Artsper met Constance Gennari, the founder of the website The Socialite Family, dedicated to the homes and lifestyles of modern families. Here she shares her interior design tips and her advice for choosing artwork for your home. 

Artsper: What inspired you to start The Socialite Family?

Constance Gennari: The idea of The Socialite Family was born from observing  a new generation of parents. Those who have children late, who work, travel and who are urban. Strong personalities who raise their children in a new way. Spaces have changed as well. The core of the apartment  has become one room while the rooms are residual. Children spend a lot of time with their parents and play with their toys in the living room. Something that wasn't done while I was growing up. The idea was also to see how these people create their interior design with vintage pieces, inherited pieces or one created by young designers. Today, to show one's interior is to show who one is, that one has taste, a certain culture. Beyond families, we also speak to a lot of artists, restorers, architects, hoteliers in Paris and France as well as Europe and beyond.

Artsper: How did you become interested in interior design?

Constance Gennari: I was raised by a mother who could have been an antique dealer and who took my brother and sister to me Les Puces de Saint Ouen and Drouot all the time. My father being from Milan, I educated in a family that valued beautiful materials and quality. I was almost an auctioneer and still today I spend a lot of time scrolling through online auctions in the quest for objects that fascinate me. I love immersing myself in the world of the architect or designer.

Artsper: Where do you find your inspiration for your home?

Constance Gennari: From Italy essentially and Milanese architects in particular. I really enjoy the work of Portaluppi or Luigi Caccia Dominioni without forgetting Gio Ponti. Their precision and elegance are true sources of inspiration. I start collecting pieces that I fell madly in love with, I can become obsessed with a certain type of wood, lacquer, colour or material crazy for a wood, a lacquer, a colour or a material. I hunt for vintage or second hand pieces all the time.

Artsper: Describe your interior design style in a few words

Constance Gennari: I like mixing eras and styles but I've starting to acquire pieces that I know I'll keep for a long time like the Borsani's P40, or Italian lighting fixtures. Carpets have a lot of importance to me. I mix the Chinese objects with a Persian rug and I'm constantly on the lookout for new patterns and colors. The carpets immediately complete a room, they can set the scene by themselves.

Artsper: What place does art occupy in your home?

Constance Gennari: Every year I try to buy an artwork. A sculpture or a canvas and little by little, I'm becoming better at spotting what I like. I listen to my heart and the emotions I feel when I see a work of art. If I want to look it for hours, then I have to have it! I also find the search and then the wait exhilarating.

Artsper: How do you choose artworks for your home?

Constance Gennari: With my heart especially. All the works in my home I loved them at first sight, emotions are definitely my main guide. I like shapes, colours. I don't get tired of them and I also like to moving them around my home so that they seem to live in different ways.

Artsper: Your best tip for decorating a home?

Constance Gennari: Give in to your fantasy and be bold, test out having colours on the walls and in your furniture with the use of materials such as brass, glass and velvet. As in fashion, mixing and matching is great . Be bold without following the fashions, try to express your style and feelings above all, it will make your home all the more beautiful. Don't forget the importance of lighting, keeping it low and soft to create a soothing atmosphere.