIRE VALLEY the wonderfully convivial Auberge du Bon Laboureur in Chenonceaux. Officially, the Loire Valley extends nearly 175 miles from Orléans in the east to Angers in the west. Its heart, however, is the stretch between Blois and Saumur, and its nerve center is the town of Tours, which served as the capital of France between 1450 and 1550 (today it can be reached in little more than an hour via high-speed train from Paris). As Corrigan notes, “Aside from Paris, no other The Château place in France is as steeped in cultural de Noizay hotel. heritage and history.” Joan of Arc met King Charles VII of France in Chinon, Richard the A guest room at Château de Lionheart was buried at the majestic Abbaye Verrières. de Fontevraud, and Leonardo da Vinci crossed the Alps by mule and spent the last three years of his life at the Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise. Nineteenth-century nov- elist Honoré de Balzac, meanwhile, would regularly take refuge from his creditors at the Château de Saché, which today houses a museum in his honor. Of all the châteaus, three stand out. Cham- bord is the most visited, most imposing, and most prestigious, with 426 rooms, 77 stair- The spiral staircase in cases, and 282 chimneys. “Its architecture is the courtyard of completely insane,” remarks Flore de Brantes, Château de Chambord. a Brussels-based antiques dealer brought Château de Chenonceau, spanning the Cher River.



THE LOIRE VALLEY up in the region. It was commissioned as a hunting lodge by François I, who spent only about 40 days there, and it was later fre- quented by Louis XIV, who organized the premiere of Molière’s comedy Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme in its keep. In contrast, Chenon- ceau is the most picturesque and romantic, with a 200-foot-long, triple-height gallery perched atop five arches spanning the Cher River. Villandry, meanwhile, owes its reputa- tion to mind-bogglingly beautiful gardens, in particular the geometric Ornamental Kitchen Garden, featuring 40 different vegetable vari- eties arranged by form and color. The passionate Saint Bris also recommends visiting some of the “delicious, small châ- teaus,” like Villesavin, Réaux, and Rivau. Yet, no place is closer to his heart than Clos Lucé, where he was raised. Da Vinci arrived there at the age of 64 and spent his time sketching engineering and architectural projects, as well as organizing extravagant parties for his benefactor, François I. Now open to the pub- lic, it has a number of the great man’s quotes posted on its walls, one of which reads: “A well-spent day brings happy sleep.” If that’s true, then a trip to the Loire Valley is a fail- safe guarantee of nocturnal bliss. ◾ CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Catherine de Medici’s chamber at Château de Blois. The antiques shop of Richard Gabillet. The Château de Roche- cotte hotel. The cloisters at Abbaye de Fontevraud.

