Home Tour: Curator and Collector Emmanuel de Bayser's Eclectic Pied-à-terre in Paris

A sophisticated, contemporary space filled with an exquisite collection of mid-century furniture and art

"I love a big international city where you can walk wherever you need to go,” says Emmanuel de Bayser, who divides his time between two such European locales—Berlin and Paris. In Berlin, de Bayser runs The Corner, a luxe concept store focused on fashion and design for men and women. Whenever he is in Paris, however, he spends his time working intensively on selecting the very best with which to stock his elegant establishment.

The Paris apartment is de Bayser’s base whenever he comes to town for the shows that punctuate the city’s seasonal fashion weeks. In a typical month, he spends about 70 per cent of his time in Berlin, and 30 per cent in Paris. Asked if he could choose between the cities, he demurs, explaining that each one offers such a different experience. “Berlin,” he says, “looks to the future—it is always becoming something—while in Paris, one has such a clear sense of what its history and culture are all about.”

Above In the living room, a black standing lamp by French lighting designer Serge Mouille contrasts the colourful ceramics by Georges Jouve and the grey artwork by the 20th-century German artist Bernd Berner

De Bayser’s Paris pied-à-terre is located in a building that is typical of the homogenous urban architecture of the mid-19th century when Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann was tasked to “renovate” the city under the command of Emperor Napoléon III (Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte,) though it was built several years after the legendary city planner’s death in 1870.

Originally each floor of the building was a single luxurious home, but these expansive spaces were gradually divided into smaller, more manageable allotments over the years. In fact, de Bayer’s apartment was subdivided from a larger residence next door.

Photo 1 of 4 elegant glass and wood interior doors separate the hallway from the living room while allowing light to stream through the entire apartment

Photo 2 of 4 De Bayser’s apartment is situated in an elegant neoclassical building overlooking a Parisian park filled with trees

Photo 3 of 4 A rare vintage Visiteur chair by Jean Prouvé takes centrestage in the living room

Photo 4 of 4 Classic Paris views along the River Seine

Despite this downsizing of sorts, the smaller space—just 70 square metres in total—feels spacious and expansive. This is the result of the building’s elegant ‘bones,’ which include high ceilings that make for light-filled rooms and interconnecting doors with original glazed panels that open up the space and again allow light to move through. The feeling of luxurious roominess is accentuated by cream-coloured wall-to-wall wool carpeting. In addition, all of the apartment’s rooms look out onto an elegant Parisian park, which brings in fresh air and also provides magnificent views of manicured greenery.

For the better part of 20 years, De Bayser has mostly collected French mid-century design, furniture, and objets d’art. “This genre of design is timeless, [mid-century] mixes so well with the architecture from periods before it was created,” he says. “It has a patina and a lively character that somehow both contrasts and fits [in] with other styles.”

His charming apartment is a positive proof of these assertions: in this expertly curated space, items like a rare Visiteur wood and metal chair by the iconic mid-from a lounge set by Swiss modernist Pierre Jeanneret, and a black standing lamp by Serge Mouille seem perfectly at home. Boldly patterned bed linen crafted by contemporary French designer India Mahdavi adds a nice sophistication to the mix. There are also colourful ceramics by Georges Jouve, a collection of African tribal art figurines, and an excellent selection of contemporary artworks and books, many of which share space on a built-in bookshelf made by de Bayser himself.

Above The building’s original lift is clad in ornate cast-iron detailing. The neoclassical pillars are typical of Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s mid-19th century ‘renovation’ of Paris

De Bayser’s pied-à-terre is located in a building typical of the urban architecture of the mid-19th century when Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann was tasked to “renovate” the city

Above On the mantelpiece in the living room are an African tribal art figurine and ceramic vases by French mid-century ceramicist Georges Jouve, and a yellow artwork by the German 20th-century artist Bernd Berner

Above in the bedroom, boldly patterned bedlinen by the French contemporary designer India Mahdavi combines beautifully with the room’s original neoclassical details, a wall-mounted sconce by the French lighting designer Serge Mouille and Mahdavi’s wooden Starr table

Above The ideal finishing touch in the bedroom is the dramatic artwork above the bed by the Peruvian contemporary sculptor Aldo Chaparro

Above A sunburst mirror by the French mid-century designer and jeweller Line Vautrin contains a reflection of the bedroom

The tribal figurines are a relatively small collection, but a very special one that was begun when de Bayser received the first piece as a gift. These pieces serve as a link to the history of modern art in France, with their influence on artists such as Constantin Brancusi and Pablo Picasso having been well documented. Like his ceramics collections and his books, these pieces bring a unique and personal feel to the apartment which, according to de Bayser, is very important to him.

A born collector, de Bayser readily confesses to being in constant pursuit of pieces from time to time by his favourite designers and artists. Naturally, he also tends to need new points of focus now and then: his large collection of ceramics by French mid-century ceramicist Georges Jouve was begun in part, because “I had no space for any more furniture,” he admits.

Photo 1 of 4 The small but elegantly proportioned bedroom looks out over the adjacent park. Classical period mouldings are paired with sweeping curtains that nicely offset mid-century modern furniture

Photo 2 of 4 Original neoclassical details and mid-century modern elements combine to glamourous effect in the bedroom

Photo 3 of 4 The standing lamp by Serge Mouille and the wooden stool by Charlotte Perriand follow a similar palette

Photo 4 of 4 de Bayser on a 1966 classic Lounge chair by Warren Platner for Knoll

The smaller space... feels spacious and expansive. this is the result of the Building’s elegant ‘Bones,’ which include high ceilings that make for light-filled rooms

De Bayser also masterfully articulates what makes a variety of mid-century modern designs special. For example, speaking of French lighting designer Serge Mouille, who created the wall-mounted and standing lamps that feature in the apartment’s interiors, he explains that Mouille’s work has a very industrial feel—it is made of cast metal with angular supporting arms—yet the shapes of the lampshades are subtly curved, and have a softer touch than many other industrial-style pieces. The result is “something much more sensual and interesting,” says de Bayser.

A true pied-à-terre, this petite and well-thought-out Paris apartment is a ‘foot on the ground’ second home for whenever the owner pops into town for a limited amount of time. It makes for an ideal base from which to savour some of the finest things that the City of Light has to offer.

Credits

Styling

Sven Alberding / Bureaux

Photography

Greg Cox / Bureaux

Tatler Asia

Home Tour: Curator and Collector Emmanuel de Bayser's Eclectic Pied-à-terre in Paris