YOU MAY REMEMBER the term ornate austerity used here quite a few times before, sometimes referring to the work of Gilles et Boissier or Andrée Putman, but most often referring to Joseph Dirand, and so was thrilled to come across a recent article in The New York Times featuring the architect’s elegantly spare Seventh Arrondissement apartment. Here, you will find the simplicity of 17th century Italian interiors echoed in the mouldings and walls treated in pigmented stucco; there mirrored cabinets and chevron floors, the signature slabs of heavily veined marble, and most of all, a studied balance of traditional and modern . . .
“The son of Jacques Dirand, arguably the most famous interiors photographer of his day, and now himself one of fashion’s most heavily sought-after architects, Dirand has built a career on incorporating a quintessentially French style of design into otherwise minimalist interiors.”
[All photography by Simon Watson for The New York Times]
