The history of Ladurée begins in 1862, in the heart of the Paris during the Belle Époque. In the Madeleine district, Louis-Ernest Ladurée opens a bakery quickly recognized for the quality and flavor of its breads and pastries. After a fire in 1871, the place was reborn as a pastry shop, attracting gourmets to the flamboyant room on the ground floor. Its celadon green walls, decorated with woodwork and frescoes with gourmet allegories, invite you to daydream under the benevolent eye of the pastry angel imagined by Jules Chéret, a renowned painter and poster artist.

A few years later, Jeanne Souchard, the founder’s daughter-in-law, created one of the first French-style tea rooms, allowing women to meet alone in Paris. Then will come the famous double-shelled macaroons, embodying all the Parisian refinement with their contrasting textures and their explosion of flavors. Their success is immediate.

The very first Ladurée location has survived the ages but has just reopen its doors after several months of renovation, unveiling with decor both restored and reinvented by artistic director, interior designer, stylist, trend designer Cordelia de Castellane.

Cordelia de Castellane escapes all clichés. Combining total artistic freedom with a sparkling and avant-garde vision of French elegance, it joins the spirit of Maison Ladurée in every way. It is therefore no coincidence that their particular sensitivities meet at 16 rue Royale.

“Your house is a reflection of your personality,” says Cordelia, as if to emphasize the perfect coherence of his approach with the Ladurée philosophy.

This personality, the decorator immediately wanted to make her ambassador. It is therefore quite natural that she drew her inspiration from the world of bakeries and pastries of the Belle Époque, fully in line with the House’s heritage.The historical decorations of the place, such as the original ceilings, painted by Julien Chéret, in a perfect state of conservation have been restored and sublimated by the new decor.

“When I create, I only think of the DNA of the house and I am very attentive to details, from hand-painted creations to local artisanal production,” she says in conclusion.

For Cordelia de Castellane, the renovation of the historic Ladurée shop is the logical result of a relenting career, essentially focused on elegance and beauty.

From the age of 17, she joined the flamboyant Ungaro label for a one-month internship. She stayed for 10 years, after learning the mixture of colors, prints and a certain taste for decoration and design. In 2008, she launched her own brand of children’s clothing: C de C, with the idea of offering a cute and affordable label, inspired by her new role as a mother. The success is such that it is immediately noticed by the world reference of French luxury, LVMH. Three years later, here she is the artistic director of Baby Dior, then of Dior Maison.

“You can love beauty at all levels: when you like to dress, you also like to decorate your home,” she says, as if to justify – if needed – her transition from fashion to decoration.

After bringing its decorative touch to Lapérouse restaurants or the Cistercian Abbey of Vaux-de-Cernay, Cordelia de Castellane was called by the Maison Ladurée to instill a little of her magic in the historic address of Rue Royale.

Even before entering the interior, the cut stone of the facade prints its resolutely Parisian brand. Completely restored, the shop returns to its initial configuration, on the ground floor. It emanates from this historic place the promise of an enchanted experience, carried by a perfume of excellence. Faced with the regular symmetry of the lines, no ambiguity possible, we are here at the precise place where the history of the Maison Ladurée began. Where a certain idea of the French art of living has been developed, now recognized and sought after throughout the world.

But already, like a nod to the solemnity of the place, the large medallion and the green celadon of the woodwork titillate the imagination, arouse curiosity and invite you to discover the treasures hidden inside.

From the first steps, here we are immersed in the heart of the Belle Époque. The vast interior space does not just tell the story, it transcends it and reinterprets it on nearly 209 m2, through the prism of French refinement. Here, everything is delicacy and subtle references, the walls are adorned with pastel colors of the 18th century. Each of their nuances is an invitation to a reverie tinged with sweet sweetness. A nod to Marie-Antoinette’s tastes and a delicately hushed atmosphere.

By taking a look through the different rooms, an obviousness is necessary here, pastry art is everywhere. He is embodied in every detail. Like the cabochons on the ceiling of the rez-de-chaussée (ground floor), all the wall motifs as well as the multiple ornaments, designed by Cordelia de Castellane, pay tribute to the bakery and pastry. Let’s get to the tiles. Their rich and delicate motifs are entirely hand-painted, like 18th-century bakeries. Each drawing evokes Ladurée pastries, wheat, flowers. These bouquets of delicacies crown the Royal living room with a frieze presenting life scenes in the manner of medieval tapestries.

Forms of plants, fountains, bread ovens or lattices: the entire decor tells the work of these artisans who have composed here some of the most emblematic recipes of French gastronomy, starting with the macaroon, the icon of the House.

The name of the Chantilly salon, on the first floor evokes softness, lightness and gluttony, its decoration sublimates the essence. Here too, the sense of detail gives this space a unique atmosphere, marked by delicacy and sweet pleasures. The moldings, whose curves recall the manual poaching of royal ice, are the most beautiful testimony to this. Moreover, they were made by Ladurée pastry chefs, based on egg whites mounted in icing sugar and subtly vinegared, which were allowed to dry in order to make plaster or stucco reproductions. When the work of the expert hand of our pastry chefs combines with the eye of the decorator, the result is necessarily unique.

The Salon Napoléon deploys a frame composed of delicate drapes. Its pleated fabric ceiling has been developed in the spirit of indoor tents and winter gardens. A new echo of the know-how and inimitable trick of the Maison Ladurée, it was entirely handmade by a upholsterer, like a work of art that crowns centuries of French savoir-vivre.

We find in red thread from one living room to another, the cane of the medallion chairs and their subtle seat with the identity patterns of the House as well as the benches with diamond canvas and pastel colors.

Washing your hands or cooling off also becomes conducive to surprise. Indeed, the amenities are adorned with pink, in a room lined from floor to ceiling with a motif in the toile de Jouy spirit specifically designed for the Maison Ladurée. A curiosity that it would be a shame to miss.

With exceptional reopening, exceptional box of macaroons. To celebrate the renewal of its historic shop, Maison Ladurée also offers a box of 12 limited edition macaroons. Faithful to the spirit of the House and the identity of the new place, it takes up the motifs imagined by Cordelia de Castellane.

On sale only at the shop at 16 rue Royale in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, a historic place that has made French haute pâtisserie shine with taste, audacity and lightness since 1862.

Translated from this French article. Stop by on your next trip to Paris.