Work on our luxury hotel continues, and the more we advance, the clearer things get. If the décor of the place was defined pretty precisely quite a while ago, we have Corinne Moncelli and Anne Gelbard to thank, and the first pieces of the puzzle are starting to arrive!

We dropped in on Anne at her workshop not far from Bastille, not only to see what she is preparing for La Belle Juliette, but also to nose round her inspiring workspace…

It may well be impossible to be creative and tidy at the same time. We’ve always met Anne Gelbard in places where she’s surrounded by a dignified mess of fabrics, objects, leather and colour. Finding her in some sort of zen white cube would be a real shock! The first time we wrote about Anne, it was to explore her tiny workshop in a paved Parisian passageway. Recently, she has move to larger premises that somehow still seem as cluttered with objects books and tools of the trade. It’s in this setting that she does her work for the most prestigious fashion houses, us and herself…
As you might imagine, the preparatory work for La Belle Juliette started a while back, well before the name was officially revealed to the public, and even before building work started. Corinne Moncelli chose Anne for her obvious taste and creativity, and Anne has does much research into the time of Juliette Récamier in order to inspire her work for the hotel, with a theme for each floor and special attention paid to the hotel’s salons; for Juliette, nothing was more important than her salon!
Looking round Anne’s place, you can tell that she works very much from visual stimuli, with objects arranged on tables, numerous books and everything at hand that she needs for her special metal printing on fabric, panels and even feathers.
All the objects here are work related, whether they inspire a choice of colours, a mix of textures or are quite simply brushes that serve as tools to ornament the various surfaces that Anne works with.
And there are always a certain number of non-identified objects around, slightly strange stuff, all part of the place’s charm…
Obviously, we were there above all to see the elements being prepared for La Belle Juliette. For example, these seats that have been upcycled form the old Ferrandi hotel but completely redecorated with yellow/olive green lacquer and comfortable velvet..
These will be mixed with more sobre – but just as refined – elements…
And Anne’s work continues into the realm of dressing the rooms with objects such as antique books. Oh look, the complete works of Chateaubriand!
Anything can be inspiration. Such as below, the gilding on a book cover will be adapted into a wall frieze, giving another link between the the hotel and Juliette’s literary salons.
Other objects are ready to be placed in the upper levels, such as these ones. But what will the theme be here? La Belle Juliette still has a few secrets to reveal before opening later this year…
For more information about La Belle Juliette, check out the official site: www.labellejuliette.com