Atelier Florence Lopez, Then and Now

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Posted February 2, 2015. Filed in Florence Lopez, Modernism, Uncategorized

Florence Lopez-Paris Studio-WoI-Jacques Dirand

 

While writing a recent post titled Collected Cool I discovered the stylistic beginnings of antiques dealer and interior designer Florence Lopez in the September, 1995, issue of The World of Interiors. Featured was her new apartment in an artist’s studio in the Saint-Germain-des Prés, Paris. Bold and gutsy, yet a tad romantic, this studio apartment sheds light on the evolution of the collector and designer who today occupies the same space as artist-in-residence and chatelaine of her twenty-year old business.

The designer approached the space above as an artist would his studio, mixing exotic ephemera and beloved fetish objects for inspiration. A floating midnight blue mohair velvet sofa, a framed mirror within an empty frame leaning casually against a wall, photos hung salon style, and books piled here and there, all contribute to a feeling that one’s entered a cabinet d’amateur. The simple background of white for walls and window treatments allows the richness of the furniture and objects to take center stage. This apartment was Lopez’s first modern incarnation after six years of absorbing l’ancien regime training under Jacques Garcia. She described her style as esoteric, but with soul.

 

Atelier Florence Lopez-Paris-Philippe Garcia

florence-Lopez34712-1024x704

Atelier Florence Lopez-Paris-Philippe Garcia

Above is the same room as it appeared when it was last photographed. The designer changes the contents of the rooms as pieces sell, and every six months changes colors and makes stylistic changes. Where there was once a mix of neo-Renaissance, Arts & Crafts and French 40’s furniture now exists mid-century modern furniture and objects d’art, and where there was once a cocoon of white now exists saturated, inky color. In the photo above a mirror opens up the view of the studio and dining room beyond, and a tableau reveals the designer’s continued taste for bold, masculine objects with sculptural qualities.

Florence Lopez-Paris Studio-WoI-Jacques Dirand

Lopez created a dining room out of a small area off the kitchen, separating the two by a curtain of white linen. The oak table and chairs, by Jean Charles Moreux, are covered in parchment. The study of figures is by Ribrolles. On the table are 20th-century ceramics and stone balls.

Atelier Florence Lopez-Paris-Philippe Garcia

Today the dining room is enlivened by a yellow, black-and-white graphic pattern painted on to the walls. The room, once nostalgic and romantic, is now optimistic and vibrant.

Florence Lopez-Paris Studio-WoI-Jacques Dirand

Florence Lopez-Paris Studio-WoI-Jacques Dirand

Florence Lopez-Paris Studio-WoI-Jacques Dirand

The bedroom and office were carved out of an unforgiving space under the eves that twenty years later attests to the designer’s forgiveness. At one end Lopez covered heavy 1940’s chairs with cotton slipcovers to blend with the walls, against which she placed the honeyed glow of mostly Arts & Crafts furniture. The combination reads almost British Colonial, a favored aesthetic at the time. On the neo-Renaissance desk is a plaster figure attributed to Belomondo or Aljean, an early 20th-century globe and 19th-century photograph albums.

Atelier Florence Lopez-Paris-Philippe Garcia

Atelier Florence Lopez-Paris-Philippe Garcia

Today a graphic pattern in black-and-white defines the bedroom’s scheme – where a bed now inhabits the space the neo-Renaissance desk once did.

Photography by Jacques Dirand for The World of Interiors, September, 1995. Recent photography by Phillippe Garcia via Florence Lopez Atelier. To view more photos of the evolution of the studio visit her website.

2 Responses to Atelier Florence Lopez, Then and Now

  1. February 5, 2015 at 10:27 am

    Her work was unknown to me until discovering this excellent overview. Fascinating to see what saturated colour can do to transform a space where white walls once prevailed! And those bold graphics– in lesser hands such trickery might have been disastrous, yet in this instance they succeed brilliantly. It has to do with an authoritative approach, I would wager. In the unpromising/unforgiving bedroom its awkward elements were relegated to mere airy background to the strong blacks; and as you have written, the blacks redefine the space. Many thanks for this enlightening post!

  2. Cristopher
    February 12, 2015 at 8:15 pm

    Dear Toby,
    What a delight and honor to receive your comments. If not for a laborous index I devised to catalog nearly every article in every magazine I possess, dating back to the 70’s, I may have never made the connection myself. For all her success she has maintained her studio apartment for decades, replete with challenging if not awkward rooms. If you visit her website you can view its many incarnations. One of my greatest pleasures is sharing such discoveries with others, such as yourself. Thank you for your spirited and erudite response!
    CW