11 French designers to inspire your decorating project

France is known and envied for its sense of style and the country has certainly produced an immense amount of interior design talent, each with their unique approach. Find out a bit more about some of France’s most successful interior designers who might inspire a new look for your home.

The Inventor…

Philippe Starck has recently won a lifetime achievement award in the international Frame Awards, for his contribution to the industry of design and architecture. He is well known for his product design and architecture work as well as his interior design skill. With an engineer for a father, Philippe believes in prioritising innovation, utility and improving people’s lives over beauty. Nevertheless the spaces he designs are stunning.

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The Couple…

The creative duo Patrick Gilles and Dorothée Boissier-Gilles work together to produce spaces that represent the art of French living, in design projects around the world. The cultured pair take their inspiration from literature, exhibitions, dance, cinematography and cartoons. Having each worked previously at iconic French design companies such as the Starck Network and Christian Liaigre’s agency, they started Gilles & Boissier together in 2004. Partners in life as well as business, they live together in Paris with their two children.

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The Traveller…

Florence Deau started exploring the word from a young age. While she was born in France, she has lived and studied in San Francisco, Madrid and London. Today, she still has plenty of opportunities to travel the word, for projects, for inspiration and for life experience. She blogs on her website about her adventures as well her thoughts on the designs and products that she sees at home in Royan, France and abroad.

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The Fine Artist…

Charles Zana is an interior designer, architect and above all an art lover. A graduate of Beaux-Arts de Paris, Charles very much approaches his designs as works of art that tell a story. He takes inspiration from both classic and contemporary drawings, sculptures, and abstract art and produces designs that are at once aesthetically beautiful and full of meaning.

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The Star…

Jacques Grange has rubbed shoulders throughout his life and career with famous names including Yves Saint Laurent, Salvador Dalí, Andy Warhol and Princess Caroline of Monaco and is himself somewhat of a celebrity. While he takes inspiration from a variety of sources his designs seek to find harmony in a space. Having started his career over 50 years ago, Jacques Grange is now revered as a master of interior design.

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The Bold…

Dorothée Meilichzon grew up in Paris and studied Industrial Design at Strate College, but rather than keep this focus on product manufacturing, she followed her passion for design into the interiors sector. She set up her own design studio aged 27 and in 2009 founded the multidisciplinary design Agency CHZON. Using block colours and well placed patterns, Dorothée’s designs are eye catching but not overwhelming, creating warm and comfortable environments.

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The Fashionista…

Pierre Yovanovitch, began his creative career in the world of fashion, designing menswear, before moving into interiors. He opened his design agency, Pierre Yovanovitch Architecture d’Intérieur, in 2001. The company is based in Paris but also has an office across the Atlantic in New York – Pierre offers his French style to US clients in turn incorporates some American design in his work, as well as his high-fashion sensibilities from his former life.

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The International…

India Mahdavi’s designs are bright, bold and colourful; her Instagram bio reads ‘Polyglotte & Polychrome’. Born in Theran to an Iranian father and an Egyptian mother, and having spent some time in Germany as a child, she first moved to France with her parent over forty years ago. As an adult she studied and worked for many years in New York but eventually found a home in Paris where she set up her own company in 1999.

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The Hotelier…

Jacques Garcia has an eclectic opulent style to his work that has served him well to build an impressive portfolio of luxury hotel designs. But he also does translate this extravagance for private residences when the right client calls.

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The Siblings…

Alberto Pinto opened his agency in 1968. His sister, Linda Pinto, collaborated with him at the agency for over thirty years and, since his passing in 2012, she has taken over the reins of the Parisian agency. The agency has always had at its heart, attention to detail, refinement and an appreciation for skilled and talented craftspeople.

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The Legacy…

Christian Liaigre’s design style is all about clean lines and natural materials – wood leather and bronze – making it stand out from many other French designers. While Christian stepped down from the helm of his agency, Liaigre, in 2009, it continues to operate and produce incredible designs in his name.

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