At the Crossroads of Traditional and Modern

May 28, 2013 by guillaume Leave a Comment

Last Friday, Guillaume had the very special honor of being a seminar speaker at one of Louisiana’s premiere design events: The New Orleans’ Home and Design Show. This annual event, hosted by Leviton, is held at the Morial Convention Center over Memorial Day weekend.

“An Afternoon With Guillaume Gentet” capitalized on Guillaume’s French background and experience mixing traditional and contemporary styles. And what better place to discuss this than New Orleans, a city steeped not only in French history- but also a melange of other heritages and revolutionary new experiments in art, architecture, music, and design!

Traditional Parisian Interiors from Guillaume's presentation — Traditional Parisian Interiors from Guillaume’s presentation

Guillaume’s seminar presentation touched on the question of “What is traditional style?” and the strategies for incorporating elements of contemporary and modern with traditional settings.

Contemporary meets traditional sitting room, designed by Guillaume Gentet.

Although we often think of traditional as a clearly defined aesthetic, we must remember that what we now consider to be conservative styles were also once trend-setting and experimental.

Traditional Parisian Interior- with classic chevron pattern.

Therefore, the distinctions between “traditional” and “modern” become a bit more interwoven- and when designing interiors, one shouldn’t be afraid to cull elements from both aesthetics to create a space that looks both to the past, present, and even the future!

Traditional Parisian chaise and sitting room

Guillaume's take on a classic-meets-contemporary sitting room. — Guillaume’s take on a classic-meets-contemporary sitting room.

Traditional faux finish techniques from Historic Parisian Interiors

Many of the faux-finish works that Guillaume and his studio make today are inspired by time-honored techniques with a fresh update:

Verre Eglomise mirror in a modern coral design, designed and created by Guillaume Gentet. — Verre Eglomisé mirror in a modern coral design, designed and created by Guillaume Gentet.

Verre Eglomise tabletop, inspired by a Russian fine China pattern, and designed by Guillaume Gentet — Verre Eglomisé tabletop, inspired by a Russian fine China pattern, and designed by Guillaume Gentet

Not to mention Guillaume’s love of pink!

Powder room with traditional wood panelling and gilt mirror, and pink velvet wallpaper, designed by Guillaume Gentet. — Powder room with traditional wood panelling and gilt mirror, and pink upholstery fabric walls, designed by Guillaume Gentet.

Pink and zebra elegant living room with salon-style art composition. Designed by Guillaume Gentet.

A great time was had by all who attended, and Guillaume really enjoyed meeting many of the other designers, architects, and decor enthusiasts!

And what is a trip to New Orleans without sampling some of the famous local cuisine?

First stop: Cafe Du Monde for the café au lait and beignets (a type of fritter made from deep-fried choux pastry):

And of course, Seafood at Drago's! — And of course, Seafood at Drago’s!

Although we hope to go back next year, we figured we needed to bring back a taste of New Orleans to tide us over until then…

We hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend, spent with friends and family, in remembrance of our Soldiers and military who served our great country.

-GG

Traditional faux finish techniques from Historic Parisian Interiors

At the Crossroads of Traditional and Modern

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