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THE LOIRE VALLEY WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW THE ESSENTIAL LOIRE VALLEY Château de Blois, Blois; 2-54-90- the view of the Loire from this Le Manoir Les Minimes, 34 Quai The country code is 33. 33-33; chateaude blois.fr: Highlights château’s terrace. Da Vinci’s remains Charles Guinot, Amboise; 2-47-30-40- Take to the air. A wonderful way to view include the François I staircase in are interred in its chapel. 40; manoirlesminimes.com: Eleven the area’s châteaus is from the skies. the courtyard and the stunning poly- rooms in an elegant 18th-century Air Touraine (airtouraine.fr) ofers heli- chrome interiors. One wing houses WHERE TO STAY manor house, as well as an additional copter and hot-air balloon rides. a fine arts museum with paintings by Château de Noizay, Promenade four in a garden pavilion. Think green. France’s most creative Boucher and Ingres. de Waulsort, Noizay; 2-47-52-11-01; garden festival is held from April to Château de Chambord, Chambord; chateaudenoizay.com: Housed WHERE TO EAT October at the Domaine de Chaumont- 2-54-50-40-00; chambord.org: in a secluded 16th-century château, L’Auberge du Bon Laboureur, 6 Rue sur-Loire (domaine-chaumont.fr); this Admire the famous double-helix this hotel sets the standard with Bretonneau, Chenonceaux; 2-47-23- year’s guests include designer Patrick staircase and head up to the roof its bucolic views and 19 elegant, 90-02; bonlaboureur.com: An admira- Jouin. Horticulture fans should also to marvel at the intricacy of the chim- individually furnished rooms. ble inn restaurant highly praised by check out Château de la Bourdaisière neys and take in the sprawling Château de Reignac, 19 Rue Louis de locals. The food is impeccable, the set- (labourdaisiere.com)—its tomato grounds, which are the size of Paris. Barberin, Reignac-sur-Indre; 2-47-94- ting cozy, and the service outstanding. conservatory holds 650 varieties. Château de Chenonceau, Chenon- 14-10; lechateaudereignac.com: Barju, 15 Rue du Changé, Tours; 2-47- Go underground. Many of the area’s ceaux; 2-47-23-90-07; chenonceau The former residence of the Marquis 64-91-12; barju.fr: A superb modern ancient cave dwellings are now home .com: This most enchanting of châ- de Lafayette ofers 13 soberly chic bistro with dishes that combine finesse to guesthouses, wine cellars, and teaus was inhabited by Catherine de rooms. The Fersen suite, with its bath and originality. Be sure to try museums. To see how they were once Medici. Today it draws crowds not lodged in the tower, is a particular the sea bass cooked on a hot stone. inhabited, visit the subterranean just for its architectural beauty, but favorite with newlyweds. Domaine des Hauts de Loire, 79 Rue farms and chapel at the Rochemenier also for its fine collection of Château de Rochecotte, 43 Rue Dor- Gilbert Navard, Onzain; 2-54-20-72- Troglodytic Village (troglodyte.fr). 16th-century Flemish tapestries. othée de Dino, Saint Patrice; 2-47- 57; domainehautsloire.com: This Château du Clos Lucé, Amboise; 2-47- 96-16-16; chateau-de-rochecotte.fr: terrific two-Michelin-star dining room WHAT TO SEE 57-00-73; vinci-closluce.com: A This 37-room hotel occupies a is at the heart of a luxury hotel. Abbaye de Fontevraud, Fontevraud royal residence for 200 years, this is château once owned by the niece Les Hautes Roches, 86 Quai de la l’Abbaye; 2-41-51-73-52; abbayede where da Vinci spent the last three of wily diplomat and prime Loire, Rochecorbon; 2-47-52-88-88; fontevraud.com: This majestic 12th- years of his life. A guided tour takes in minister Talleyrand, and is surrounded leshautesroches.com: Recom- century abbey served as a prison his bedroom and a chapel with by a pretty 50-acre park. mended for its excellent wine menu from 1804 to 1963. Check out the poly- frescoes painted by his disciples. Château de Verrières, 53 Rue d’Alsace, and bird’s-eye view of the Loire. chrome tombs of the Plantagenet Château et Jardins de Villandry, Saumur; 2-41-38-05-15; chateau- Restaurant Olivier Arlot–La dynasty in the breathtakingly beautiful Villandry; 2-47-50-02-09; chateau verrieres.com: A sensitively Chancelière, 1 Place des Marronniers, church, as well as the playful installa- villandry.fr: Home to some of decorated and enthusiastically run Montbazon; 2-47-26-00-67; tion by artist Vincent Lamoureux. the most awe-inspiring gardens in Napoleon III–style town mansion. lachanceliere.fr: A Michelin-starred Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, Azay-le- Europe, including the celebrated Domaine de la Tortinière, 10 Route de eatery ofering subtly innovative Rideau; 2-47-45-42-04; azay-le- geometric vegetable gardens and a Ballan, Veigné; 2-47-34-35-00; dishes, run by a young chef rideau.monuments-nationaux.fr: horticultural maze. tortiniere.com: Located in a small 19th- who trained at Taillevent in Paris. Perched on a small island on the Château Royal d’Amboise, Amboise; century château, this flawless Indre River, this picture-postcard 2-47-57-00-98; chateau-amboise establishment exudes charm and WHERE TO SHOP château combines both French and .com: The 17th-century French intimacy. A rowboat is ofered L’Angle des Délices, 22 Rue de la Ton- Italian architectural styles. fabulist Jean de La Fontaine praised for excursions on the Indre River. nellé, Saumur; 2-41-52-97-57: A one-stop shop for regional gastro- nomic specialties, such as wine Château Royal biscuits and Combier orange liqueur. d’Amboise. Bigot, Place du Château, Amboise; 2-47-57-04-46; bigot-amboise.com: This chocolate and pastry shop has served local confections since 1913. Château de Targé, Chemin de Targé, Parnay; 2-41-38-11-50; chateau detarge.com: This picturesque vine- yard ofers not only a suave red called Quintessence, but also a direct delivery service to 34 U.S. states. Hélène Stéfanica, 24 Rue Victor Hérault, Vouvray; 2-47-52-77-07; helenestefanica.blogspot.com: Exquisitely delicate ceramics. Richard Gabillet Antiques, 27 Rue Emile Zola, Tours; 2-47-64-28-77; antiquites gabillet.fr: This antiques dealer has a space devoted to 20th- century design by the likes of Olivier Mourgue and Marc Held; another holds 18th- and 19th-century furnishings. Vinci Cave, 1 bis Quai des Violettes, Amboise; 2-47-23-41-52; vinci-cave.fr: BRIAN JANNSEN/ALAMY Located on the banks of the Loire, this winegrowers’ cooperative is a good place to stock up on a few bottles. 106 ELLEDECOR.COM



