The House that Perfume Built
by habituallychic
01 . 23 . 08
Not only were we rewarded this month by the beautiful profile of Francois Halard’s home in Vogue, but of Frederic Malle’s home in Men’s Vogue photographed by Francois Halard, mais bien sur! The surprising part is that the Malle family lives on the Upper East of New York and not Paris! They decided to move here in 2005 and into a 3,000 square-foot triplex. Obviously, Frederic’s perfume business is doing very well!
I love the mix of bright colors on the walls that set off the fabulous art and photography collection. I also don’t think most people would pair bright blue walls with a red sofa but it all works. The photograph of the woman above is by Suzanne Lafont and the hand below is by John Coplan. 
I always love peeking into home owned by Europeans. It always looks as if much of their furniture may have been inherited and the objects collected over a lifetime of travels around the world yet et it is also a place where modern objects feel at home. For example, a Jeff Wall lightbox and Arne Jacobsen Egg chair share space with a Veronese painting and a honeycomb bookcase by Sean Yoo.
The bedroom below incorporates an African wool bedspread and an eighteenth-century leather chair with a fabulously worn seat and more amazing art.
I’m going to have to keep my eyes open for Frederic Malle in the neighborhood or perhaps I should keep my nose open. I can imagine that he’s probably the best smelling man in New York.
29 Comments
Best looking Egg Chair ever!
I love the Egg Chairs that have that great patina on the leather.
Do you think Frederic Malle is any relation to Louis Malle, French film-maker who directed “au Revoir, Les Enfants?”
Anyway, I love his style. It speaks to me.
Now THIS is inspirational! Love the strips and unstudied elegance. This looks warm and personal, not “done.”
Miss Dashwood, Louis Malle is Frederic’s Uncle. I think creativity runs in the family!
Anonymous, Sooo glad you like this one. The personal and undone aspect was what I loved about it too.
The mix of colors is great.
BTW anymore further developments “stalking Albert”?
anonymous- i’m in agreement with you on this one. normally, i ike done, done and done some more, but the undone doneness of this space is looking pretty good.
chic and asylum, i’m with you guys too- i think that egg chairs can be a bit of a cliche, especially when you can get new knock-offs for not a lot of money (compared to the real thing), but beat up old brown leather makes it work!
loving the saturation of those wall colors too…
OOH, I forgot about Albert, and Sarah Jes. Parker for that matter! Yes, Patricia’s right, you must stalk some famous East-sider at least one post a month…it’s only fair to us, the outta-towners.
Patricia, I’ve been too busy to do any stalking but I will give them a call this week and see what I can do.
Maison21, you’re funny. Glad you can appreciate “undone” as well as “done”. I think it all depends on the pieces and the personalization of the space.
The colors look better in the magazine too. The red is reading a little more orange on my computer.
Lissa, I feel like I used to see more celebrities when I first moved here. Maybe, I looked harder then. I’ll be more on the look out now for you!
I love the last photo! The colours, the art on the walls and that chair! That chair!!
And, PS, why let the men just smell beautiful?! Frederic Malle’s scents are wonderful to wear yourself too. Every time a guy comments, I’m wearing a so-called male fragrance. They are not male or female – they’re simply beautiful!
Alice, I knew you would enjoy the art and photography!
Maybe the key to attracting a man is to wear a men’s frgrance. Interesting idea! There is a new Malle fragrance at Barney’s that I nee to check out.
I must say this is gorgeous. The old and the new play off of each other beautifully.
Love the bedroom & the dining room! Where’s my Vogue when I need it?!
HOBAC, I wonder how many interior designers would ever really suggest a Knoll table with antique chairs. I feel like things like usually happen when a homeowner takes matters into his/her own hands. I personally love it!
Topsy Tury, this was in the February 2008 issue of Men’s Vogue. Definitely worth picking up a copy!
Love the photography!
OMG–I keep photos of Malle’s Paris apartment (from an issue of H&G . . . maybe 5 years ago?) at the front of my inspiration file! It’s thrilling to see how differently he’s arranged the same furniture & artwork in NY. I will try to scan & send to you. Thank you for this post!
Brad, How exciting! I would love to see the Paris apartment! I hope you can scan them. Thanks so much!
Wonderful personal space.Thanks for posting it.FYI,while some of Malle’s scents are ‘unisex’,the majority are marketed to women.
beautiful! i agree that the saturated colors are just amazing and so well done ~ it doesn’t feel too heavy or overwhelming. they’ve made great use of art in this space ~ using the matting to compliment the colors or create white space. thank you for sharing!
I keep coming back to this post!
over
and
over
again
Barbara, I really have to check out his fragrances this weekend. If they are anything like his home, I’m sure I will love them!
Coco+Kelly, It is such a deeply personal space that doesn’t follow any rules or trends. It looks they hung the work they liked where they felt like it and didn’t think about anything too much. I think my favorite part is the modern table and vintage chairs.
Anonymous, I am so happy you like it. Anonymous readers are so hard to please! 🙂
Another style connection: Malle’s wife is a grand-niece of Carlos de Beistegui, the builder of the great Château de Groussay, one of design history’s most influential and thrilling houses …
Yes, some of the art and furnishings in this spread come from that chateau.