Sandra Benhamou with tribal art from La Galerie Lucas Ratton in Paris – the piece rests on a stool by Guillaume Bardet.
Sandra Benhamou opened her design firm following a career in staging for le cinéma – and the designer still takes her cues from time, place and space.
In the spring issue of aspire design and home magazine, we dove into two of Benhamou’s most recent projects.
Study in Neutrals
To restyle this first residential space, a former notary office in Paris, Benhamou focused on collectible finds and a mix of periods, displayed against otherwise spare styling. These hardworking rooms are in a historic – and quintessentially Parisian – Haussmannian building, designed between 1852 and 1870 during the remodeling of the city. Located on la Rue de Bourgogne, the ancient oak floors were worn from decades of hurried footsteps. “We had to pull them up to integrate heating,” the designer notes. They were replaced with new oak.
Pretty in Pink
In this second residential space, Benhamou found the original oak floors and beautiful walls still in good standing. The French designer’s creative vision, honed from working for years in the film world, led to an unconventional palette choice – a pink coat for the corridor, which turns out to be the perfect backdrop for a beloved trove of sculptures and artwork. (She found her favorite shade in Le Corbusier’s Architectural Polychromy color system collection.) Benhamou installed a rare Elling buffet sideboard (right) by Gerrit Rietveld, designed in 1919. Stardust, Blizzard by artist Gary Simmons hangs above it. At the end of the hallway, a window treatment fashioned from Brochier fabric plays off the pink and adds an inviting focal point. No translation needed when it comes to the universal language of beauty and style.
Photography by Gaëlle Le Boulicaut.
Like what you see? Get it first with a subscription to aspire design and home magazine.