Works akin to this Jacques Couëlle-designed house within the South of France helped coin the identify of its style, ‘architecture-sculpture’ – and it is simple to see why. The flowing, organic-inspired home options intense curves and an abundance of sun-drenched terraces, gleaming beneath the Mediterranean solar. The venture, positioned in a village excessive above Cannes, was initially accomplished within the early Sixties, making it a uncommon construct by this unconventional modernist structure consultant. The residence has now simply been given a delicate Twenty first-century refresh, courtesy of Miriam Frowein Interiors.
(Picture credit score: Benedicte Drummond)
Step inside this reimagined Jacques Couëlle-designed house
The house is one in a posh of simply six remaining residences designed by Couëlle (1902-1996). Frowein met the present proprietor at an occasion on the close by Fondation Maeght in Mougins. They quickly launched into an interiors scheme collectively, working with the home’s highly effective and idiosyncratic structure to convey it to the Twenty first century by means of a fragile, context-driven strategy.
‘A home conceived by Jacques Couëlle calls for a very delicate strategy. His structure is so expressive and sculptural that it naturally turns into the protagonist of any design narrative. Reasonably than making an attempt to reinterpret or compete with it, my intention was to quietly reinforce its natural language and permit its uniqueness to shine,’ says Frowein.
(Picture credit score: Benedicte Drummond)
She continues: ‘The residence in [the village of] Castellaras, constructed within the late Fifties and early Sixties, embodies the spirit of the Mid-Century interval. In response, I chosen a kidney-shaped couch by Pierre Augustin Rose — a kind strongly related to that period. Its tender curves subtly echo the fluid geometry of the structure. Upholstered in a refined bouclé, mixing gently into its environment in order that the architectural types stay visually dominant.’
‘For the eating space, pure oak was chosen by me for each the desk and chairs. The softly contoured edges and heat materiality complement the sculptural envelope of the home with out introducing pointless distinction. Each furnishing was chosen with the intention of continuity – natural strains, tactile surfaces, and restrained class. In the end, the idea is one in every of dialogue reasonably than intervention: a quiet inside panorama that follows the rhythm of Couëlle’s imaginative and prescient, guaranteeing that structure and furnishings exist as one harmonious expression.’
(Picture credit score: Benedicte Drummond)
Working with a constructing of such a powerful character might need been a problem for some however for Frowein it felt a pure match, the designer explains. ‘The openness and belief of the villa’s proprietor, who grew to become a buddy, mixed with the sturdy architectural path of Jacques Couëlle, made this venture really feel pure reasonably than difficult. A home of such sculptural readability already offers its personal steerage. It turns into tough solely when an inside designer’s ego makes an attempt to compete with the structure as an alternative of listening to it.’
‘I approached the venture with deep respect for Couëlle’s genius. His natural types, carved volumes, and flowing transitions formed each design resolution. The considerable inflow of pure mild reveals the tactile parts of the home all through the day. The beautiful tiling in every room is so expressive that it virtually insists on remaining uncovered. There was no want to put intensive rugs out. The one exception is a small, organically formed rug beneath the espresso desk, that includes nuanced tones of brown and tender yellow. It introduces heat and delicate depth with out interrupting the architectural language.’
(Picture credit score: Benedicte Drummond)
Frowein leaned into the earthy environment of the home, including artisan-made desk lamps, handcrafted parts and pure supplies. In consequence, nothing feels at odds with the house’s uncommon volumes or misplaced.
‘Curiously, the inside idea advanced very intuitively. Intensive analysis felt pointless, because the Sixties — my most popular interval of the final century — is a design language I do know intimately. Its types, supplies, and proportions are deeply acquainted to me, so the method was much less about investigation and extra about considerate implementation,’ she explains.
(Picture credit score: Benedicte Drummond)
The designer-and-client staff’s want to keep up the house’s current identification and its architect’s pure intention was vital of their decisions all through. Pure fibres have been used for all materials, akin to bouclé, linen, and tender woven textiles. This blended nicely with the brown, crème and gold tones chosen for the tender furnishings. Ceramics function closely too, underlining the house’s reference to the land. All of it feels cohesive and purposeful.
(Picture credit score: Benedicte Drummond)
And does Frowein have a favorite spot in her venture? ‘The mural on the principle door within the eating room is, with out query, my favorite ingredient of the home. Its summary motif and layered bronze finishes create a strong but nuanced focus inside the area,’ she says.
‘What makes it so compelling is the best way the patinated bronze captures and displays the altering mild all through the day — typically glowing warmly, at different occasions showing virtually shadowed and sculptural. The materiality feels deeply related to the earthy palette of browns and crème tones used all through the inside. Reasonably than functioning merely as an ornamental function, the mural reads as an extension of the structure itself — virtually like a chunk of built-in sculpture. It embodies the home’s spirit: expressive, artisanal, and rooted in materials authenticity.’
(Picture credit score: Benedicte Drummond)
