Outside Paris, a Stone Cottage Helped This Designer Through Divorce

"In 2024, she was looking at property in the idyllic community of Samois-sur-Seine, nearby the Parisian suburbs. This was where she saw a two-story stone country house sitting behind a half-timbered Belle Époque villa typical of the region. Apropos of nothing, Hansen knocked on the door to inquire about the property. "The artist who lived there opened it and, to my surprise, it was an old acquaintance," she says. At the time, the painter wasn't interested in selling."

"Today, the cottage is a stunning lesson in the use of bold colors, fabrics, wallpapers, nautical influences, and warm materials. All these elements add up to a cozy home surrounded by nature which also displays an intriguingly unconventional and uninhibited side-the home's garden was designed by Hansen, in collaboration with Estelle Marandon. It also has an unusual mix of old (a certain English cottage style) and new (a more wild and natural approach, in the vein of Piet Oudolf designs.)"

"Two years ago, Gesa Hansen could never have predicted that she would be living in a stone cottage. "I was so desperate to find an apartment or house that I was open to anything," says the German-Danish interior designer. "I even considered houseboats." In the end, Hansen did not choose life on the water, but she still found a home close to a river."

Gesa Hansen, a German-Danish interior designer who also designs furniture for her brand The Hansen Family, moved into a 1,100-square-foot stone cottage in Samois-sur-Seine in winter 2024 after a divorce. She reimagined the layout by removing walls and increasing natural light. The cottage features bold colors, varied fabrics, wallpapers, nautical influences, and warm materials that create a cozy yet unconventional atmosphere. The garden, designed by Hansen with Estelle Marandon, blends English cottage style with a wilder Piet Oudolf-inspired approach. The house and garden reflect a period of personal transition and creative reinvention.

Read at Architectural Digest