Parisian Perfection

I'm being a busy little bee working on my client projects getting quotes so I hope you'll forgive me for a short post. After seeing the photo of me in Paris yesterday, I thought it might be fitting to post an apartment in Paris. Hamish Bowles is an Englishman living in New York working for Vogue magazine as the European editor-at-large who also happens to have had a pretty Parisian apartment. Hamish is quite the collector and it's full of wonderful treasures with interesting provenances. He had intended on painting the walls until he started hanging his artwork and decided it would be too much. These photos and more appeared in the October 2009 issue of World of Interiors and if you can get your hands on a copy, I highly recommend picking it up. The apartment is a beauty who's time was unfortunately fleeting. Hamish decided not to renew the lease as "economic realities" began to set in for even those at venerable Vogue.

It's a little hard to tell from these photos but my favorite aspect of the apartment is the thread of blue that runs through every room and ties it all together.

The pink upholstered Louis XV syle chair was used in a Bruce Weber fashion shoot. I also love the cheeky mask on the bust in the background!

This room looks like the perfect place to drink tea and eat colorful macaroons on a gray day!

I would never have thought to add seating to the drawing gallery since it's really a hallway and pass through but the large window makes for a sunny sitting area.

It was fun trying to see what books were on the shelves and see all the great art. The photo of Jackie Kennedy hanging on the wall is by Slim Aarons while the headboard below is by Lisa Fine. You can see her home in the December issue of Lonny! It's a shame that Hamish no longer lives in this beautiful apartment but I'm sure he's already decorating another little pied-à-terre as we speak! C'est magnifique!

UPDATE: To see Hamish's New York apartment, head over to the NEO-Traditionalist. Looks like the pink Louis chair took a trip across the pond. Or maybe there were two of them!

Photos by François Halard

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