Inside Coco Chanel's 31 Rue Cambon in Paris

'An interior is the natural projection of the soul,' were the wise words of fashion icon Coco Chanel.


The biopic of legendary fashion designer hits the screen today and stars Audrey Tautou, many designer dresses and some super chic interiors. Paying homage to the iconic designer, Chanel's apartment has been frozen in time since her death in 1971 and preserves her decor as if she had just designed it.
Her mix of occidental and oriental references was groundbreaking in her day. Above the Chanel store on street level are sprawling mirrored and lacquered dressing rooms. Her apartment takes up the second floor and above that is the design workshop. Coco Chanel designed a mirrored spiral staircase to wind up through the house so she could see what was happening on every level!
Her imaginative and experimental style is also showcased in the lacquered Chinese screens that she split and used as wallpaper to adorn the walls.

Her dining room is extremely opulent and indulgent. It’s home to more oriental screens, gilt mirrors, busts, lions, and chandeliers with the famous ‘5’s’ and double ‘C’s’ made from semi-precious stones interwoven into its design.



Her sofa reportedly mixes her favorite color and material and such a combination was quite controversial in the world of interiors at the time. She also held interviews from this sofa and was very choosy about who she allowed to join her on it. A packed wooden bookshelf wraps around yet another gilt mirror and lines the far wall.


Her mix of oriental, modern and traditional decor was a revolution of interior design at the time and is still around today, a testament to her eye for detail&timeless chic style.





Sources: Flickr, the swelle life& designer's block

4 comments:

  1. Great post- it was very interesting with beautiful photos! And I can't wait to see Audrey as Coco!

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  2. Hey, I found your blog while looking for interior design ideas..You have a nice site. I'll keep revisiting :)

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  3. @ Justine: thx, glad you liked it;) I can't wait too!!

    @ colorharmony: Hi, thanks for dropping by, come visit again:)

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  4. I love Coco Chalnel, I can't wait to see the movie!
    These are beautiful interiors ^___^

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