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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
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  1. Brilliant Asylum January 23, 2008 | 2:35 am

    Best looking Egg Chair ever!

  2. Habitually Chic January 23, 2008 | 2:37 am

    I love the Egg Chairs that have that great patina on the leather.

  3. Miss Dashwood January 23, 2008 | 3:36 am

    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.

  4. Anonymous January 23, 2008 | 3:37 am

    Now THIS is inspirational! Love the strips and unstudied elegance. This looks warm and personal, not “done.”

  5. Habitually Chic January 23, 2008 | 3:46 am

    Miss Dashwood, Louis Malle is Frederic’s Uncle. I think creativity runs in the family!

  6. Habitually Chic January 23, 2008 | 3:47 am

    Anonymous, Sooo glad you like this one. The personal and undone aspect was what I loved about it too.

  7. Patricia Gray January 23, 2008 | 4:49 am

    The mix of colors is great.
    BTW anymore further developments “stalking Albert”?

  8. maison21 January 23, 2008 | 7:34 am

    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…

  9. lissa January 23, 2008 | 11:37 am

    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.

  10. Habitually Chic January 23, 2008 | 2:06 pm

    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.

  11. Habitually Chic January 23, 2008 | 2:09 pm

    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.

  12. Habitually Chic January 23, 2008 | 2:12 pm

    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!

  13. Alice Olive January 23, 2008 | 2:40 pm

    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!

  14. Habitually Chic January 23, 2008 | 2:43 pm

    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.

  15. the House of Beauty and Culture January 23, 2008 | 4:12 pm

    I must say this is gorgeous. The old and the new play off of each other beautifully.

  16. Topsy Turvy January 24, 2008 | 3:42 pm

    Love the bedroom & the dining room! Where’s my Vogue when I need it?!

  17. Habitually Chic January 24, 2008 | 6:17 pm

    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!

  18. Habitually Chic January 24, 2008 | 6:18 pm

    Topsy Tury, this was in the February 2008 issue of Men’s Vogue. Definitely worth picking up a copy!

  19. Style Saves the World January 24, 2008 | 7:46 pm

    Love the photography!

  20. Brad January 25, 2008 | 2:13 am

    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!

  21. Habitually Chic January 25, 2008 | 2:16 am

    Brad, How exciting! I would love to see the Paris apartment! I hope you can scan them. Thanks so much!

  22. Barbara January 25, 2008 | 2:25 pm

    Wonderful personal space.Thanks for posting it.FYI,while some of Malle’s scents are ‘unisex’,the majority are marketed to women.

  23. coco+kelley January 25, 2008 | 5:22 pm

    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!

  24. Anonymous January 25, 2008 | 10:47 pm

    I keep coming back to this post!

    over

    and

    over

    again

  25. Habitually Chic January 26, 2008 | 12:40 am

    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!

  26. Habitually Chic January 26, 2008 | 12:42 am

    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.

  27. Habitually Chic January 26, 2008 | 12:42 am

    Anonymous, I am so happy you like it. Anonymous readers are so hard to please! 🙂

  28. An Aesthete's Lament January 27, 2008 | 11:53 pm

    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 …

  29. Anonymous January 31, 2008 | 6:24 am

    Yes, some of the art and furnishings in this spread come from that chateau.