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PROMOTION 1st Place, Contemporary Davy Swanenberg Project Name: Culimaat Unum Culimaat High End Kitchens www.culimaat.com Designer Influenced by sleek design minimalism, Davy Swanenberg has created an acclaimed business designing and developing luxurious and exquisite kitchen concepts that have been installed and appreciated around the world. Kitchen Style Swanenberg finds his inspiration in the world around him—from unconventional objects to Mother Nature. The smallest article can serve as a source. Products Featured This contemporary space, featuring a wood grain frame and a marble workstation finished with a matte marble top, contains a superior control warming drawer. The 60” Wolf dual fuel range, 30” wine storage unit and 36” Sub-Zero built-in refrigerators served as the inspiration for the space— the perfect foundation for a professional, industrial kitchen. AN N O U N CI N G TH E S U B -Z E RO AN D WO LF KITCHEN DESIGN CONTEST GLOBAL WINNERS 1st Place, Traditional Karen Williams Project Name: Shasha Residence St. Charles of New York, Inc. www.stcharlesusa.net Designer Passionate about design, cooking and entertaining, Karen Williams is an award-winning creator of highly customized kitchens and interior spaces for discerning clients nationally and internationally. Kitchen Style Infl uenced by historical European landmarks, Karen fi nds her design inspirations through architecture and travel. She uses her global infl uences to make the unconventional accessible. Products Featured Beauty and functionality were the sources of inspiration for this multi-purpose kitchen. The kitchen island features a breathtaking Agate Quartz under-lit stone top, a pareve sink for cleaning vegetables, and seating for guests or children. With a top-of-the-line 60” Wolf range and 36” Sub-Zero integrated refrigerators, this specialized kitchen is both charming and resourceful. For more information about the contest and winners, visit subzero-wolf.com/kdcwinners.

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Style September SIMON UPTON 113

In the library of an apartment designed by François-Joseph Graf, in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, the 18th-century desk is English, the armchair is from Westenholz Antiques, the ottomans are uphol- stered in kente cloth, and the desk lamp was made from a Ming vase; the Italian mirror dates to the early 1700s, the Japanese wood deity is from the Heian period, and the curtains are of a Ralph Lauren Home striped cotton. See Resources.

AL L THINGS CONSI DER ED An 18th-century apartment on the Left Bank of Paris is transformed into the ultimate retreat for a connoisseur and bibliophile for whom too much is never enough TEXT BY IAN PHILLIPS PHOTOGR APHY BY SIMON UPTON PRODUCED BY TAMZIN GREENHILL STYLED BY ANITA SARSIDI One of the oldest known maps of Havana hangs in the entry hall of a grand apartment on Paris’s Left Bank. The map dates from 1723 and once belonged to Sir Thomas Phillipps, considered by many to be the greatest book collector of all time. Phillipps amassed some 40,000 volumes and 60,000 manuscripts, and coined the term vellomaniac to describe his fixation with vellum manuscripts. The term could just as easily apply to this home’s owner. “It’s an apartment made by a man who very much likes books,” his close friend, the English antiques dealer Piers von Westenholz, says with understatement. “His home is really a series of libraries.” Indeed, about the only place you won’t find a bookcase is in the bathroom. Located in the heart of the ultra-chic 7th arrondissement (Bernard Arnault, the Niarchos family, and Emanuel Ungaro all have man- sions nearby), the apartment occupies the ground floor of a stately 18th-century building discreetly tucked at the back of a courtyard. Outside, the jaw-dropping, 8,600-square-foot private garden was designed by Penelope Hobhouse, and a former garage has been trans- formed into an enchanting guest room. The interiors initially were far less elegant. “The rooms had been badly thought out—there were lots of things that were really awk- ward,” says French designer François-Joseph Graf, who has fashioned high-style spaces for clients like Henry Kravis and Valentino. Graf met the owner at the apartment in the early 1990s, when Graf sold him some objets from his Rue de Lille gallery. “I went to deliver them myself, saw the place, and told him it was ugly,” Graf recalls. That forthright approach led to Graf being hired to renovate much of the apartment’s architecture. He created the master bath and a small office, installed wainscoting and cornices, and decorated the doors and baseboards with trompe l’oeil motifs of wood and agate. “He brought in these painters, and, I’m not exaggerating, there’s one fellow who spent about a year in the house,” recounts the homeowner. ELLEDECOR.COM 115

Mexican casta paintings, depicting mixed- race families, flank an 18th-century gilt-wood mirror by Matthias Lock in the sitting room; the Chinese Chippendale chairs against the wall date from 1768, a custom-made otto- man serves as a cocktail table, and the rug is by Roger Oates. See Resources.

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THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: The dining room walls are lined with 1820s prints, and the Regency bookcase is Irish. Antique maps of Cuba hang in the entry hall, and the Irish table was displayed in the Great Exhibition of 1851 at Hyde Park. The garden’s boxwood hedges were inspired by the garden at Florence’s Villa Capponi. FACING PAGE: In the den, the walls and 18th-century Chippendale armchair at right are covered in a Pierre Frey fabric, the sofa by Howard and Sons is upholstered in a Charles Burger cot- ton, and the leather armchair is Regency; the custom-made tatami mat was inspired by an 18th-century Persian design. See Resources.

