206 TIMELESS PLOTLINES

Paris-based interior decorator Rodolphe Parente happily broke some cardinal rules of design for his commission along the French Riviera. The apartment combines materials both «rich and poor to create the perfect story». Pop art colours play against orderly lines. Drama and glamour abounds

Carte blanche on the French Riviera. The Paris-based interior decorator Rodolphe Parente was given complete creative freedom for the panoramic penthouse he created between Nice and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. «I had an immediate understanding with the owners of the house; it was almost love at first sight. They are in their forties like me, with the same passion for design and contemporary styles, a taste for decor and a certain intolerance of conventions. The wanted a sophisticated and cosmopolitan space, an expression of architecture, art and design. Somewhere not at all museum-like, but a domestic, family environment in which to live with their two children». A devoted follower of Andrée Putman, Parente draws on the French master’s innate elegance, expressing it in sophisticated contrasts between materials: «I combined rich and poor to create the perfect story. I searched for the most innovative finishes I could find, and discovered timeless plotlines, linked to the context of the place». It’s a close game: there›s the rust of the unrefined travertine, the bright lacquering, the opulence of the marble and bronze, and the natural effect of stucco and bamboo. Parente has added the power of textures to pure volumes, thus bringing out their proportions: the moveable columns that divide the sitting room and library are stone monoliths, while the round entrance vestibule is a metal cave: «I started off with primitive geometric shapes, mostly rectangles and cylinders, a precise framework which I repeated in the various rooms». But the orderly lines are at odds with the pop palette: pink, fluorescent yellow, green and fuchsia all help to avoid running the risk of creating a house museum. «I wanted to evoke the sun, the Mediterranean spirit and the glamour of the French Riviera. This top floor apartment, overlooking the sea, is full of light from morning until evening. Like a home amongst the clouds, with a 360° panorama». But the genius loci is not solely about beaches, holidays and worldly pleasures. It also describes refined understatement, perfectly represented by design greats like Eileen Gray and Le Corbusier, who transformed summer residences along this stretch of coastline into creative workshops. The furnishings and artworks here would not look out of place in a gallery – the