Want something really special and unique? We found dealers who had plenty of that!
Paris is know for many wonderful things, to name just a few; the Eiffel Tower, the pâtisseries, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the architecture, the berets, the fashion and...the antiques!! Myself and Amy (who loves all things home just as much as me) were visiting Maison et Objet so we decided to take a day off in between the show to see some of what the Paris had to offer. We of course also wanted to explore a little of the city, have some cocktails at midday (why not?) and go some place fancy to eat, but we needed an activity to centre these around. Of course since the whole trip to Maison et Objet was to find the best in interiors and homeware we decided we wanted to take a trip to one of Paris's antique markets. There are so many antique shops and markets you could visit a different one every weekend, however we had just one day so we headed to Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen the largest antique market in the world to see just a few!
We were staying by the Moulin Rouge so on-route we passed by the Sacre Coeur and grabbed a pâtisserie...and cocktail.
We managed to tackle the red carpeted alleys of Marché Biron, and part of the huge Paul Bert - Serpette (just around the corner from one another) to see what gems we could find and which dealers would be worth keeping in touch with.
Oh, and I donned a beret!
A veritable itinerary through the ages of art history, the Biron Market is the only one to offer a wide variety of specialized high-end merchandise, there were a lot of antiques from the all the way from the Renaissance right up until Second Empire, many of these resemble the interior of....the Castle from Beauty and the Beast. Sorry, terribly unprofessional reference, but really that's just what comes to mind! Certainly beautiful and fascinating, but (mostly, not all) overly fussy and overly gilded for my liking, perhaps just a small scattering throughout an interior? The chandeliers were certainly eye catching. However, if put all together very OTT.
There was though a few really special shops specialising Style Moderne, Art Nouveau, Art deco and beyond. I was there to see these shops as I'm a huge fan of the more contemporary pieces!
The first shop we went in could have taken up all our time, it was a print shop with such fabulous original advertisement prints from the likes of Toulouse Lautrec who created the Moulin Rouge artwork.
I love starting a room design with the artwork; it can set the tone of the room and direct the colours, often giving you ideas for a palette you may not have considered. Most of these prints were huge and would make a big impact in the right space. The shop owner very generously showed us many of the pieces, explaining their origin.
I fell in love with these Palm Lights, just i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e. The restaurant we dined at during the evening had something similar in its beautiful dusty salmon pink interior. (Keep reading to see.)
We found the most incredible a 4th generation lighting shop which maintains the family's tradition of excellence exhibiting a luxury and haut de gamme selection of 20th and 21st century lights where well-known designer pieces are mixed with contemporary artists, and original creations. Connoisseurs and designers from all around the world come to find exceptional pieces for their interiors and prestigious projects or to have extraordinary made-to-measure lightings designed. They had a 2nd shop at Paul Bert - Serpette so we sure to visit this later on in the afternoon.
Some interesting pieces on show. This metal wall art was phenomenal made up of so many separate pieces, this was only half they had! So much colour and fun too with many of the pieces.
Our favourite shop though was this key dealer in the market, who had the most fascinating collection of pieces including modern art sculptures. The window displays first caught our attention. Some of the dealers had jammed in everything they could show to the front, whereas this dealer created eye catching room set ups to let each piece shine. The old Harrods Visual Merchandiser in me approved.
Amy's favourite pieces were the gold embellished oriental wall hangings. I of course adored these too, but especially juxtapositioned with the more contemporary masculine items.
What first caught my attention were the metal wall art and sculpture. These were actually modern pieces (the artist is still making) but they sat so well with the curated antiques. Wall art doesn't have to be just paint and print, let's think outside the box! I got this dealers details and I hope to be in touch for a future project.
We then headed off the next market just up the road. “Paul Bert” market was created in 1946 by Louis Poré then in the 70’s Alain Serpette developed a market close by. Now a single market within Saint-Ouen, Paul Bert - Serpette, is in an area over 12,000 square meters and 350 shops (part outdoor and part indoor).
These prints were the first thing we spotted, smaller than the ones at the first shop in Marché Biron but at a much more affordable price point these could create similar impact grouped together.
3D Artwork with texture has become really popular in the last few years often using plaster, Papier-mâché, wood blocking, wire and numerous other materials. We thought these huge examples super cool. The white example here also demonstrated how especially3D art can be elevated with cleaver lighting, highlighting the grooves and contours.
The detail on this sunburst mirror was wonderful and would make a great replacement for a piece of art. I have a number of sunbursts in my bathroom at home and I'd have loved to add this to the collection! The block work on these drawers was so unique and creative. If a client project and budget couldn't accommodate an original, I'm thinking perhaps our joiner will be able to recreate something similar? Food for thought.
This place was damn huge with so many interior decor styles and era's in one place, it was incredible to see. I don't think you can even contemplate our excitement as we wandered around not knowing what we may see around each corner; from retro wall panels to a giant snail, it had it all! Antique markets are truly a magical place for any Interior Designer looking for something special.
We loved everything romantic in this shop. We swooned over the chandeliers which had little painted flowers on them.
This is the sister shop to the lighting place we loved at Marché Biron. Now I love a scattered lighting configuration, it can act like a piece of art, so I was drawn to these silver 70's wall lights.
I loved these textured plaster fish eye mirrors, they reminded me of the variations of coral on a reef. Everything about them was just so tactile. I got speaking to dealer and he made them all himself. I would love to get in touch with him to use these in a scheme.
This vendor had some incredible contemporary pieces in each of its 3 large open showrooms. Just wow. The chrome angled floor lamp was something I'd never seen before and the convex warped mirrors were super cool.
We explored and ooh'ed and ahh'ed (seriously you can hear us on the videos I took) until our feet gave up and the cold forced us into a cafe to get a warm beverage for myself...and for Amy a beer!
We really treated ourselves in the evening to a meal out at Le Grand Salon set in picturesque Montmartre, tucked away inside Hôtel Particulier Montmartre. You’ll immediately notice the dreamy interiors – look up to see the ceiling’s painted clouds and pink sky. We also loved the tassles seats that pivoted around and check out the brass palm lamps I mentioned earlier similar to those in Marché Biron.
And even beautiful toilets. I'm always impressed when they meet the standard of the restaurant, and so they should! Check out the rows of lighting on the ceiling which connote the glamour of old Hollywood cinema or a stage show. I then seated myself on the same loo as Brad; Well that's the icing on the cake to a great day if I even saw one!
At Magpye Creative Interiors we create unique space for unique clients. To enquire about working with us to create your dream interior please get in touch.
Katie
Katie Longshaw-Pye
Creative Director | Magpye Creative Interiors
Ribble Valley