A new wave of inspiring French interiors offers everything from hushed elegance to whimsical theatricality, writes Caitlin Gunther
The Dorothée Delaye-designed holiday home, Les Bords du Lac, in Hossegor, north of Biarritz, France. Photograph: Mr Tripper
For design inspiration, the world has long looked to France, where visual languages become enduring styles, from the gilded opulence of the Napoleonic era to the stately lines of Haussmann’s Paris, and the cool, functional minimalism of Le Corbusier.
“Arbiters of Style: The New Wave of French Interior Design” by Eugenia Santiesteban Soto, in collaboration with Paris-based writers Alice Cavanagh and Lindsey Tramuta, seeks to capture French design in its most contemporary manifestation, via some of its key tastemakers. Soto, style director at Frederic magazine, highlights a range of aesthetics and approaches here, from “poetic restraint to theatrical spaces teeming with fantasy.” One common thread, according to the author, is a spirit of innovation.
“I think the French truly celebrate and respect creativity, and that mindset has deeply permeated the culture,” Soto tells Sotheby’s International Realty. “Designers—not only in interiors and furniture design, but also in fashion—aren’t content to sit on their laurels. They keep moving, reinventing.” That same cultural fabric explains why personal style and individuality are so genuinely celebrated in France.
Another recurring theme, Soto notes, is the sculptural quality of many French interiors. “I get the sense designers are thinking about interiors as a three-dimensional canvas. They pay close attention to blank space and the flow of objects in a room,” she says. Many schemes are co-created with clients as creative as the designers themselves.
Craftsmanship is also a throughline, with a focus on local artisans. “I think it’s natural that [French] designers are looking in their backyards—there is such a rich history of craft in their native country,” Soto says. At the same time, they don’t limit themselves to L’Hexagone; the respect for craft transcends national borders. Among the designers featured in the book, a few standouts illustrate this “new wave.”
Claves
A sculptural mantelpiece by Claves, co-created with Hugo Marchand, artistic director of Christian Louboutin, for the main salon of his whimsical Paris apartment. Photograph: Alice Mesguich
Anyone who follows the contemporary Paris hospitality scene knows the name Claves. The interior architecture studio, founded by Laure Gravier and Soizic Fougeront in 2022, has made a name for itself with bold, imaginative spaces—from uber-cool restaurants like Le Cornichon in the 11th arrondissement to Villa Junot, a painstakingly restored and reimagined hôtel particulier in the hills of Montmartre.
The book details how the team looks to French decorative arts for inspiration, especially movements that defined the early 20th century, such as art deco. Think: a serpentine mosaic fireplace or a ribbon-like wooden spiral staircase bathed in natural light. “The aim is to create spaces where you feel like an actor in a film set,” Gravier tells the authors.
The result is design-forward—without ever taking itself too seriously. The spaces feel at once stylish and playful. “We like to inject an element of surprise,” Gravier adds.
Dorothée Delaye
Bold sculptural combinations by Dorothée Delaye for the poolhouse at Les Bords du Lac. Photograph: Mr Tripper
Stepping inside Mimosa, the Paris restaurant led by celebrated chef Jean-François Piège, feels like entering a hidden world tucked into the 8th arrondissement. Its curved, rich-hued wood surfaces, a soaring ceiling inspired by a ship’s hull, and tufted banquettes the color of salicorn, give you a taste of Dorothée Delaye’s sensibility. This project, in particular, channels the French Riviera of the 1950s.
As the book’s authors explain, the Paris- and Marseille-based designer credits her distinctive aesthetic to childhood trips with her parents to antique fairs, as well as to her own adventures to far-flung, sun-soaked destinations like California, Brazil and Beirut.
“Those early trips meant that, unconsciously, I developed an eye for the eclectic, foreign and culturally unique,” says Delaye in the book. Her signature lies in transporting color palettes, always punctuated with eclectic, one-of-a-kind touches. “I always need to add some slightly wild or crazy detail to make it me,” she adds.
Festen
Festen’s cross-braced wardrobes are a call back to the 17th-century provenance of fashion designer Theirry Gillier’s home, while a Tracey Emin painting hangs over the bed. Photograph: Matthieu Salvaing
The Marais-based studio Festen is another “It” design duo in Paris. Founded by Charlotte de Tonnac and Hugo Sauzay, recent notable projects include Paris Fashion Week favorite Chateau Voltaire and the elegant 8th arrondissement boutique haven Hotel Balzac.
The book describes their style as “hushed restraint and classic rigor”—tonal palettes, natural materials and meticulous attention to craftsmanship. Examples include an antechamber sheathed in brushed silk, accented by a Picasso hanging from a bronze picture rail, and an oatmilk-hued bedroom with clean, simple moldings livened up by two floral-upholstered Louis XIII armchairs. “We try not to be ostentatious,” says Sauzay. “We want to be fairly understated but not minimalist.”
It’s easy to linger over Soto’s carefully curated photographs and daydream how to incorporate these perspectives into one’s own home. At the very least, the reader comes away with a few bright-line rules of thumb: balance, restraint, craftsmanship and the occasional wink of fun and whimsy. “This book is really for anyone who loves design,” Soto says. “You don’t have to be a Francophile to appreciate it.”
“Arbiters of Style: The New Wave of French Interior Design” is published by The Monacelli Press in April 2026. Read more about the design trends defining 2026 here.