Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris

Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 2
Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 3
Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 4
Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 5

Top: Images from a recent design project in Paris © Xavier Bejot; Bottom: Images from a recent design project on the Upper East Side of Manhattan © Jonny Valiant

This week, we have had the pleasure of sitting down with Jean-Louis Deniot, founder of the Jean-Louis Deniot design studio based in Paris. Celebrated for his modern and refreshing take on the classic inspirations of interior design, Jean-Louis' style has been hailed globally for its sophistication and flair. Join Artsper as we discover Jean-Louis' recently unveiled projects, and hear about the publication of his new book, “Jean-Louis Deniot: Destinations."

1. Hello Jean-Louis! Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. Can you tell us a bit about your career in interior design so far? What led you to found your own design studio?

I've always been interested by the multifaceted styles available in interior design, appreciating the diversity of every translation, or any exercise and I felt confident that I had what was necessary to contribute to the future of that business. That I could carry on the tradition of what our business is made of. As soon as you have a specific vocabulary and a specific language, there is room for you. It's the adequation between being in the moment and longevity, that's what design is about. Be in the moment and at the same time have a timelessness of longevity. 

2. What is your favorite interior design project to date? 

I don't have a favorite. It's as if you are asking a parent to choose their favorite child, or a collector of paintings to choose his favorite piece. One project helps the other to stand out. As soon as there is an adequation between location, expectation, exaltation, and passion, each project becomes extra special. 

My favorite projects are the projects that bring me to a new world, the project that puts me on the path of discovery, of having the challenge of something never done before. I really consider each project to be like a short movie and for each movie to have its own flavor style and specificities so that you achieve something unique with great osmosis and design integrity. At the end of the day it's all about quality, the creative quality, quality of reflection, of making the right decisions and that's where time can show off quality, that it becomes institutional, unquestionable and that it ages gracefully. That is sustainable design.

3. Being based in Paris, do you feel that location plays an important role in your practice? How does the city influence your creativity?

It's the city of lights, arts, and culture, so it feels like the ideal location as both a foundation and as a stage to elaborate and display all designs. You're surrounded with beauty, excellent proportions, excellent executions, with an unlimited amount of styles. Paris shows many different aesthetics. 

What's great about Paris is the sense of confidence and exactitude, because it's all related to longevity, how it will age, and its sense of permanence. All the arts are so well represented and very accessible, they systematically exhibit excellence exactitude, and that je ne sais quoi.  

Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 6
Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 7

Images from a recent design project in Paris © Stephen Julliard

4. What is one historical design style that particularly resonates with you?

That would be Neoclassicism and ancestral Roman that has been the starting point of all styles. It's the skeleton, the bones of every style. It shows an elevated aesthetic that feels grounded, built towards the sky, symmetrical, serene, and very powerful at the same time.

5. Do you consider yourself an art lover? If so, what are some artists (emerging or established) that you have your eye on at the moment? 

I love all kinds of art from every period all together, no matter whether it's from the 18th or the 21st century. Time has no influence on how I appreciate art. There are so many periods of art that I love, and so for me contemporary doesn't overshadow the previous periods. But, in contemporary one of my favorites right now is Théo Mercier. He is a genuine French Artist. His concepts take into consideration the past, present, and future. He is dedicated to delivering quality. He believes in recycling; he believes in decorative arts and is quite alternative. I love how academic yet forward looking he is at the same time. I admire artists who have this special relationship with time. There is fragility and duality to his work, he plays with opposites; I love how contrasted and extremist his work is. He is a true artist.

Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 8
Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 9

Images from a recent design project in Los Angeles © John Coolidge

6. What advice would you give to a budding interior designer?

The starting point is internal inspiration, not looking at others, but looking within. The designer needs to define what looks like them, what feels like them, to their core. If they had to illustrate their own preferred taste and personal style, what would be the components that make it uniquely their own. It's as if they are aesthetically defining their character so that they can identify what they're made of and can visualize their preferred aesthetic. 

Then, they need to be able to adapt their sense of aesthetic to the specificities of each clients' requirements, so they find productive, sometimes surprising, common ground.

They should apply their own aesthetic as often as possible, in the corner of a room, the whole house, wherever they can, and document everything. Take great pictures with good styling to keep a trace that they can share every time that they are able to express themselves.

7. Finally, if you could work on your dream design project, what would it be and where?

Throughout a design career, the whole idea of projects is the ensemble, the collection of projects, it's like a giant puzzle which is mixed between privates, developers, and personal projects. Those are very various types of opportunities, with very different aesthetic outcomes. What will come in the future, corresponds to new adventures, new aesthetics never achieved before, which should compliment that large puzzle. So the dream project is not one dream project, its hundreds of dream projects. The dream is in the contrast and the differences between each project. That's what makes it rich, interesting, entertaining, and captivating. 

Meet Jean-Louis Deniot: global interior designer based in Paris - 10

Living room in Paris designed by Jean-Louis Deniot © Xavier Bejot


Auswahl von Kunstwerken

Gemälde, Mapa mudo, Regina Gimenez

Mapa mudo

Regina Gimenez

Gemälde - 120 x 120 x 4 cm

7.000 €

Skulpturen, Columna, Dario Perez-Flores

Columna

Dario Perez-Flores

Skulpturen - 190 x 25 cm

30.000 €

Gemälde, Embossage et pigments, René Galassi

Embossage et pigments

René Galassi

Gemälde - 100 x 80 x 7 cm

4.300 €

Skulpturen, Game cube 2, Séverine Duparcq

Game cube 2

Séverine Duparcq

Skulpturen - 33 x 24 x 17 cm

2.800 €

Fotografien, Plis et déplis, Orlan

Plis et déplis

Orlan

Fotografien - 27 x 21 cm

Verkauft

Fotografien, Vevey, Georges Rousse

Vevey

Georges Rousse

Fotografien - 92 x 112 cm

3.900 €

Fotografien, Bourgoin Jallieu, Georges Rousse

Bourgoin Jallieu

Georges Rousse

Fotografien - 92 x 112 cm

3.900 €

Zeichnungen, Le Pavillon de la Muette #2, Georges Rousse

Le Pavillon de la Muette #2

Georges Rousse

Zeichnungen - 57 x 76 x 4 cm

Verkauft

Skulpturen, Sillons, René Galassi

Sillons

René Galassi

Skulpturen - 195 x 35 x 22 cm

9.700 €

Gemälde, Calicots et pigments turquoises, René Galassi

Calicots et pigments turquoises

René Galassi

Gemälde - 98 x 78 x 5 cm

4.200 €

Gemälde, N°100-285 22 (NG111), Nicolas Galtier

N°100-285 22 (NG111)

Nicolas Galtier

Gemälde - 100 x 100 x 3 cm

3.400 €

Skulpturen, Tríada, Borja Barrajón

Tríada

Borja Barrajón

Skulpturen - 26 x 26 x 26 cm

4.330 €

Gemälde, Subjective - X, Sophie Mangelsen

Subjective - X

Sophie Mangelsen

Gemälde - 80 x 60 x 2.2 cm

780 €