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The office was inspired by the library of Sir John Soane’s house in London; the circa-1760 prints are by Thomas Frye, and the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Suffield Green. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP: The guest room is lined with books from the homeowner’s vast collec- tion. The 17th-century tiles in the master bath are Portuguese, and the

The furnishings, meanwhile, were accumulated gradually over two decades. Many of the pieces were sourced by von Westenholz, who also designed the library in tandem with London-based architect Simon Hurst. “Piers has a fantastically good eye,” says the client, who shares with the dealer a distinctly English aesthetic. “I’d very happily live in the apartment,” von Westenholz says ruefully. “A lot of those objects I would really like now. I wish I had them—and he didn’t.” Many have an interesting provenance. The marble-top Irish con- soles in the entry hall were displayed at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The set of green velvet armchairs in the living room once belonged to the eldest daughter of the last viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten. The apartment also has something of a world-traveler vibe. The sitting room walls hold a series of 18th-century Mexican casta paint- ings, depicting mixed-race families. In the adjoining den are William Daniell prints of India, while the master bath features 17th-century Portuguese tiles. One of the most striking objects is a Japanese wood deity in the library, which dates from the Heian period. “It’s been through fire and chopped up and eaten by bugs,” the homeowner explains. “But its profile is seriously cool.” And new acquisitions are always on the horizon. “He just can’t leave the apartment alone,” says von Westenholz. “He’s always fiddling with it. He’s like me: He’s a buyer, he likes collecting. He really should have a palace somewhere. That would at least keep him occupied.” ◾ ELLEDECOR.COM 121

MOROCCO MODERNE An American couple, longtime residents of Marrakech, find that the move from the medina to the city’s Art Deco district infuses their aesthetic with a new French flair TEXT BY GISELA WILLIAMS · PHOTOGR APHY BY SIMON UPTON PRODUCED BY ANITA SARSIDI

W aking up to the mesmerizing calls of the muezzin in the heart of the ancient maze that is the walled old town of Marrakech, Morocco, is a poetic existence; add a toddler and a big black Labrador named Cricket, and the situation gets complicated. “We lived in the medina for five years and loved it,” recalls Caitlin Dowe-Sandes, who along with her husband, Samuel, owns the Moroc- can tile company Popham Design. “But if you have a demanding job and a family, it’s hard work. We started to crave a different lifestyle, one where we could walk to our daughter’s school or park our car in front of our house.” Not to mention that they were itching to find a new project. “Sam was not going to let me rearrange all the furniture again,” she adds. Several of their friends had already moved to Gueliz, the city’s “new” town, which was laid out by the French in 1913, when Morocco was a French protectorate. A neighborhood of wide European bou- levards connected by roundabouts, Gueliz is the city’s urban center. It’s where stores like Zara share streets with French bistros, stylish bakeries, and old-fashioned leather-goods shops. In the past five years, Gueliz has become increasingly covetable to both expats and developers; the European-style bungalows that aren’t already rented or owned have been sold to be torn down by investors and replaced with apartment towers. “Any effort toward preservation is focused on the medina,” says Samuel. “There is very little if no attempt to save Art Deco architecture.” Two days before the young family was scheduled to escape the hot months of July and August and head to France, they heard about a charming 1930s bungalow available for rent and jumped on it. “It was small—about 1,000 square feet—but it was a stand-alone house and had a garden,” Caitlin explains. “Those don’t come up very often, so we had to sign the contract immediately.” Thanks to their design-related contacts in the city, in less than 24 hours they were able to put a team in place that could work on replac- ing the electricity and plumbing infrastructure while they were away. “The couple who had lived there for about 20 years before us hadn’t done much, so it was in rough shape,” says Caitlin. “But there was a great garden with bougainvillea and citrus trees. It felt like a little oasis even though it was in the middle of town.” In Paris, the pair spent most of their time hunting for furniture at flea markets and obsessively checking in on auctions at Drouot, the city’s oldest auction house. Unlike their medina property, which was inspired by Moroccan architecture, their new bungalow, with its THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: Samuel and Caitlin Dowe-Sandes in the courtyard of their Marrakech home. Cement tiles by Popham Design line the entryway; the walls are painted in a custom indigo. FACING PAGE: The study’s sofa is by Arne Norell, the 1930s armchairs are French, the cocktail table is a Paris flea-market find, the pillows are from a Marrakech souk, and the floor lamps are by Jieldé; the tiles are Popham Design’s Fretwork-on-Four, the ceiling light fixture is vintage, and the walls are painted in a custom color. See Resources. 123

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An 1820 Cuban desk from a Paris flea market and a French Art Deco armchair in the study; the drawings by Roger Sandes were gifts from the artist, and the feather headdress is from Came- roon. FACING PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: In the living room, the side table is from the 1790s, a Bamileke stool serves as the cocktail table, the fireplace surround is Moroccan marble, and the mirror above it is by the Dowe-Sandeses; the sailboat painting is by Mondine, and the crow drawings are by Roger Sandes. Samuel designed the mirror and X-shaped sconce in the master bath, the sink is vintage, and the tiles are Popham Design’s Hex ZigZag. The dining room features a table by Habitat and vintage chairs by Harry Bertoia and Mart Stam. See Resources.



