Interior designers Stéphanie Lizée and Raphaël Hugot met working with Olivier Lempereur’s studio in Paris. Now under their own firm, Stéphanie and Raphaël create beautiful spaces in Paris full of contextual references, artworks, and fantastic flea market finds. The duo reveals the stories behind their favorite projects.
Quotes by Stéphanie Lizée and Raphaël Hugot.
Invalides Residential Project, Paris. Photo by Christophe Coenon
“Before the kitchen was like an office so we built everything to measure. Craftspeople are very important in our vision of the entire design. What is most interesting and personal is to be able to build the furniture, everything. We are lucky enough to have clients who ask us to do it.”
Invalides Residential Project, Paris. Photo by Christophe Coenon
“It’s a young family’s apartment in Musée Rodin’s neighborhood, so we made this very pure, modern, Rodin-inspired style. It’s like a sculptor’s atelier, with little touches to remind you of the museum. For instance, the floor is made of stones from Burgundy. You always need this kind of balance between sobriety and strong details. The contrast makes the space feel very soft but with character as well.”
Cité Industrielle Residential Project, Paris. Luminaire by artist Arthur Ristor. Photo by Christophe Coenon
“The volumes, very different from classic Parisian Haussmann apartments, offered a unique opportunity to express ourselves in this type of setting. We focused on the right use of architectural elements without pretense. This luminaire was designed by artist Arthur Ristor, who works with glass in the style of stained glass.”
Cité Industrielle Residential Project, Paris. Antique coffee table by Willy Rizzo, custom-built shelves and sofa, aged mirror made-to-measure. Photo by Christophe Coenon
“The apartment is in an industrial building with many windows and very high ceilings. A certain rigor in the volumes reminds you of architect Adolf Loos, his rigor and Viennese style. The unusual style led us to take a close interest in Adolf Loos and travel to Vienna to discover his world.”
Cité Industrielle Residential Project, Paris. Photo by Christophe Coenon
“We like to work subtly with contrasting colors and materials, creating worlds with character, but without being fashionable or boring. We began by looking for a warm, characterful marble, matching the rest with the checkerboard floor and paint colors. You don’t want to be overwhelmed by color but still have an interior with character.”
Hôtel des Académies et des Arts, Paris. Shelves and seat are custom designs. Photo by Benoit Linero
“The building was an old atelier in Montparnasse where a lot of famous artists—Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Fujita—used to work and live. With this hotel we wanted to have an atelier’s feeling. The furniture, and every material, is either a work of art or very natural to keep this artistic point of view.”
Hôtel des Académies et des Arts, Paris. Photo by Benoit Linero
“We worked with artists and with galleries to have very beautiful art pieces, and those pieces were the center of the artistic direction. We chose this wood to create an old appearance. It’s a very good match of modernity and the old and beautiful architectural design of the building’s era.”
Hôtel des Académies et des Arts, Paris. Photo by Benoit Linero
“When you arrive you can see art everywhere—the ceiling included. The artist, Franck Lebraly, is from the south of France. In memory of Pablo Picasso and Cocteau as well, we wanted to have a southern France, Mediterranean touch. They are sketches, unfinished drawings, because our wish was to make you feel that the artist started the painting but didn’t finish it—it is a work in progress.”
A version of this article originally appeared in Sixtysix Issue 11 with the title “Lizée-Hugot.” Subscribe today.
