Last Tango in Paris: contemporary home décor lessons from France
The intriguing atmosphere of Last Tango in Paris, minus the decadent lifestyle: French contemporary design is all but gloomy. Shall we take a look?
Some of the world's greatests interior designers were bestowed upon us by France: Jean-Louis Deniot, Robert Couturier, Élisabeth Garouste, and the list goes on! We shouldn’t really be surprised: after all, France is also the country who gave us Dior, Chanel, Givenchy…the fashion icon Marie Antoinette! In short, France seems to be a fertile land for fashion and creative inspiration, so it just makes sense that we would want to take a look at what current French masters have been designing. What we’ve been noticing so far is a lack of that taste for the decadent that can be noticed in so many French books, or movies set in French, like Last Tango in Paris; existentialism is momentarily out of fashion, it seems. What has taken its place is a reminiscence of the past, with a contemporary twist: a mix of traditional materials and new shapes, and vice versa. Here there are a few home décor items that embody this new French joie de vivre: enjoy!
Everyday marble
We’re used to associating marble with noble, aristocratic palaces: a precious material that was -- and still is -- often used to emphasize a family’s wealth, an institution’s power, or a the sacredness of a cathedral. And in fact, marble can do all of these things: perfectly polished, often multicolor, it always embodies a certain mystique that instills respect. Wouldn’t it be great if we could channel all the wonderful properties of marble into our own home? French designers think we can, and we should. We’re used to decorating our living room with inexpensive IKEA coffee tables, but what if we swapped them with a refined table made of marble? This red zebra marble adds a powerful touch of color to its surroundings, while the precisely geometric but hollow shape allows it to look light and almost weightless. That’s definitely a piece of decor that will ennoble any living room.
What about marble for lamps? True, lamps with a marble base are fairly common, but what about lamps that are designed to look like they’re entirely made of marble? But don’t go overboard: avoid placing a glowing marble lamp on your zebra red marble coffee table.
Related: if you’re crazy for marble, check out this article on the perfect marble shade for you!
Floating designs
What we noticed with the previous coffee table is that it conveys a feeling of lightness, despite being made of marble. But you can even go lighter, thanks to a transparent crystal surface! The sinuous shape of this coffee table adds an ineffable dynamism to the room, while making sure nobody will get distracted by its design. While a red marble coffee table will automatically turn into the living room’s centerpiece, a crystal coffee table is the right choice for you if you already have many more distinctive designs around and you don’t want to steal any attention away from them. But be careful: you don’t want your coffee table to be invisible! A smart compromise is combining a transparent surface with creatively original legs, and most importantly, a very visible frame! Let’s avoid destroying your brand new coffee table by bumping into it.
Composite structures
Why choose a unified and uniform surface, when you can play on multiple levels? Playing with volumes not only is a sign of creativity, but it helps rejuvenating a simple and / or traditional design. A white, classic flower vase can become a revolutionary object, thanks to just a bit of fantasy! Take a look at this picture: it’s built on two levels -- inner and outer, where the inner seems to be the essence of the vase, excavated and brought back to light by an unknown archaeologist. A shiny, fluid platinum thread runs around the borders of this creation, accentuating the feeling of having made an unsuspected, precious discovery.
Making everyday objects precious
If there’s a fil rouge that connects many of today’s French interior design items, is a desire of enhancing everyday objects by means of using precious colors or materials: silver, platinum, marble, etc. But naturally, what’s the most precious material you can think of? Gold! We’ve been seeing our fair share of gold during these last few years: our jewellery has been invaded by countless shades of rosée gold that are just now finally starting to disappear. But what about some traditional, awe-inspiring gold? Gold can be a perfect decoration for any everyday object, but of course, is there a better combination than gold and light? A table lamp that’s half covered in gold will give you the illusion that a tiny, ever-burning Sun has entered the room to brighten it up with its golden light.
Gold really is everywhere
Of course, gold is not the only way to make an everyday home décor item shine, but, according to French interior designers, it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of it this year! Even a simple, understated white ceramic teacup can be turned into a valuable piece just by adding a golden ring around it. The lack of a handle makes for an Oriental vibe (teacups are handleless in China and Japan), while the graceful shape and golden ring make it perfect for a European palate.
Noble and humble materials juxtaposed
It seems like French designers are having fun juxtaposing precious and more understated materials, together with sleek and opaque surfaces. A great example is this teapot, which by the way would look amazing with the teacups we just saw. Anyway, back to the teapot: it’s characterized by a soft, roundish shape that joins both the pot itself and the handle. However, the first feature we notice is the strong but not unpleasant contrast between the pearly white, polished ceramic and the simple brown of the wooden handle. And notice those bright-gold highlights!
Life is a bistrot
A typical -- or stereotypical feature of Parisian and French life in general is the lovely, little bistrot you can find at the corner of every street and alley. Why not bring that genuine French vibe into your own home? You can if you select the right little table: round, with a sturdy, elaborate pedestal made of wrought iron. A tip? Choose a table with a colorful, enameled surface to create some color coordination!
Handleless everything
Remember those handleless cups we saw just a few minutes earlier? Well, here are some more! Apparently, this year we’ll have to sip our coffee and tea from a range of small, roundish cups. However, we wouldn’t employ this elaborate, multifaceted cups for tea...but for cider instead! It’s a popular low-alcohol drink that is still often produced by small breweries in the northern regions of France, and over there it's traditionally served in small handleless ceramic cups.
Vintage
It’s not unusual to find a contemporary French creation in a vintage style, but with a distressed look. This sofa is a great example: the cylindrical pillows and the overall shape are clearly taken from tradition, but everything looks as if it had been sprayed inadvertently with sapphire blue paint.
Fun
We thought of showing you a French design piece that is the complete opposite of everything we’ve been showing you so far: this YES! modular sofa. You may like it or not, but it’s an excellent reminder to maintain a positive, open-minded attitude throughout your life. Start saying “YES!” to new experiences, and a world of opportunities will open up in front of you.
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