François Le Grix measuring The Mount's dining room

Elliott Barnes

Vertical Room by Patrick Blanc

Design by so-an

The Mount's 2011 Showcase of French Design

"Rooms may be decorated in two ways: by the superficial application of ornament totally independent of structure, or by the means of those architectural features which are part of the organism of every house."

Edith Wharton was a authority on design, the author , with Odgen Codman, Jr., of a seminal text on interior design, The Decoration of Houses (1897).Wharton was also an ambassador for French style, whose elegance and distinction she deeply admired. In 2011, France's contemporary designers return the compliment. At The Mount's invitation, 18 leading French designers will interpret the principal rooms of Wharton's home. The French Salute to Edith Wharton will be a stimulating and luxurious showcase of French style in a glorious setting.

For detailed information click here (pdf) or see the summary below:

The designers and their rooms

Andrée Putman
Edith Wharton’s Library

Celebrated designer Andrée Putman brings a uniquely personal dimension to French Salute. She is the granddaughter of Madeleine St. Rene Taillandier, Wharton’s close friend and the author’s personal choice to translate The Age of Innocence into French; Putman thus blends family history and her legendary “above taste” aesthetic in her approach to Wharton’s library. In 2008, her work and life was the subject of a major retrospective, Andrée Putman – Beyond Style, at the French Embassy in New York.

Tristan Auer
Gallery

Tristan Auer is an interior designer by training whose work has included the conception of hotels in Monaco, Cyprus, Caracas, Cannes, and Paris. This year, Architectural Digest declared him “one of the 10 best contemporary interior designers, stars of tomorrow.”

Elliott Barnes
Dining Room

Elliott Barnes is a licensed architect who practices interior design in Paris. He has previously worked at Ecart S.A. and as a design and managing partner at Andrée Putman sarl. He established his own firm, ebi, in 2004.

Daniel & Michel Bismut
Teddy Wharton’s Bedroom

Daniel and Michel Bismut were declared “stars of tomorrow” by Architectural Digest in 2008. Their agency, Bismut & Bismut, is an architecture and design firm focused on hotel renovation, embassies, commercial architecture, and private residences.

Patrick Blanc
Scullery

Patrick Blanc is a botanist who specializes in plants from subtropical forests. Inventor of the concept of the vertical garden, he has created vertical gardens for clients worldwide.

Mathilda Cox
Sewing Room

Mathilda Cox was born in the west of Ireland and studied in Dublin and London. Her passion for interior design was sparked by Edith Wharton's The Decoration of Houses. She is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers and teaches at Corcoran College of Art and Design.

Maxime d'Angeac and Nicole Zaech
Forecourt

Maxime d'Angeac is an architect and designer with expertise in light effects and illumination. His projects embrace a wide range of structures, residential and commercial. Nicole Zaech is a Berlin-based mosaic artist creating haute couture mosaics for clients across Europe.

Joseph Dirand
Teddy Wharton's Bathroom

Joseph Dirand is the principal of Joseph Dirand Architecture, founded in 1999, an agency focused on residential and commercial interior architecture. It recently received two design awards for hotels in Mexico.

Olivier Lempereur
West Bedroom Suite

Olivier Lempereur spent the first years of his career with Andrée Putman’s firm, after which he returned to Belgium to become Artistic Director of AXV. Today, he has an agency in Paris and designs interiors for an array of clients.

Paul Mathieu
Stair Hall

Paul Mathieu is a multi-lingual artist and designer with ateliers in New York, Aix en Provence, Udaipur, and Murano. He has designed highly successful collections for Ralph Pucci, Donghia and Odegard, and other industry leaders.

Michael McKinnon
Butler's pantry

Michael McKinnon made Gotham's “short list of fresh new talent” for his debut at the 2008 Kips Bay Decorator Show House. He has designed interiors for some of New York City's most prestigious addresses and is a style resource for France's top luxury design firms.

Leiko Oshima & Isabelle Stanislas for so-an
Henry James Suite

Founded in Paris in 2001 by Leiko Oshima and Isabelle Stanislas, so-an is an agency exploring convergences among architecture, design, fashion, and photography.

Antonio Virga
Bedroom suite sitting room

Antonio Virga opened his agency in Paris in 1990. Initially focused on office, apartment, showroom, and other renovations, the agency has more recently worked on large projects including shopping mall construction and the renovation of three buildings in Paris for Benetton.

Sebastien Agneessens
Outdoor sound installation

Sebastien Agneessens is the curator and creative director of Formavision. His main interest lies in creating a common ground between contemporary art and brands, with the goal of exposing art to a broader audience. At The Mount, he plans to create a sound installation in the garden, mixing the voices of nature with extracts from Wharton’s literature.

François Le Grix
Drawing room

François Le Grix founded his interior design agency in 1973, after 10 years with Jansen rue Royale in Paris. He and his team work on design and renovation projects worldwide.