Sunday, September 25, 2011

Chez Dior

Recently as Savoir Faire followers will recall I featured the country retreat of the famed couturier Christian Dior. The mill which Dior had renovated was an exerecise in country living at its most refined and simplicity.


In stark contrast to this idyllic country retreat, Dior’s Paris apartment was an essay in high Napoleonic style and Parisian chic.

As Dior’s success gained momentum in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Dior had two friends decorate his Paris apartment in a style that was befitting his new status amongst Paris’ elite.

Georges Geffroy did the “public” rooms where Dior would hold receptions and dinners, while his other friend Victor H. Grandpierre did his private rooms.
One aspect of these rooms that strikes us is that they are virtually timeless in their appeal and execution. Today the colour pallet might be on a more muted tone, however I could see many designers using these rooms as a basis for designs today.

16 comments:

  1. As timeless as Napoleon, or Dior himself too!

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  2. David, Wonderful! As stunning and elegant as Dior and his fashions.

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  3. It's so beautiful. Very chic and elegant, so parisian.
    I love this style. It's refined.
    Nice post.

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  4. A pleasure to read&see, as always. I love beauty for beauty's sake.

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  5. beautiful rooms. Very few people know how to do this now. Saladino and Romualdez come to mind.

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  6. Love the emerald drapery on the stair railings

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  7. Amazing! so Claasy! love it!

    Hugs
    JK
    http://mrkanerule.blogspot.com

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  8. I loved seeing this, and learning about the history a bit! I'm quite smitten with those amazing black chairs in the 3rd photo. Like you said, the colours may be a bit different but overall everything is timeless and so elegant.

    xoxo
    Rachel

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  9. I want to live there!
    I love the fabric or is it wallpaper with the flowers, trees and birds. It's charming.

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  10. Wow! Such lovely spaces. So elegant and luxuriant!

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  11. I would not mind living here. It looks amazing! To be quite honest, buying or renting a dream home is so far into the future. So, I haven't given too much thought about it. However there are some things I do know that I want included in it one day such as a large leather couch and tapestry.

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  12. OK, I'll be the one to disagree with everybody else. I don't like the curtains in the entry because they are completely out of sync with the architecture. It's akin to putting ruffles on a klismos chair, and I'd be the first to tear those curtains down!

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  13. Nice flowery pattern... is it fabric or a kind of a mural?

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  14. Dior had terrific taste in decor for his home, couture salon, and in the boutique. I don't think it was terribly original, and in decor that is often a good idea. What makes Dior's interiors so beautiful is the taste, quality, classicism, and I think most importantly, the consistency. Like his outfits, it was a total look in which the final result was much greater than the individual elements. Those rooms look gorgeous and undated 55 years later.

    Funny, I've never seen a draped stair balustrade like in his entrance. In this application, it softens the coldness of the severe architecture and adds a good jolt of bold colour. Bright without being overwhelming.

    Dior...even the name is magic.

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