Paris Panache

Designer Robert Normand’s unerring eye for colour and aesthete’s appreciation of decor, objects and art are on full display in his Paris home, where a series of interleading, beautifully dressed spaces each contributes something unique to a house that is an artwork in perpetual progress

- ROBYN ALEXANDER

A first viewing of interior designer Robert Normand’s home takes the form of a series of colourful impressions – an experience reminiscent of taking an initial glance at Henri Matisse’s 1904 painting, “Luxe, Calme et Volupté”. In Robert’s Paris house, as in that famous artwork, flashes of unexpected colour catch the eye one after another. Here is an unexpectedly rich hue of yellow carpet underfoot – and there, a delightfully distracting pair of extravagantly patterned urns. Over there, mulberry-coloured window blinds contrast with a seafoam rug. A bright slice of blue and white bathroom adds brightness, while a swathe of caramel oak cupboards conveys a rich sense of calm. Slowly, a pattern emerges, and one begins to comprehend the picture as a whole.