From Paris to New York with Jean-Paul Beaujard

I must have offended somebody at the Postal Service because for whatever reason, I now receive all of my magazines two weeks after everybody else. Very annoying. I only just received the September issue of Architectural Digest at the end of last week, but that's okay. After reading it, I spent a pleasant weekend dreaming about antiques dealer and designer Jean-Paul Beaujard's Manhattan apartment. It's such a sumptuously elegant home.



I was not familiar with Beaujard's work, but a Google search showed that Beaujard's Paris apartment was featured in the September 2006 issue of Architectural Digest. You should visit the magazine's website to see the entire article, but what struck me is the similarity between the two apartments. Beaujard obviously has a well-defined vision of how he wants to live. Madeleine Castaing fabrics seem to be a favorite of Beaujard as evidenced by his use of it in both apartments. Also, his collection of antiques shows a great deal of consistency between both homes. (That is hardly a criticism, rather an observation.) In the 2006 article, Beaujard was quoted as saying, "I don't like to do fashionable decorating. I like things where you can close the room and open it up 10 years later and it doesn't look has-been." I think that "has-been" is a term that will never describe Beaujard nor his homes.







If you look at the photo at top of Beaujard's Manhattan apartment, you'll notice that the green velvet sofa has a gilt wood frame. In his Paris apartment, above, a gilt chair wears a darker green velvet. A collection of Old Paris plates is displayed behind.







In his New York home office, the walls are covered in a Castaing fabric while a swatch of a different Castaing print rests on the desk.









In his Paris guest room, the walls are covered in the very same Castaing print.









I remember tearing this page out of the 2006 Paris article because I was taken with the painted door, not to mention that beautiful Coromandel screen.









Beaujard has used an array of animal prints in both of his apartments. (Perhaps that's why I'm smitten with his work!) Here, in his Paris library, the designer covered the walls in a leopard print fabric. That's a very Castaing touch.





Paris photos plus quote from Architectural Digest, September 2006, Marina Faust photographer, text by Peter Haldeman. Manhattan apartment photos from Architectural Digest, September 2011, Miguel Flores-Vianna photographer.