Paris is beautiful today, it was beautiful 200 years ago, and it will be beautiful 200 years from now," says New York designer Garrow Kedigian. He fell in love with the city on his regular trips there to scout antiques, some of which he ships back to the States for himself and his clients. "I've been coming to Paris my whole life, and the cost is really in the hotel," says the designer, whose style is best described as grandeur with a modern twist. Beyond the expense, he says, his visits were always too harried: "I would rush over and stay for four days and rush back. I never really had time to soak it all in."
Naturally, when he had the chance to purchase an immovable period piece—a circa-1860 pied-à-terre in the ninth arrondissement—Kedigian instantly said oui. The Montreal-born designer, who speaks French but not French construction lingo, would communicate his vision to his contractor largely through Google Translate emails. He kept the 1,200-square-foot abode's chevron floors and dentil moldings but knocked out a spare bedroom to widen the salon to something Marie Antoinette herself would have adored—complete with a gleaming mirrorlike ceiling that's actually paint in a high-gloss finish. "Even though it's a one-bedroom apartment, it's grand, grand, grand," Kedigian says. What the home lacks in space, it makes up for in divine details, including antique furniture and lighting, vintage hardware hunted from the flea markets for the newly built-in cabinets, and Rogers & Goffigon sailcloth draperies custom-made for the antique iron French canopy bed. Kedigian loves that the bed hangings make "a really good puddle on the floor."
Equally eye-catching are the reproductions of masterpieces throughout, which appear to be lifted from the Louvre itself. "I just find my favorite Old Master painting and have it printed on canvas," Kedigian says. "It's like poor man's art."
Forming a backdrop to the artworks are richly colored walls—such as the salon's 50/50 mix of Benjamin Moore's Dragons Blood and Ravishing Red. The entire apartment, Kedigian says, "is a circus of colors; you need these amazing ceiling heights and crown moldings in order to carry it off." The rich hues are an anomaly in modern Paris, where the current colors du jour are grays and whites. Luckily, Kedigian's boldness seems to delight the locals—or at least the antiques dealer who came over the other night. As the designer recalls, his guest commented, "This is just so refreshing. I haven't seen color in Paris in years!" Vive la différence.
Kedigian's Tips on Scouring the Paris Flea Market Like a (Sometime) Local
Foyer
The wall paneling was inspired by Albert Hadley's design for Brooke Astor's library. Ceiling wallpaper: Agate in Lava, Scalamandré. Paint: Rattan (trim), Cement Gray (wall panels), Benjamin Moore. Banquette: custom, Siècle en Siècle, in fabric by Clarence House and fringe by Samuel & Sons.
Grand Salon
Pictured above.
The mirrored facade of the nonworking fireplace hides storage; "my printer paper is in there," Kedigian confesses. Paint: Soft Chinchilla (ceiling), Rattan (trim), Benjamin Moore. Sofa: Garrow Kedigian, made by Siècle en Siècle.
Kedigian removed a wall, eliminating a second bedroom, "to create the grandeur of the space." Carpet: Garrow Kedigian, made by Stark. Lamp: Visual Comfort & Co. Chairs: vintage, in Rogers & Goffigon fabric (right), and antique, in Clarence House fabric (left). Coffee table: vintage.
Kitchen
The small galley kitchen has "cabinetry on one side and a massive wall on the other, so, of course, I hung a giant canvas of Florence there," Kedigian says. Paint: Courtyard Green, Benjamin Moore.
Dining Room
A cooktop under the tray and an oven behind the cabinet make this room a versatile extension of the kitchen. Paint: Caribbean Teal (walls), Rattan (trim), Natural Wicker (ceiling), Universal Black (cabinets), Benjamin Moore.
Powder Room
In this Napoleon-centric room, Kedigian transformed an antique console table into a pedestal sink with a brass basin. Paint: Dartsmouth Green, Benjamin Moore. Mirror: Arteriors.
Bedroom
"I love the 'room within a room' feel of bed hangings," Kedigian says. Bed: antique, from the Paris flea market. Cabinetry: custom, trimmed in decorative tape by Samuel & Sons.
Bathroom
The green and white marble tile echoes the chevron wood floors in the dining room. A custom marble vanity conceals storage. Pendant: Holly Hunt. Art: Géricault, printed on canvas by Baboo Digital.
Produced by Robert Rufino.