FROM TOP: Samuel designed the courtyard table, the Steen Ostergaard chairs are a 1966 design, and the pil- lows are covered in repurposed kilim. Popham Design’s Honeycomb Hex tiles line the fireplace and floor in the master bedroom; the light fixture is by Paola Navone, and the chest of draw- ers is faced with camel bone. FACING PAGE: In the daughter’s room, the vin- tage iron bed comes from a Marrakech flea market and the map is vintage; the light fixture is by Claire Norcross for Luminosity, and the print is by Roger Sandes. See Resources. French windows, fireplaces, and high ceilings, called out for Euro- pean design touches. “Being away from the actual house while some unglamorous stuff was going on gave us the time to think and let design ideas percolate,” says Caitlin. They managed to pick up an antique mahogany desk, some 1970s cocktail tables, a campaign table from the ’60s, and two antique oil portraits of a severe-looking couple that they joke with their three- year-old daughter, Georgina (nicknamed Gigi), are her great-aunt and -uncle. They mixed in their collection of American artworks, personal photographs, and several pendant lamps Samuel designed with a brass worker who builds the tile molds for Popham Design. In Gigi’s room they mounted a world map and several deer heads on the wall. “She thinks they are Santa’s reindeer,” Caitlin says with a laugh. The biggest challenge was picking out tiles. “We chuckle about the indecision of our clients,” Samuel says. “It can take them weeks to decide on color combinations. But all of a sudden we found ourselves in the same situation.” Caitlin adds, “It’s a small space, and we were not afraid of going pattern crazy, but we wanted it to feel cohesive. We also wanted to use new designs and not just fall back on old favorites.” A palette of blue, brown, and bone weaves a compelling design thread throughout the interior. They used their favorite zigzag in blue in the hallway and painted matching horizontal stripes on the walls to create a “moment that goes through the house,” says Samuel. “The hallway is so narrow and gets such heavy traffic, we didn’t want any- thing on the walls, but we still wanted it to be visually interesting.” One of the few spaces without a riot of tiles is the garden courtyard, which the couple kept spare with a gray palette and white marble gravel. In the heat of early summer and early fall it makes a fantastic outdoor dining room at night, and in the winter it’s perfect for lunch. “It’s the calm in the middle of the craziness,” jokes Caitlin. ◾ ELLEDECOR.COM 127

The entrance of a château near Orléans, France; the grounds were restored by French landscape designer Louis Benech. The house is flanked by lilac bushes and Atlas cedars, and Benech had the yews shaped into cones. See Resources.

RE ST O R E D to GL ORY In bringing new life to the neglected gardens surrounding an 18th-century French château, acclaimed landscape designer Louis Benech balances classic formality with clean-lined modernity TEXT BY JANE GARMEY · PHOTOGR APHY BY R ICHARD POWERS PRODUCED BY ANITA SARSIDI 129

EVEN THE MOST intrepid buyer might find acquiring a down-at- the-heels late-18th-century château a daunting experience—all the more so if the landscaping around it has also been neglected. This was the situation facing a French couple who purchased precisely such a château near Orléans in the late 1990s. But when it came to reviving the grounds, they knew exactly what to do: They contacted Louis Benech, a French garden designer with an affinity for restoration projects. Benech has a reputation for creating landscapes that fit seamlessly into their natural surroundings. His career got a jump-start in 1990 when, as he tells it, he was “dragged” into partnership by a fellow landscape designer for an international competition to redevelop the Tuileries gardens in front of the Louvre. To his surprise, they won, and since then he has made and remade gardens in many parts of the world for a roster of high-profile clients, including François Pinault, Guy de Rothschild, and Princess Caroline of Monaco. For the owners of this estate, Benech had already worked on their garden in Paris. The bones of the formal garden were intact, and the designer’s man- date was to bring the place back to life. “Just the kind of project I relish,” says Benech, who is as passionate about plants as he is about design. “I devised a plan, and my clients had complete confidence in what I wanted to do and have been the easiest people to work for.” The château is approached by an imposing drive that opens into a circular forecourt, edged with four huge conical-shaped yews. From here, a pair of gates leads to a formal arrangement of long, curved grass beds, punctuated with neatly clipped rounds of boxwood. Today, the long gravel driveway looks as it always has, but its giant yew topi- aries have been fastidiously clipped, and Benech has cleaned, cleared, 130 ELLEDECOR.COM

Clipped boxwood and Portugal laurel add sculptural shape to the front courtyard. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP: Benech restored the series of pools behind the house, which are original to the 1837 garden plan. An old brick wall, edged with varieties of hydrangea, encloses the kitchen garden.

