Portrait.

Quitterie, how did you get into interior design?

Quite naturally, actually! I was doing something completely different after my Art History studies. For 8 years, I worked at the Palace of Versailles in public education, but always surrounded by “beauty”. At the same time, I was passionate about remodelling, decorating apartments. Overnight, I decided to change career and try my luck. Several months of experience with an interior designer to allow me to experience the job on a daily basis reinforced this idea, I set up my agency and the adventure began!

Present to us the Mise en Scène agency.

That’s difficult! I really try to think of each project as if it were my own, to understand my clients’ tastes and requirements in order to design their dream house or apartment. Combining their tastes and mine leads to projects quite different in style, but I always try to have a common thread, to retain the style of the agency in each project.

Is there one or several designers who inspire you?

Of course, you are inspired every day, in restaurants, hotels, in the street and obviously by other designers! For very varied reasons, I really like the work of the interior designer Marianne Evenou for her contrasts and use of colours, the white world of Zoe de las Cases, the mottled decoration of Pénates de Reims, the perfection of projects by Heju Studio and the harmonious ambiances of the photographer Audrey Fitz John.

What does the word design mean to you?

When I think of “design”, I first of all think of furniture; a design piece is a well thought out piece, with its shape and lines designed to be aesthetic, “beautiful” but also comfortable. Which unfortunately is not always the case by the way! In my opinion, it also represents an atmosphere, with, for me, quite a contemporary dimension to the style.

Do you see a real trend for incorporating wine cabinets in living rooms?

Wine cabinets are increasingly included in requests in Parisian apartments, therefore yes, there is a real trend for incorporating them into tailor-made designs. Traditionally, this appliance was practical but not very attractive which made it difficult to incorporate it visually and so it was hidden away in wine cellars. Notably, thanks to EuroCave, there are now very attractive cabinets that are ideal for including in interiors to showcase wines as an integral part of the decoration in order to create a warm atmosphere specific to French culture.

The Tocqueville project.

Can you describe the Tocqueville project, the renovation of a 166m2 Parisian apartment, in the 17th arrondissement of Paris?

The ambiance of the apartment is very modern, with stylish, contemporary materials and a touch of old wood here and there to add warmth. The wine cabinet was brought into an already established ambiance with notably the iconic Saarinen marble tulip table. Our client is a big wine enthusiast, so from our first meeting he talked about wanting to give pride of place to a wine cabinet in the project.

How did you manage to incorporate the wine cabinet into this project?

The cabinet – and more broadly a bar – had to have a prominent place in the open-plan room, which is the living room, dining room of the owner. We designed a real, custom-made bar and metal back lit shelves just like those in a real bar, for his tasting sessions! He found the wine cabinet he wanted himself, in your shop, and in order to make it fit in perfectly with the project, we suggested designing a custom-made unit to highlight it.

Why choose a EuroCave and more particularly the Inspiration model?

The choice of the Inspiration model came from our client. He asked our opinion only in terms of design. I think that a lot of my clients like to choose the size and performance of their wine cabinet, a bit like you choose the engine of your car. After this technical stage and very personal choice, we offer guidance to ensure the quality of the material or to ensure the size matches the project since there has to be a good match with the apartment in order to perfectly incorporate the wine cabinet! I found the Inspiration wine cabinet ideal. Completely black to blend with the decor, wooden shelves, and back lighting included.

All that was missing was the custom-made unit!

What were the design stages of the custom-made unit?

For our project, we went to see the cabinet in the showroom, we even filmed every nook and cranny of it, so we knew it by heart! EuroCave also gave us the cabinet in Sketchup (3D) format so it was easier to design the wooden unit. Then, we checked with our great team of joiners to make sure it would work, and that’s all there is to it. We notably created recessed handles in the material to facilitate opening the wine cabinet and to avoid adding extra handles on the front so that the overall appearance was not too heavy.

What was the reaction of your clients when you delivered the project?

They were really delighted; they now have their ideal wine cabinet which has become a real design piece in their living room!