Welcome to the new Sight Unseen, a weekly newsletter that delivers the best of the design world — news, trends, shopping advice, interviews, travel recs, and more — straight to your inbox. If you’re not subscribed, follow this link to sign up. Want to partner with us, advertise, or submit your work? Email us at hello@sightunseen.com!

The Reimagined Le Provençal Hotel Channels 1950s Riviera Glamour

The rooms (top and bottom left) and common spaces (bottom right) of the newly renovated Le Provençal hotel. Photos: Claire Israel

I’m really glad we’re out of the phase of fancy hotels needing to be all-white or all-beige so as not to scare guests away, or age too fast, or whatever it is that gives hospitality designers license to play it yawningly safe. Hot on the heels of Hannes Peer’s absolutely epic interiors for the Manner in New York, Le Provençal has (re)opened in Hyères with an equally layered aesthetic point of view, courtesy of Rodolphe Parente. Originally founded in the 1950s by Parisian chef Marius Michel, who built it into a popular summer escape for his well-heeled city friends, the hotel was eventually taken over first by his daughter and her husband, and then by her children and their partners, who tapped Parente to reimagine it for the present day.

The designer, of course, set out to pay homage to the original heyday of the French Riviera, but with his own au courant twist — think maximalist brocade sofas, golden sun-shaped wall sconces, porthole windows, 50s-style fish-motif wall panels, and shell-adorned lamps and candlesticks. There’s also a gorgeous high-relief stone fireplace in the lounge fronted by an ornate metal screen, while upstairs, the rooms also have a vintage feel, but are quieter and softer, color-blocked with butter yellow walls and marigold or citrine carpeting. Once Design Parade rolls around next June, staying at Le Provençal will no doubt be the ultimate flex — book it early, and send us a postcard.

At Paris Design Week, Ball-Foot Tables, Royére Reissues, and a Gastou Retrospective

A new sofa and lamp by Project 213A (left, photo by Theresa Marx), and a new table and sconces by Biehler-Graveleine (right, photo by Adel Slimane Fecih).

This year marked our gajillionth time missing Paris Design Week, despite acknowledging how compelling it’s become in recent years. It would definitely be a bit easier to relay the highlights had we been there IRL, but we did manage to round up a few, starting with two independent studios that released new furniture and lighting collections that caught our eye. Project 213A presented new lamps and a sofa with arms that backbend playfully outwards, and the architecture and design studio Biehler-Graveleine teamed up with Galerie MCDE to present an onyx wall sconce and a ball-foot table inspired by Pierre Chareau. Three other galleries putting on must-see exhibitions included Galerie Dina Vierny, where Jean Royére’s namesake furniture brand debuted some lesser-known reissues alongside art by Matisse and Kandinsky; Ketabi Bourdet, which paired ceramics by the late artist AR Penck with Philippe Starck furniture; and Galerie Gastou, which staged a 40-year retrospective of its greatest hits, from tables by Maria Pergay and Valentine Schlegel to newer pieces by up-and-comers. Most of the up-and-comers, though, could be found in two other exhibitions: Paris Design Factory, and the independent show Friends With Benefits, which presented pieces by Elvis Wesley, Lola Mayeras, Pleun van Dijk, Sigve Knutson, and Thomas Ballouhey, all created during a group excursion to an island off the coast of Norway.

A Metalworker Whose Jewelry and Housewares Are Miniature Sculptures

L.L.Y. Atelier’s shelf brackets (left) and knobs/hooks (right), which are available through Petra.

My dual roles as co-founder of Sight Unseen and founder of Petra Hardware may be totally separate, but every once in a while I make a discovery over there that’s dying for attention over here. Recently it was the practice of Agathe Bodineau, a trained metalsmith with a background in fine arts who — through her studio L.L.Y. Atelier, based outside Montreal — makes covetable freeform housewares and jewelry. I snatched her up for Petra with her gestural brass knobs/hooks and light switch covers, which I liken to little Modernist sculptures, but I don’t think you, dear readers, should be missing out on the other objects in the same collection, including a glass goblet on a fluid brass pedestal, or the striking pair of shelf-slash-artwork mounts shown above. A similarly fluid language marks L.L.Y.’s sterling silver jewelry line, though with more of a futuristic Gen-Z vibe; my pick is this star-shaped ear cuff, perfect for those of us who want to hang the pieces we love on our bodies, not just our walls.

L.A.’s Café Tondo Is a Mexico City-Inspired Bar With a Living Room Feel

Cafe Tondo’s interiors, by Aunt Studio, have an intentionally cozy feel. Photos: Sean Davidson

As one of its closest neighbors, California has never suffered any shortage of influence from Mexico — on its architecture, its food, its culture. Some of that influence is tucked away, though, within the communities that claim its heritage, and some is so watered down that it no longer resembles with any sort of authenticity the place it claims to reference. Café Tondo, a new bar in Los Angeles, is a nice happy medium. It’s a reinterpretation of the contemporary Mexico City so beloved right now by the global creative set, but funneled through the childhood memories of Abraham Campillo, its creative director, who grew up in a Mexican household in Texas. Also the co-founder of the L.A. design agency Mouthwash, Campillo envisioned the project as a celebration of Mexican hospitality, where guests feel welcome to have a drink and a snack and stick around awhile.

