Françoise Dumas, the mastermind—and as the French say, the bonne fée (“good fairy”)—behind all the chicest events and major parties in town, occupies a little slice of paradise in the middle of Paris, near the Parc Monceau. “I always dreamt to have an apartment with a garden, and I fell in love with this place immediately,” says Dumas, who grew up in the neighborhood and wanted to retain its village-like charms. “I was the first person to see it, and I signed the contract outside on the agent’s scooter—he thought I was nuts!”
She came across the special property about 10 years ago and, just by chance, she discovered she already knew the family who owned it. “It was a very joyful house, absolutely charming,” she says, looking back. “I did, however, want to redo it in my own way, with the help of my friends.” Not a bad idea, especially when Dumas is referring to pals who include decorator Jacques Grange, gallery owner Pierre Passebon, and landscape designer Louis Benech.
It all started with a quick plan, designed by Grange, who immediately opened up the two main rooms and made them into one big salon. After that, all of the details and decorating were done with Passebon. The first piece placed was a striking Chinese-inspired wooden mantel by American designer Samuel Marx. Enter the fourth great friend, who also contributed a great deal to this project: Karl Lagerfeld. Upon seeing the mantel, Lagerfeld gave Dumas a pair of lamps and continued providing things like the bedside tables, a pair of mirrors, and several vases from his collection of Ciboure ceramics.
The private garden was designed by Dumas’s dear friend, landscape designer Louis Benech, and realized by Sébastien Habert.
The core renovation took about six months. Although the ambiance of the place was kept intact, all of the bathrooms were redone and Passebon added a trompe l’oeil wall treatment to the entrance foyer. The main salon is anchored on one side with a large wooden marquetry cabinet, which features scenes of the Silk Road. (There is some debate about the heritage of the piece: Lagerfeld saying it is perhaps Romanian, while Passebon insists it's Italian.)
The original little garden in the back was fine as it was, but Benech added a multitude of plants and created a pattern of stones and bricks, reminiscent of 17th-century designs. There is always something in bloom—magnolias, camellias, hydrangea, and, in winter, Christmas roses. Dumas loves to sit outside whenever possible, her special table in the middle of Paris.
With an active professional life—organizing and overseeing events and parties in Paris, but also in Venice, Monaco, and in China—Dumas often finds herself in Paris on weekends. Although the thought of organizing a big dinner at home is perhaps not her first choice, she does love to have long and leisurely goûters on Sunday afternoons, with friends coming back to Paris from the country and stopping in for a chat and some tea. “This,” she says, “is a house of memories, friends, and my life.”
RELATED: An Idyllic Country House in the Middle of Paris
