Interview with Sarah Lavoine
Sarah Lavoine is a name that has become synonymous with contemporary Parisian design. Her panache for design saw her establish a successful interior design studio 20 years ago in Paris, open a series of Parisian stores, and produce her own range of home furniture and home décor accessories that are being distributed in more than 50 stores worldwide. On top of her bustling list of clients, she has been working on residential and hospitality projects across Europe as well in Tokyo and New York City.
Her foray into design was thanks to her parents, she explains. “I was lucky my parents taught me how to enjoy beauty in any detail: how to look, but also how to seize every opportunity, how to be able to learn from anyone,” says Lavoine. “When I was young, they generously introduced art, architecture and fashion to me. What they shared with me are the basic essentials that helped me reinforce the way I look at the world – it really created my own lifestyle … that’s why today I also want to share it, just the way they did with me.”
Lavoine is at heart a Parisienne, but while her heritage and upbringing (Lavoine — nee Poniatowski, was born in Poland and is a Polish princess) have certainly influenced her work, most importantly, she says, it’s all about details. “My heritage is more about rigor in my work, accuracy and sensibility, which are essential features when you’re an interior designer. My education also trained my eye to aesthetics and refinement.” As her attention to detail has developed, and her eye for design has become increasingly more refined, her work has evolved with her. “In 20 years, my desires and my references changed and perhaps they became more sophisticated,” she says. “When I started, I designed very pure atmospheres with ethnic inspirations. Now, I latch onto stronger or unexpected colors, I mix materials and time periods. I have also learned to trust my gut.”
Trusting her own intuition and ensuring she sees things from the client’s perspective is part of her design process. She tries to consider style and space separately. “When it’s interiors, I have to project myself with the client to make sure the project will fulfill all their expectations and needs. Their mind-set plays an essential part in my vision of the project,” she says. When it comes to product collections, on the other hand, they are more related to her personally and she likes to stray from trends. “I try not to follow trends because I believe more in timeless pieces that will age well,” she says. All of her pieces are designed according to her inspirations, and in turn inspire those who inhabit them. “My main focus, whenever I create a place, is to bring life into it. I love warm and colourful interiors. It isn’t enough that it looks good in a picture, people have to enjoy every minute they will live in there. I like to use a special blue, it’s very deep, and depending on the light, you would see some green hues inside. I have developed it especially for my projects and now we just call it Bleu Sarah. Wherever you use it, it brings elegance to the room.”
For Lavoine, every project is a unique challenge and she always starts working on colours. This is what defines a space and gives structure to the project, according to Lavoine. She also likes to source furniture from flea markets as it mixes well with her own designs, she says. And finally, le pièce-de-résistance is to mix family pictures with artwork.
Her most recent project has seen Lavoine’s contemporary Parisian chic design transform a high-end Parisian hotel. In a few months she will unveil her latest design for the Design Hotels™ property Le Roch Hotel & Spa, which is located on the corner of Rue St Honoré – a short walk away from Le Louvre and L’Opéra Garnier. Le Roch, says Lavoine, is a blessing. “I’ve been dreaming of such a project. It’s located in my very own backyard of the Saint Honoré Village, the area where I’ve lived and worked for so many years.” The hotel was designed as a peaceful haven, somewhere to go whenever you want a break from the hectic up and coming Parisian life, and to give a sense of home. This, explained Lavoine was achieved by using very comfortable elements like raw wood and velvet, and using a lot of mirrors and worked a lot on natural light in order to broaden the spaces.
To achieve the Lavoine-esque classic luxury style, which overlaps with a contemporary design aesthetic, Lavoine kept some of the details of the original building such as the woodworks that were restored and kept as they were initially designed for the typical Parisian building. “We have mixed them with modern elements including geometrical shapes and patterns, as well as some statement pieces such as artworks or home décor pieces,” Lavoine said.
Le Roch Hotel & Spa will launch this July, but Lavoine still has an ever-growing list of projects. Next to open will be a restaurant in Tokyo this September, as well as the launch of a wall covering line with Parisian fine paper purveyor Nobilis, later this year. And for her distant future she is looking beyond traditional four walls, or indeed any walls per se. In fact, she she’d love to design the interior of a boat or an aircraft.
Interview: Audrey Bugeja, Managing Editor, fluoro.
—
