Welcome to my new membership, The Insider, where I will be opening up my little Black Book of resources to bring you the very best interior and style items and advice, as well as my coveted Paris addresses and French travel tips. (If there’s ever something specific you would like to see - do let me know! I'm always interested in feedback.)
As I said in my newsletter yesterday, this is a bumper-pack of sources to dog ear for your next trip to the French capital, or if you live here and are looking for unique items to fill your home with. Many can also be shopped online if you don’t have plans to visit any time soon. Either way, I’ve spent a long time scouring my huge list of saves and Paris notes, so get ready for your insider access!
I love nothing more than hunting (and of course finding) something special and unique for my home, it’s why a lot of our furniture is vintage (more on that in the future), but I also love seeking out the newly handmade such as ceramics or glassware, as they too add character and depth to a space, creating the feeling of a lived in home with personality. Which, if you’re like me, is exactly what you’re looking for! And Paris is the perfect place to do this with its ample beauty, art galleries, myriad of beautiful boutiques and hidden gems. As I wrote in my book, Practising Parisienne, I believe that Parisians have developed a particular sensibility for beauty as they are surrounded by it every day: “I have come to believe that living in a city like Paris, so steeped in culture, literature and art, and filled to the brim with beautiful historical buildings, picturesque squares and stunning views, coupled with a wealth of art galleries and museums, has heightened their tastes.”
Living here has certainly taught me a thing or two about aesthetics and it’s where I’ve been truly able to delve into my passion for design and interiors. But it’s not easy to know where to find those unique pieces unless you have the time to do a lot of research during a trip, or live here. Of course there are places like Merci, which I’m sure you’ve visited or at least heard about, as it now has an international reputation - it’s a go-to for most visitors seeking out a cool Parisian concept store experience. It’s brilliant and I still love visiting the space, but most people now know about it, so it doesn’t feel, well, very secret and it’s become a magnet for tourists. Then there’s Sézane, the Parisian behemoth (you probably have an item hanging in your closet), which has, as many clothing brands have done over the last couple of years, recently launched its own homeware collection. There are indeed beautiful pieces in it, but as with the clothing, I think they will be in danger of becoming ubiquitous. (Although, admittedly I do really like their wooden-based lamp.) Diptyque is another brand that I admire for its products, branding and fascinating history, but I don’t think that it feels very special purchasing a candle in Paris when you can now buy them almost anywhere in the world.
What I’m most interested in, is sharing the shops, boutiques and brands that fly a little more under the radar: the ones I actually tell my friends about when they come for a weekend; the ones that Parisians visit. These are the places that you’re unlikely to find from a quick search online. Plus, they won’t be filled with hordes of tourists, which is always a bonus in my book. Of course I will be including a few well-known classics in the same vein as Merci and Diptyque that I can’t leave out, but these will be few and far between.
So without further ado, here’s my edit of the best places to shop for interiors in Paris and online, so you’ll feel like an insider too. It’s my list of more than 30 addresses where Parisians actually go shopping for their homes. I’ve split them into sections, such as furniture & accessories, tabletop, ceramics and vintage, and alphabetized them to make them easier to find. A few of these feature in my book, as I didn’t want to leave them out in case you haven’t read it, but 95% of them are new additions. And of course if you have any to add to this list, please leave a comment……enjoy!