Parisian Taste
Sarah Lavoine's new hospitality and commercial projects are an ode to colour, and offer a glimpse into her world.
According to one of France’s best known interior designers, there are no rules for giving life to a space. One should only aim to create unique atmospheres filled with warmth and
energy. “I consider every project I do as a new experience, with a new story behind it,” Sarah Lavoine says. Since 2002, she and her team have worked on one-of-a-kind public and private projects, which all reflect her timeless aesthetic.
Lavoine’s pivotal approach to designing an interior is, firstly, to look at volumes and light–to ponder what could be changed, transformed, removed or improved, and then to play around with the colour palette, an avenue for articulating and structuring the space.
Opened in July 2016 in the heart of Paris–a short walk from the Garnier Opera and the Tuileries Garden–Le Roch Hotel & Spa epitomizes Parisian style. A member of Design Hotels, the first hospitality project by Lavoine took shaped as a private apartment would. In the 32 rooms and five suites, ranging from 20-47 square metres, every detail plays its part in contributing to an overarching elegance and tranquillity. Guests find clean and deep colours–especially the Sarah blue–sophisticated textures, international design classics and custom-made pieces of furniture throughout the property.
The public space hosts a quiet library filled with books, while the bar and the restaurant–with a menu created by young chef Arnaud Faye, who has earned two Michelin stars and four toques in the 2016 Gault et Millau– are bathed in natural light thanks to a beautiful veranda, which provides access to the patio. A wellness space houses a gym, a Codage spa, an indoor pool and a steam room covered with black mosaics on the walls and charcoal grey lava stone on the floor.
In December 2016, Lavoine opened her new, 400-square-metre concept store–the third of its kind–in Paris’s 2nd arrondissement. In this inspiring boutique, the mix of furniture pieces by Lavoine and some exotic accessories reveals the interior designer’s true passions for both French and foreign influences. “I find inspiration every time I travel, in every country I visit, in every hotel I stay at, as well as in museums, paintings
and photographs,” she says. From the boutiques of Bali–a place renowned for the marquetry of bamboo and shells–and the souks of Marrakech–where she can find striking tribal rugs–to the dynamism and magic of New York, Sarah travels the world on the hunt for hidden treasures that she loves to share with her clients, inviting them to
better grasp a lifestyle à la française.