#parisian-decor

#parisian-decor

The texture of the material and the handcrafted quality were aspects that particularly interested them. The challenge was to translate my style from stone to paper.

Le Creuset is a favorite for many home chefs due to its beautiful colorways, timeless design, and durability, despite its high prices.

The apartment navigates two opposing conditions: the tranquil greenery of the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab to the south, and the bustle of a major commercial boulevard to the north.

I like to create a small universe. From the master plan to the doorknobs, from the trees planted outside to the way people will sit and eat and dance inside, you create and control a whole microcosm.

I Googled - probably not the wisest thing to Google, even 15 years ago - 'how to get paid to go to Europe.' That's when I found out I could become an au pair. I flew to Madrid in the summer of 2013 and worked as an au pair for four months, and I loved it.

Past a sign for a family waterpark, a door opens onto an homage to fin-de-siècle Paris. Chandeliers are reflected in gilt-edged mirrors; there is a chorus line of lobsters and yards of fromage. Every so often, a waiter in a dinner suit flambées a crepe Suzette with a shock of flames, like a big top fire-eater. This is fine dining as buffet.

Traveling to different home trade shows is a big part of my job, and sometimes it's hard for me to fully turn my editor brain off after a day of scouting new products and design trends. The fallout? I'm always looking at my surroundings and snapping photos of clever decorating ideas I see "in the wild." And what I mean by that, of course, is that every restaurant, museum, hotel, store, and so on has something to share.

Regardless of the address, the revered fashion designer always, unabashedly, combined old with new, shedding fresh light on various historical design movements and their most important pioneers. Most of these homes have been the subject of expansive magazine print features and the fodder of tabloid headlines but little focus has ever really been placed on his workspaces.

Belleville has always been a little bit rowdy, whether it meant to be or not. Long before it was folded into Paris in 1860, it existed as its own working-class wine village perched on a hill, slightly removed from the city both geographically and ideologically. In recent years, as Paris's 10th and 11th arrondissements have slid fully into hipster territory, and even the gritty Barbès neighborhood feels increasingly polished, Belleville has held onto its identity with surprising resolve.

Paris didn't invent shopping (even if it sometimes feels that way), but it arguably invented the specialty shop as we understand it today. Long before concept stores, lifestyle retail, or anything resembling "curation" entered the vocabulary, Paris was already organized around doing one thing extremely well -and it still is. From cheesemongers to winemakers and beyond, specialization remains the point.

It's a travel moment we've seen time and time again in the movies: opening up a grand set of French windows, stepping onto a wrought iron terrace, and gasping at a view of la tour Eiffel. While you might be hard-pressed to find a hotel room with an Eiffel Tower view that actually matches the picture, it's a bit easier to sniff through the fake on Airbnb.

As a travel writer who refuses to check a bag, I've had to distill my travel wardrobe down to 10 versatile staples that can easily mix and match to create over a dozen outfits. Whether I'm wine-bar hopping in the trendy 11th arrondissement, playing tourist by the Eiffel Tower, or splurging on a fancy dinner in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, I need pieces that can be dressed up or down-and crucially, that will keep me warm.

There's something about trendspotting in France that just hits differently. Maybe it's the Haussmannian architecture, which provides such a charming backdrop that you almost don't even notice you're literally running from showroom to showroom. Or maybe it's the fact that some of the brands on display truly are new - and in some cases, not even available stateside yet. Whatever the reason, I look forward to Maison&Objet and Paris Déco Off, two furniture- and textile-forward events in Paris, each January.

Styling by Axelle using fashion by Nazarene Amictus, Victoria Amerson Design GmbH, Mossi, and Vintage pieces. The assistant stylist is Evan. The series explores the idea of haste and unintentional disorder in Paris, the moment when you rush downstairs, almost forgetting your trousers, because every minute counts. This sense of urgency, this I don't have time, becomes an aesthetic language. In Paris, style isn't calculated, and yet, nothing is ever left to chance.