LEMONADE STUDIO

 A small glimpse of our office, tables Arcachon, white bench,  leather chair, black-shell chair,  armchair with white armrests, everything comes from Maisons du monde, the lamps are vintage but you can find similar ones here. 

Ahhhh my lovely office... 

I am so happy to show you our lemonade studio today, I hope it will inspire you, as much as it gives us a boost and soothes us at the same time…It has been a real pleasure to organize it the way I really wanted to, without a man to tell me to tone down my enthusiasm for colors, even though I know I’m lucky, my guy totally goes along with what I want when it comes to decorating. So yeah, it’s my office, but I don’t work alone, there are 4 of us girls here, and since I think they trust me, it was easy to make ourselves happy being that we are all on the same page. Imagine our excitement growing at the very instant you choose furniture, and then while you are waiting for it to be delivered, and then ripping open the boxes, it’s hysteria…Little by little, we have built our nest. Well, little by little, that depends, everything is relative, all of this was done in 15 days because, maybe you don’t yet know this about me, but when I get an idea in my head, I move fast. I have trouble being patient…

I wanted the office to feel like home, it had to be cozy and calm. Given the amount of time I spend at the office, I needed there to be some eye candy. But it had to represent who I am too: chaos with order, allow me to explain…I wanted to have big tables that we could move around and put back to back to make one long table for the Workshops…I found these incredible tables at Maisons du Monde. So yes, the tables are identical, but seating is all different, leather chairs, white resin chairs, black wooden chairs, a bench, etc… And an organized office, in that I give myself a gold star if I leave the office looking impeccable, and let me tell you, that’s a long shot for me!

 Wall shelving from Urban Outfitters, console table from Maisons du Monde. 

But truth be told, I am not the only messy one in this office, but I won’t point any fingers. So I uncovered this piece of furniture in the same collection as the tables, to delineate the "entrance from the work space", and in this unit, each of us has a box, in which we stash away our personal effects. My box is unfortunately the one filled with the most stuff, but what can I do, those pesky, stubborn bad habits…

A cluster of frames, my own small collection of bulletin boards that I tracked down on the internet, the blackboard with clip-on letters, and the LED signboard with sliding letters. A wall that can evolve, change message, leave little notes, write mantras that motivate us. I’ve already started to make a wall like this in my own living room, and I really love the concept, it’s a bit like a visualization of what’s going on in my head. A collection of thoughts, moments, inspirations that randomly come out of brain, which could move or expand.

Table from Urban Outfitters, “squat” armchair from La Redoute, floor lamp, Rocking Chair,  bench, and throw pillows we found at Ikea.

And yes, yesterday we were talking about the hideous color of the walls and the disaster that is the ceiling, and “solutions” to camouflage, transform or distract attention from these aspects. I forgot to tell you that there are bars on the windows of our office. And we have tried every which way to solve this problem, just like the fire-retardant ceiling, there’s nothing to be done, apart from getting a concrete grinder…So in order to forget about these bars, but maximizing the light exposition, we came up with the magical solution of putting up curtains made of tulle. Super cozy, they divert your attention from the bars, and hardly darken the room at all…

And the little “reception” corner, here I didn’t want uniform seating, and I couldn’t find what my heart desired as far as couches go, but fortunately, once again, Maisons du Monde came to the rescue. I really like the fact that the whole thing looks like it came from a bargain-hunt, but it’s all brand new, a vintage look that’s brand new, who could ask for anything more? Above the bench is a suspended mirror with a leather hook, an awesome illustrations courtesy of our former officemates Benjamin Moreau and Noémie Ferst, and a print of a lemon tree we found at a bookstand along the river Seine… Actually, I need your help with something, in the photo above on the left, there’s a small bouquet of yellow-blossom flowers, does anyone know the name of this species?

Artichoke lamp, metal bins and my grandpa’s trunk! 

I hope you enjoyed it, we would be happy to welcome you into our office if you decide to come pick up your patterns in person, that way you can bask in the flawless organization of the studio! And here are some recommended addresses for home and office shopping!

• Maisons du Monde for stunning furniture and a unbelievable variety of styles 
• Lightonline Galeries Lafayette online of the light...
• Farrow and Ball for those special colors
• Urban Outfitters home for little random home deco items
• Coming B. for designer items of all prices
• Les soeurs Grene du Danemark for office supplies, and organizing bins, no  e-shop yet, but there’s a boutique in Aéroville, and one opening soon in Versailles 

If you need information on where any of the items come from, don’t hesitate to write us a comment! Sending you big kisses.  

Translated by Ida Driscoll