The Lanvin Rooms

The Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris reopened last Fall after a massive renovation. One of the highlights of the newly renovated museum is the Lanvin suite of rooms, consisting of her boudoir, bedroom, and bathroom. Jeanne Lanvin, one of the most illustrious Paris couturiers of the twentieth century, hired Albert-Armand Rateau to create a feminine oasis of Art Deco design in her rue Barbey de Jouy apartment. Lanvin was prescient in capitalizing on the whole "lifestyle look"; although she began her career by opening her couture house, she expanded into interior design. Christening it "Lanvin Decoration", she hired Rateau to head this division.

Lanvin's favorite color was a cornflower shade of blue. In fact, she used it so often in her couture line that the shade became known as "Lanvin Blue". This blue is found everywhere in the bedroom: walls, upholstery, bed linens. I think one of my favorite designs in the room is that of the ornate baseboard with its voids that reveal the floral walls behind it. The Rateau designed furniture is also rather unusual, although today his designs are highly collectible.

The bathroom is a serenely chic mixture of cream and black tile and marble. The mosaic floors are quintessential Art Deco, but the pedestal sink almost looks like a relic from ancient Rome. The fixtures, again designed by Rateau, are uniquely ornate in a bit of a rough-hewn way. And notice the Lanvin perfume bottles on display in the bathroom; Rateau designed these too.