Gilles & Boissier — Architects Within

The Baccarat Hotel in New York City was one of their projects. So was the Mandarin Oriental in Marrakech, along with The Lana, Dorchester Collection in Dubai, and the Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic in Hong Kong. A Basque house, a private mansion in the heart of Dijon — them again! "There are a lot of projects, and each one draws on different sources of inspiration, but in the end it's all about a certain synergy that underpins our general approach," says Dorothée Boissier. "By bringing the idea of home into a hotel, through to a new vision based on functionality of space and ease of circulation, this has renewed the experience of luxury hotels."

EXQUISITE DECOR "We are involved in each project alongside our creative team on a daily basis. We focus a great deal on the 'envelope' of the room, paying particular attention to dimensions, proportions and the functional experience of the space to be lived in, to which we naturally add an aesthetic vision. This requires meticulous, in-depth work."

In a way, this is the Gilles & Boissier hallmark: interiors that could stand alone, but also masterclasses in harmony and staging. In practical terms, this translates into very few painted walls, but work applied to the material itself, with made-to-measure mouldings on shaped, textured walls, and dialogues or confrontations between wood and marble, the duo's favourite materials.

ART DE VIVRE, ART OF LIVING These envelopes then have the decoration added onto them, in particular the pieces of furniture designed by the agency and made by mainly French artisans. Once again, there are few motifs, a focus on muted colours, and elegance in hushed tones. For the past year, this repertoire has extended to the Boutique des Choses, the second Parisian space devoted to interior design following on from the apartment-showroom on Avenue Montaigne.