Made in France

How Rive Gauche’s Gallic heritage is the secret ingredient in our design.

We are often asked two questions by prospective clients. “How would you describe your design style?” And “What makes you different to other designers?” Both very valid lines of enquiry from people about to entrust you with their property and their money. And both are questions that make me delve far below the surface of talking about finishes and furnishings and take me to the source of everything: our Frenchness. 

When trying to define your design style, you can’t help but think about your sense of identity and, for me, that stems from my rural French childhood spent growing up in the tiny village of Flurieux, near Lyon. As an eight year old boy, I would watch my father, Gerard, drawing a very tricky type of kitchen door moulding with his charcoal pen with a dexterity that would take me years to master. 

My father was a master joiner and furniture designer, and I learnt my craft – and my passion – from him. It was only when I went on to study design and architecture in Lyon that I started to acquire his level of craftsmanship – and, ever since, my love for my craft has underpinned everything that I, and we as a team, do at Rive Gauche. 

Those formative years spent in France, until I was 25, gave me more than just technical expertise, though. They planted in me an unshakeable sense of how to live. Like many other cultures, French people prize family gatherings and food, but the French do it unlike anyone else. 

I would say that, of course. But you need only watch the The Parisian Agency on Netflix to see that even people who inhabit a world of multi-million pound properties always return to the most authentic and grounding things in life – sitting around the dining table with your family, chatting and cooking together, listening to the wisdom of your grandmother. 

Every time I go back to Flurieux, my mother will take me around the garden to update me on what she has planted. You can’t sit down and eat until you have appreciated where the food has come from. Although the influence is subliminal, all those elements – finding beauty in simplicity, paying attention to the detail, understanding where things come from – feed into the aesthetic that drives our design. 

So does the incredible legacy of French artists, architects, furniture designers and couturiers. They have all taught us that balance, proportion and detail are the foundation of the best design. We are naturally, subconsciously drawn to spaces where shapes and colour come together or to a piece of furniture that just feels like perfection in its form, texture and comforting solidity. 

To bring that to every one of our projects, we source the best specialist craftspeople to create bespoke pieces for our projects. On every visit to France, I find new inspiration – and we often get to use it in our growing number of projects in France, from villas on the Cote d’Azur to a penthouse in Paris whose iconic location in a classic Haussmanian building near the Arc de Triomphe was calling out for an interior design that blends Belle Epoque with modern. We focused on texture and the quality of materials and finishes to celebrate the best of French craftmanship in a real one-off property on one of the world’s most famous avenues. The decadence lies not in any kind of flashness, but in having a property that has had so much thought, love and attention to detail lavished upon it. 

Design, though, like our clients, crosses borders. A decade or so ago, I could assume that a client from a certain country would want a certain style. Now, people’s lifestyles – and identities – are more of a melting pot. They may be from the Middle East, but educated in the US and living in London, and they want design that fuses all of these influences. Rather than have a signature style that we impose on every project, we seek to create something that intimately reflects the client’s personal experience and sense of self, not merely their national identity. 

My 20 years of living in London, which have included working with Candy & Candy and Conran & Partners, have also given me an in-depth knowledge of what UK-based buyers – and those looking to invest in prime London property – want. They are looking for properties that, like the Parisian penthouse, are subtly but indelibly rooted in their location, but which subtly include influences from high-end classic and contemporary design from around the world. 

I know I’m partisan, but you can’t beat French design. I immediately think of great contemporary cabinetmakers like Tristan Auer, whose furniture grace the newly-revamped Georges V hotel, or Mathieu Lehanneur, who combines technology and art to create pieces that have a sense of drama. Or there is the Swiss architect Pierre Jeanneret, cousin of Le Corbusier, and going back a few hundred years, perhaps the most famous French cabinetmaker of all, André-Charles Boulle, 

The best designers began as cabinetmakers – and, inspired by them, I have followed in their footsteps. I will spend hours with joiners, poring over junction details or how a pivot sits within the design of the door, to ensure the final result is the best it can possibly be. 

I also love searching for new names to add to our special – and closely guarded – little black book of French artisans. These are people whose crafts have been developed and mastered over centuries. Whether they are artists who specialise in metal or very niche handmade finishes, I love the interaction between the craftsman and the designer where we listen and collaborate to create something unique and exceptional. 

This network of artisans is our most precious secret. It helps set us apart from other designers and it brings something unique and wonderful to our clients. But it also ensures that those rare skills continue to survive and thrive into the future. 

All these strands of our design DNA, where our French heritage, historical influences and crafts and contemporary inspiration collide, is what makes us Rive Gauche. Our Frenchness is one of many elements that inspire us, but it’s the secret ingredient. It doesn’t define the dish – but the dish really wouldn’t be the same without it. Just ask any French person.