A new “fashion parade” of flavours in the Galerie des Gobelins (France)
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A new “fashion parade” of flavours in the Galerie des Gobelins (France)
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Category: Europe - France - Industry economy
- Trends / Expert's advice
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2008-07-30
Would you like to languish in comfort and recover from shopping? Or arrange a lunch within Paris\' golden triangle? The Plaza Athénée is the ideal location!
Why? Because the Galerie des Gobelins has had a facelift! The lighting has been redesigned, there is a new, soothing mosaic carpet, the sophisticated furniture and furnishings have been made to measure, and the earthy tones of the motifs and fabrics create a subtle link with the Cour Jardin restaurant. In fact, the gallery has a completely new look, created by interior designer Pascale Benhamou.
Not content, however, with a mere makeover, the Galerie des Gobelins has come up with the excellent idea of creating its own fashion parade of a menu (a subtle pleasantry at the expense of Avenue Montaigne and its haute couture houses).
The menu contains delights such as “Little Summer Dresses” (salads & starters), “Start the show” (nibbles), the “Spring & Tea Collection” (afternoon tea) and the “Hottest Fashions” (main courses). A delightful way to play to the Gallery!
People love this ultra-chic, very Parisian venue. It is a place to see and be seen, a place where time glides by between lively lunches, harp arpeggios, muted conversations and cakes made by Christophe Michalak, the world famous Pastry Chef.
In short, remember that the Galerie des Gobelins is the place to be after your holidays!
The Galerie des Gobelins welcomes guests every day of the week from 8 a.m. to 1.30 a.m.
Bookings until 3 p.m.: phone +33 (0)1 53 67 66 00
Hôtel Plaza Athénée - 25 avenue Montaigne- 75008 Paris
Average price : breakfast 36€ - lunch 35/50€ - tea time 25€ (with pastries)
Gallery Portrait:
Four vases decorated with cherubs (Spanish, late 18th century, painted with pastoral scenes) and bearing an aged patina stand beside the entrance to the Galerie.
The architecture is further enhanced by voluptuous amber-coloured lighting. The prisms of the ornate chandeliers sparkle and the lights play hide-and-seek with the volume, vaulting and columns of the Galerie. The columns are decorated with extra-white, sanded, engraved
crystal lights that pick up the motifs from the curtains, producing soft, muted reflections.
The Galerie itself is dressed in earthy shades, creating a subtle link with the Cour du Jardin. The wide windows are draped in Verel de Belval curtains with an “acanthus flower” motif in light or dark shades, delicately emphasised by embroidered tie-backs by Lesage, in retro matt or sienna shades.
The floor is covered with a gigantic carpet of different colours and textures to create various effects. Inspired by the mosaic floor underneath, it unrolls a symphony of greys, siennas, terracottas and bronzes in a soothing crescendo and decrescendo.
The velvet sofas in muted and luminous colours ranging from deep mink to reddish bronze are finished with re-embroidered cushions (Lesage) and padded lumbar supports with pearl buttons.
The beaten metal lampshades seem to echo these elegant
vibrations. The pedestal and coffee tables have been redesigned in wood, re-gilded with pink gold. The pedestal tables have been made by Taillardat in the traditionally manner, in French-polished dark walnut, but are larger than usual to offer more space at teatime for which the
Galerie is so famous. The coffee tables have moulded glass tops which, thanks to a mesh but transparent effect, allow a view of the wool and silk carpet underneath.
Details of the furniture and suppliers:
Curtains: Verel de Belval – Créations Métaphores (Hermès textile holding company)
Hand-embroidered cushions: Maison Lesage
Carpet: Tai Ping (original design by Pascale Benhamou)
Bronze lamps: Societé Lyonnaise Bronzes d\'art Francais.
Velvet upholstery: Sacho Hesslein
Biography of Pascale Benhamou, interior designer
“Haute couture decoration: plain without being austere, minimalist without
being bare, luxurious without being ostentatious”,
says PASCALE BENHAMOU, Interior Designer, P.B.D. agency.
This is how Pascale Benhamou summarises the feeling she is trying to convey in her designs, whether long-lasting or ephemeral.
The daughter of a family of textile industrialists, she was attracted to beautiful things very early in her life and her taste for decoration was a natural progression.
She began working in design in 1986 at XO, the design furniture brand used by Starck, Shiro Kuramata etc., learning about the methods used to produce and develop the company’s furniture.
She moved to Lumen Center in 1990, where she extended her knowledge of lighting, the manufacture of lights and lamps and the production of certain older designs such as those of
Pierre Charreau.
In the Forbo Group (Léone company) in 1993, she worked on the design of various upmarket carpet and rug collections such as the Savonneries replicas for the Château de Versailles.
She decided to set up her own design and interior decoration agency, PBD, in 1999 with a range of very different target markets such as hotels, restaurants, corporate head offices, schools, gaming circles and private apartments or houses.
In addition to her interior design, she has worked on numerous temporary design projects for the Pavillon Gabriel, Potel et Chabot and the Hôtel Plaza Athénée.
Among her current projects are a private residence in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), a pied à terre in the 6th arrondissement in Paris, an apartment in Neuilly sur Seine and the renovation of the Galerie des Gobelins in the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris.
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