Timothy Corrigan united French elegance with American comfort in his Paris apartment located near the famed Opera House and the Place Vendome. It is also near his Paris offices and two minutes from the Hotel Drout auction house, which he visits almost daily when he is in town. Built in 1867, the three story historic building in Paris is typical of its era with limestone facades, ornate interior architectural characteristics and unconventional floor plans.
The living room’s chandelier, 18th-century bronze gueridon, and carpet were all purchased at auction; the drapery and cut-silk pillow fabrics are by Clarence House. “One thing I’ve never understood about French interiors is the furniture. The French have this amazing variety of grand, beautiful spaces, and they furnish them with a few spindly chairs that no one wants to sit on!” says Corrigan. Gold and silk Damask draperies by Brunschwig & Fils pick up the gold accents of the molding and wallhangings in the living room. In order to overcome the problem of windows and doors on every wall, Corrigan used a few simple yet unusual techniques. He chose slightly larger scaled furniture than would have originally been used in the rooms and by covering two doors with full-length paintings he allowed himself the liberty of pushing the furniture back toward the walls. “I was trying to achieve a comfortable setting within a very typically, lavish 19th century Napoleon III decoration.” he says. Red silk and mohair Clarence house fabric covered pillows provide a pop of color.
Another uncommon trick that Corrigan used was to echo the large gold mirror above the fireplace with a seemingly duplicate one on the wall opposite the sofa. In reality, the “mirror” above the sofa is a window into the dining room and the mirror above the fireplace serves not only to visually connect the spaces to each other, but its trompe l’oeil actually makes both seem bigger than they are. The same chandelier is featured in both the window and the mirror and unifies the two.
The oval shaped dining room is accessed by a curved door revealing original woodwork, a cloudscape painted ceiling and a Rouge Griotte limestone fireplace. A 19th century Mahogany
table from Christies, plus English Regency dining chairs from Simmonet, a Louis XVI secretary from Hotel Drout and Tabriz carpet from Sotheby’s complement the paneling, dimensions and architecture of the space.
In the bedroom, a 17th century Verdure Aubosson tapestry from Christie’s is suspended across from a mirror resting on a fireplace and over a Timothy Corrigan Home bed with a velvet strie fabric from Scalamndre for the headboard.
Corrigan chose to do each of the apartment’s two bedrooms very differently. The second bedroom doesn’t have a lot of molding or original detail, which allowed for a more contemporary, bolder color palette of black, white and red.
“The apartment is a little jewel box, and is definitely over the top and more ornate than I would normally do, but I really wanted to be true to the period of the building.”