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Antlers line the walls and ceiling of an outbuilding used for luncheons after hunts; beyond the hedges and box topiaries is the kitchen garden. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP: A sculpture of the Three Graces overlooks the largest of three pools. A canal at the rear of the property and one of the three allées of European hornbeam, maple, black locust, and Norway spruce; this one

and, where necessary, replanted a grove of oaks on either side of the The owners, she especially, love flowers, and because there was no house. “The secret of taking a 19th-century garden and making it less kitchen or cutting garden on the property, they requested that Benech labor-intensive lies in the details,” says Benech, citing, for example, make them one. His solution was to create a rectangular-shaped gar- his use of low metal strips to separate the curving grass beds from the den, enclosed by an old brick wall, on the site of what had been a gravel for easier maintenance. Another subtle improvement was to Christmas tree nursery belonging to a previous owner. The layout is screen out the road by planting two overlapping, parallel hornbeam charmingly formal and consists of 14 square beds, each hedged with hedges that cars must pass between before reaching the drive. boxwood and arranged in strict symmetry around a small pool. The original 1837 plan of the garden shows an austere landscape, The plantings, though, are anything but severe, and Benech has organized around three ornate pools that fall steeply away from the introduced an exuberant mix. There are peonies and modern hybrid house and are linked by a series of grass banks, steps, a fountain, and roses. One square is reserved entirely for herbs. Different varieties a grotto. The water is supplied by a system of canals, and each pool of hydrangea are planted against the brick wall, and the intersecting is substantially larger than the one before. A total restoration was paths that traverse the garden are made of a fine gravel that looks needed, as the pools were decrepit, the drainage clogged, and the like sand. “I intentionally went for an old-fashioned look, no fussy, stonework crumbling. Benech honored the grandeur of the original complicated color scheme, because I wanted to make something that plan but added hidden ramps to make the steepness of the interven- seemed as if it had always been there,” says Benech. In fact, his use ing grass slopes easier to mow. Today, the stonework is repaired, the of naturalist plants in a formal setting is a signature—what one col- pools are pristine, and the water circulates freely. His own contribu- league has called “haute couture for gardens.” tion is the addition of a water maze, which he calls his “labyrinthine Benech believes that the key to garden restoration is “gentle inter- canal.” While its minimal design is unmistakably modern, it fits hand vention” and modestly insists his role is “to enhance what is already in glove with the formality of the classical plan. Not surprisingly, the there.” But as this remarkable garden proves, it takes an exceptional maze is, says Benech, “my favorite part of the restoration.” talent to pull off such an ambitious project with panache. ◾ 134 ELLEDECOR.COM



C O LLE CT ED WI S D O M In one of the most storied palazzos in Rome, an inveterate traveler assembles a global array of cultural riches and flea-market finds to create a distinctly personal refuge TEXT BY CR AIG SELIGMAN PHOTOGR APHY BY GIANNI FR ANCHELLUCCI PRODUCED BY ANITA SARSIDI

In the living room of Roberto Begnini’s apartment in Rome’s Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, the antique trunk and 1920s portraits are Chinese, the lithograph is by Miela Reina, and the watercolor is by Cristiano and Patrizio Alviti; the tiled flooring was installed in the 1930s. FACING PAGE: The living room’s pair of armchairs came from the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, the red-leather chair is from the 1930s, and the sofa is covered with a Tunisian cotton blanket; the bookcase is custom made, and the antique rug is Iranian. 137

ROME IS A CITY OF PALACES. THE ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GOVERNS from the Palazzo Chigi, the president from the Quirinale; the Senate meets in the Palazzo Ma dama, the Chamber of Deputies in the Monteci- torio. The Trevi Fountain abuts the Palazzo Poli. And art lovers swarm to the enormous Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, which houses a famous gallery filled with glorious works by Caravaggio, Titian, Raphael, and Velázquez—most famously his circa- 1650 portrait of the Pamphilj family’s most intimi- dating member, Pope Innocent X. The Doria Pamphilj has an illustrious, if com- plicated, history. Begun in the early 1500s, it rose around a large colonnaded courtyard that was reputedly the work of Donato Bramante, the archi- tect who provided the original designs for St. Peter’s Basilica. Construction didn’t really finish until late in the 19th century, and today the palace is mainly known as a Baroque monument containing not only the Galleria Doria Pamphilj, but also 250 private apartments, among them some of the city’s most sumptuous interiors. Italian public relations guru Roberto Begnini occupies one such dwelling. For a culture maven like him, “a place that’s so identified with the city,” he says, is the ideal home. He calls it “molto, molto Roma—the maximum of Rome.” Begnini (not to be confused with the comic actor Roberto Benigni) was born in the northern Italian city of Verona, and when he was 20 he moved south to Rome. There, he received his degree in the con- servation of cultural heritage and went on to found Studio Begnini, which over the past two decades has handled publicity for a long list of museums and cultural institutions. It was through Studio Begnini that he came to know the Pamphilj family, whose descendants still reside at the palace and manage the formidable art collection. Though Begnini’s rooms date from around the late 1600s, they have seen a lot of work since then. The beautiful tiled floors were installed in the 1930s; the living room’s striking gold-and-white chessboard LEFT: The kitchen table has a custom-made base and an antique-marble top, the iron garden chairs are from the 1960s, and the bone light fixture was bought at an antiques shop in Kathmandu; the large abstract painting is by Begnini. FACING PAGE: The living room’s 19th-century table, a family heirloom, holds 1930s Mexican bronze sculptures, and the chairs and English chandelier are from the early 1900s; the 19th-century painting above the door was found in a Palermo flea market, and the wallpaper is by Cole & Son. See Resources.

