Tips on Decoration and Design

The nesting impulse, redoing the family home, couple on the go or just creating your own personal pad ? Whatever the reason reality rears it’s proverbial head and the decorating world has all the answers. Whether warming up your walls or expanding those too small spaces, creative solutions in decorating carry their weight in gold and can cure all ills. So let’s go shopping because le Marais is the capitol of design and décor par excellence. Décor starts with the architecture of each building and home. Classic, Baroque, Medieval, Neo-gothic, like the Arrow of Notre Dame redone by Violet le Duc, even Art Nouveau style can be found in le Marais. Hundreds of little boutiques remind us that creativity has it’s heart in le Marais and is in fact more than welcome.

Avoid the pretentious designer chain stores and the tacky Malaysian imports. You’ll find the same products in London and Singapore. Check out the real styles made by the real creators in the neighborhood who carry on the tradition of artisan commerce. But watch out for trendy things that burn out of style before you’ve even crossed customs with your new discovery. Oops! I saw that on 5th Avenue , I found the same thing in Nice! etc… Think original but classic. Simple good taste never goes out of fashion and is passed from generation to generation.

Don’t forget that certain times are designated as special sales seasons. January and August are the best months to go wild without ruining your decorating budget!

Paris capital of creativity
By Pascal Fonquernie, editor

"Paris Je t'Aime" was the theme of this year's "Paris, Capitale de la Création" celebration two weeks ago. This organization is designed to promote 16 professional design trade fairs in fashion and housewares. Over champagne cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, in front of an audience of hundreds in the salons of the Hôtel de Ville, three of Mayor Bertrand Delanoë's deputies – Jean-Bernard Bros, Lyne Cohen-Solal and Christophe Girard – honored a line-up of creative and innovative leaders in the design community, including Jean Bousquet, manager of Cacharel.

The entrance, lobbies and main ballroom were lit entirely in pink, and a large screen showed attendees as they entered by the grand staircase. Adrian Leeds, Editor of ParlerParis.com, and I received a warm welcome from Laurent Queige, who is in charge of tourism promotion at Paris City Hall. The Champagne was not pink but it was delicious, and it was fascinating to see the gigantic ballroom that usually only receives the world’s top representatives opened to so many people – artists, journalists and creative heads from around the globe. The ambiance was definitely informal, and if we had any doubt before that Paris was the city of creativity, we were certain about it when we left. For those couple of hours we had the best vie en rose we could imagine.

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Entrance of Paris city hall for the event and the grand ballroom, with «la creme de la creme»
of creative Paris.

The Paris Capitale de la Création annual event had the Hôtel de Ville in the heart of le Marais lit bright pink from the entrance at 3 rue Lobau to the grand salons where Mayor Bertrand Delanoë and his staff honored 16 of the city's most creative individuals - those designers responsible for 16 trade exhibitions this coming year in the City of Light.

The grand ballrooms of the Hôtel de Ville are lavishly stunning even when completely empty, but bathed in pink light, the chandeliers and gilded carvings took on new meaning. The hundreds of chic Parisians who attended by invitation took on a rosy glow, downed their glasses of champagne, snacked on foie gras topping a "petite Madeleine," mingled and schmoozed to see and be seen.

A lot of shops and designers in le Marais are taking part of the events and offer creative circuits between designer shops and glamourous restaurants and cocktails bars…
Visit http://www.pariscapitaledelacreation.com for more information.