He and his other Mouthwash partners worked with Aunt Studio on the interior, which incorporates custom Mexican-made furniture by L.A.-based Ombia Studio and Mexican ceramics sourced by object dealer Isabella Marengo of Bugambilia. The Chinatown space, which was left weathered by its past lives as a mechanic shop and an acupuncture clinic, also features lots of casual, homey details like tie-on chair and barstool cushions and patterned kitchen tiles used as wall decoration. Adding to the atmosphere will be live jazz and salsa music, but to be honest, I’ll be beelining there for chef Luis Luna’s food. Say no more, truly.

A Cross-Border Collab Show Pairs Antiques With Steel Furniture and Smiling Ceramics

A smiling ceramic elephant by Sylvie Cauchon and a steel chair by Florence Provencher-Proulx at Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery. Photos: Marco Galloway

Our longtime love for New York’s Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery and Montreal’s Bruises gallery has only doubled now that the two have paired up for a powerhouse collab exhibition at Sullivan’s space in Tribeca — one that includes perhaps the most epic pairing we’ve seen of sleek metal furniture with weirdo ceramic animals. For the matchup, Sullivan is contrasting new rubber-and-steel lamps by LS Gomma with a wide-ranging curation of historical pieces, including a flower-carved footstool from the 1800s, a 1960s table lamp by Gae Aulenti, and a trio of handsome antique wooden chairs. Bruises director Florence Provencher-Proulx is showing some of her own designs in steel, like a splayed-leg side table and a thin-framed chair with a compass-like profile, alongside the aforementioned ceramics by Sylvie Cauchon. Yes, the elephant is smiling at you, and yes, you should definitely visit him before the show closes on November 1.

Editor’s List

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT:
—
I have long been a fan of David Marshall‘s Brutalist-style housewares from the 1970s, but something about mixing silver and gold tone metals has never quite sat right with me, to the point that I once had the chance to buy 3 candlesticks of his on German Craiglist for $30 and I didn’t do it. (Ok, I should have done it.) Instead I’m getting into the sculptural work of the late French artist Nicolas Carrega, which is all chunky angles and, crucially, single materials.
—
I know I must be late to the party on this one but, No. 6 recently introduced me to Exquisite J, an Italian sock brand launched in 1998 that makes the most beautiful patterned socks. There are so many styles I’ve wish listed, like a pair with hot pink flowers, but the subtle dark ones above with scallops and dots are the ones I’d probably be most likely to wear. They’ll show up in my holiday gift guide this year!
—
Speaking of Brutalism, did you know that Paul Evans made the most amazing door knockers in the history of door knockers? Well, assuming you like this sort of thing. I don’t have a door (I’m a renter) but if I did, this is the one I’d go for.
—
Lofa is a ceramic tile company that makes everything by hand in Guadalajara, and they recently introduced these super precious shell tiles, which remind me of my childhood bathroom growing up in Ohio, which had a huge wall relief of a palm tree and sunset scene. These give that vintage-y seaside feel without the kitsch.

News

Nordic Knots Home includes two headboard designs, sheets, throw pillows, and blankets like the checkered one shown here. Photo: Anders Kylberg

—
Opening tomorrow at the Architectural Association in London is Bad Language, a show of casual architectural snapshot photography by Max Creasy, focusing on projects by six international firms. It’s on view through December 6.
—
On the heels of its curtain line expansion a couple of years back, cult rug brand Nordic Knots just added a new line of home textiles to its portfolio, including upholstered headboards, bedding, and pillows.
—
Appreciate the MAK Center‘s programming in Los Angeles? Support the design icon by bidding in its Take a Seat auction, which features 23 chairs by contemporary designers and past icons and closes this Sunday.
—
New York gallery Amelie du Chalard just launched a new exhibition series inviting guest curators to pull art and design from its collection, with the first guest being Kelly Behun. Her show Against Type is on view through Saturday.
—
Non-alc favorite Ghia just launched a new blood orange flavor, which I haven’t tasted yet but, as a non-drinker myself who bristles at how sugary most mocktails are, sounds like just the right balance between sweet and tart.

Jobs

Sight Unseen now has a jobs board! Post a job in any creative field for just $1 all month.

Morris Adjmi Architects is seeking an interior designer / interior architect in New York City

White Arrow is seeking a junior interior designer in New York City

Electrical solutions brand ZETR is seeking a head of sales in New York City

VIEW ALL JOBS

POST A JOB