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is laid out in tiles of graniglia, a high-quality mix- ture of concrete and grains of marble. As for the brilliantly mismatched furnishings and fixtures, they’re “the result of years of searching and many, many trips,” says Begnini, for whom travel has been a lifelong passion. “Every piece comes from a dif- ferent place—I’ve traveled a tremendous amount, loaded down with enormous things!” The two bronze statues of North American Indi- ans on the living room table, for example, he found in the Yucatán. The frothy crystal chandelier above them came from a little market in Norwich, England, and the antique rugs are Iranian. The small light fix- ture dangling over the kitchen table (an old Italian altar yielded up the marble tabletop) is carved bone from Nepal. The bright-yellow wood deer heads on the bedroom wall are Balinese, and the Chinese lanterns around the bed are from shops all over the world: “Whenever I’ve seen a pretty one, different from the usual, I’ve bought it,” says Begnini. Every object has a story. He found the living room’s two red-velvet chairs in Naples a few years ago, when the city’s famous Teatro di San Carlo, where Rossini and Donizetti were once resident composers, was being refurbished and its furniture auctioned off; they were orchestra seats. The pair of portraits of Chinese children were photographed and hand-tinted in Shanghai in the 1920s. Begnini spotted them in the shop of a Roman antiques dealer and immediately had to have them. But he was told they’d been promised to the American painter Cy Twombly, who lived close by. Begnini wouldn’t give up: He kept going back and repeating, “I want them, I want them!” And it worked. By the time he brought them home, he says, they felt like relatives. He’s especially proud of the bathroom, with its Carrara marble and tiles, which he designed him- self, inspired by Turkish hammams. Glued to the windowpanes are some three dozen mid-20th- century photographic plates, the work of a Palermo photographer who specialized in ceremonies— baptisms, communions, weddings. Begnini doesn’t much like curtains; the plates furnish privacy along with a startlingly original effect, echoed by the dozens of religious images and relics on the bathroom wall. And everywhere there are books—somewhere around 3,000 volumes, including one of his own, 5 Star Houses, which was published last year in col- laboration with photographer Gianni Franchellucci. It highlights 20 luxurious Italian interiors. Of his vast accumulation of tomes, Begnini says, “It’s mainly a big library of art that’s tied to my work.” But they are also about more than his work: All those handsome volumes provide more evidence of the human type he so beautifully embodies— the collector. ◾ 140



In the living room of fashion designer Yvan Mispelaere’s Paris apartment, which he designed with architect Stéphane Ghestem, the sofas are by Zanotta, the 1970s light fixtures were found in Florence and customized with brass accents, the Art Deco mirror screen came from a Paris flea mar- ket, the brass-and-glass cocktail tables are vintage, and the marble sculpture by Venske & Spänle was purchased at the Hong Kong Inter- national Art Fair. See Resources.

HIGH-WIRE ACT Inspired by his apartment’s previous life as a school for acrobats, French fashion designer Yvan Mispelaere takes a leap into the surreal TEXT BY DANA THOMAS PHOTOGR APHY BY MATTHIEU SALVAING STYLED BY SYLVIE THÉBAUD 143

French fashion designer Yvan Mispelaere was seduced by the design possibilities of the was looking for something different in Paris. place. He bought it in 2006, and with the help He had lived in his share of late-19th-century of architect Stéphane Ghestem, turned it into Haussmannian flats, with their wedding- a nearly wall-less home made up of modu- cake moldings and stout marble fireplaces, lar nooks. “I wanted a big space but at the and he says, “I longed for a loft.” same time not a huge open loft where you see He thought of looking around the Gare de everything,” Mispelaere explains. Instead, l’Est in northeast Paris, a quartier in transi- he and Ghestem came up with a series of tion that had served for more than a century “secret zones,” as he calls them, “that you as the city’s epicenter for artisan workshops. discover bit by bit, with volumes that play Mispelaere, who has worked for some of fash- against one another.” ion’s most influential companies, including That translated into a sunken living room Valentino, Prada, Chloé, and, most recently, inspired by Moorish homes and framed by Diane von Furstenberg, had discovered the floor-to-ceiling almond-green velvet cur- area in the early 1990s while searching for tains, an office corner, a somewhat open den/ leather craftsmen to work on animal skins guest room, and a master bedroom and bath for the designer Claude Montana. When he perched up on a mezzanine. Besides the front revisited the area a few years ago, he was door, there is only one other: for the toilet. charmed by how it had evolved. “It’s a little The kitchen “was the biggest issue,” Mispe- corner of creativity,” he says. “Authentic. laere says. “I didn’t want an American-style A lot of locals. Simple folk.” open kitchen, but I also didn’t want to put He came across an airy 1,700-square-foot it in the back, walled in.” He came up with space with 18-foot-high ceilings that had the idea of a three-sided, roofless cube with once served as a circus school; there was still a diamond-pointed, black semigloss exte- a trapeze hanging from a beam. Mispelaere rior. The cube, he says, “breaks the flow and 144 ELLEDECOR.COM

The staircase is painted concrete, the glassware collection is vintage, and the brass chair is from the 1960s; Mispelaere designed both the Brancusi-inspired hand- carved stacked stools and the trompe l’oeil “tile” wood-and-cork inspiration board in the office beyond. FACING PAGE: The kitchen is hidden behind a black-walled, three-sided cube, and Ross Lovegrove Landscape chairs surround an Italian 1950s dining table expanded with Corian; the brass vases were made from unused World War I mortar shells. See Resources. ELLEDECOR.COM 145

The guest room’s custom-made cabinetry was inspired by Giorgio de Chirico, a 1970s plaster speaker adds another Surrealist ele- ment, and the wall is painted in a blue by Dulux Valentine. BELOW: The tilework in the master bath is a mix of standard white squares and Mispelaere’s Peep Show tiles. FACING PAGE: Mispelaere designed the bedcover in the master bedroom, the floor is paved with custom-made painted wood tiles, and a two- way mirror on the back wall ofers a view of the dining area below. See Resources. complicates things,” while leaving the dra- matic rafters above exposed. Mispelaere chose to paint everything else chalk white, “like in Greece,” he says— a country he adores and where he is build- ing a second home. The stark white palette is also a nod to 1930s architect Robert Mallet- Stevens and his famous modernist works, such as the Villa Noailles in Hyères and the Villa Poiret, couturier Paul Poiret’s home in Mézy-sur-Seine. Mispelaere is drawn to the pre–World War II period of design— Le Corbusier, Eileen Gray, with splashes of Surrealism—and he used this period for the basis of his decor. “I adore the geomet- ric rigor and purity of line of that epoch,”

he says. “The architecture and the art of the stools. The living room lighting is inspired Being a designer, Mispelaere wanted to Dadaists and Surrealists speak to me.” by the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. “I create a few pieces himself, too. He found To break up the white, he played with tex- love how the chandeliers drop down to make the living room chandeliers in Florence and tures, such as slices of tree trunks, which he a sort of false ceiling, and the low lighting reworked them, adding small brass plates to also painted white and then glued to the bed- creates a more intimate space,” he explains. make them look more 1930s. For the dining room closet doors to create a flat, bubbles- The bathroom door is decorated with Renais- area, he wanted a big oval table, preferably like design. The guest room cabinet doors sance-like rivets, a reference to Mispelaere’s something midcentury. After months of with their black arches are inspired by the years in Florence, where he worked as an searching without any luck, he took a small work of the Greek-born Italian artist Gior- assistant designer for Gucci. The white tile Italian 1950s walnut oval table that he found gio de Chirico, who in the early 20th century bathroom—an homage to the French contem- in Brussels and enlarged its top with an oval founded the Scuola Metafisica movement porary artist Jean Pierre Raynaud—is punc- frame of white Corian. that was one of the roots of Surrealism. tuated with tiles called Peep Show, painted Mispelaere is pleased with how it all turned Other touches came from Mispelaere’s var- with eyes, from a collection Mispelaere out. “Of all the places I have lived, this apart- ied travels. There are many pieces from Bali, designed for Paris-based Ugly Edition. On the ment most resembles me,” he says. “I travel a where he vacations often, including colorful walls hang medicine cabinets he picked up on lot and when I return, I feel serene, safe, and pottery and Brancusi-like geometric wooden trips, including one from Serbia. at ease as soon as I open the front door.” ◾ ELLEDECOR.COM 147

IR I S H HE R I T A G E Since the mid-18th century, Russborough House has seen gentility and debauchery, neglect and glittering gatherings. Through it all, this grand country estate has stood as a testament to the glories of Ireland TEXT BY ROBERT O’BYRNE · PHOTOGR APHY BY JAMES FENNELL 148

In the library of Russborough House in County Wicklow, Ireland, the 20th-century sofa and armchairs are covered in oxblood leather, the George III–style table is inlaid mahogany, and the William IV plant stands flanking it are rose- wood; the plaster ceiling by Paolo and Filippo Lafranchini dates from the 18th century, a por- trait of the Countess of Airlie by Sir John Lavery hangs beside the 18th-century marble fireplace, the Venetian glass chandelier is 19th century, and the rug was commissioned in 1952 from

The saloon’s Louis XVI gilt-wood chair is upholstered in a Gobelins tapestry, the 18th-century portrait of Thomas Conolly is by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and the 18th-century mantel was crafted by Thomas Carter the Younger of London; the mahogany-and-satinwood parquet flooring is original to the house. FACING PAGE, FROM TOP: A view of Russborough, whose façade runs almost 700 feet. The limestone gateway, flanked by beech trees, was the original entrance to the house.