Family
Inside the Walls of Essaouira: The Complete Family Behind Paris's Le Perchoir
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Laurence and Christophe Talon, Christine and Adrien Boissaye, Ava 7 and Gaspard 6 years old
Here, life is lived barefoot. The house, with its bay windows and perpetually open doors, embraces us with a warm breeze. Laurence and Christine are sisters who have grown up, lived, and worked together, launching their own decoration brand, marrying two friends, and sharing a family home in the same Parisian building. Life carried on: children grew up, grandchildren arrived, and a major new venture was born – Le Perchoir in Paris, boasting four locations and a family adventure involving almost every member. The Socialite Family met this tribe in their haven of the past decade: Essaouira. This is where the family regularly settles and, amid the 2020 health crisis, constructed their own slice of paradise. Welcome to Dar Algajola, named after the Corsican village the clan has frequented for decades.
Location
MOROCCO
Author
Elsa Cau, Constance Gennari
Photos and videos
Constance Gennari
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TSF
Laurence, Christine, Christophe, Adrien...who are you?
Laurence
Christine and I are sisters. We opened a decor shop, Les Autruches, some twenty years ago. We've always raised our children together, and always lived in the same building... We're a bit like twin sisters, although we're three years apart. What's more, we married men who were already friends! (Laughs) I have three children: Olivier, Camille and Juliette, and a grandson, Gaspard.
Christine
I'm the eldest in a family of girls. I have three children: Adrien, Paul and Marine, and four grandchildren, Emma, Ava, Raphaël and Romée. And yes, Laurence and I have always been a bit like twin sisters, even though there are 3 years between us!
Christophe
I'm Laurence's husband and I'm from Dunkerque. When I met my wife - who is very Parisian - I quickly realised I was joining a clan! I'm an engineer, I like the concrete aspect of my job, but I also love working on projects I can have fun with. Which is how Adrien and I came up with Le Perchoir. My son Olivier joined us for a while. It's also why, ten years later, I jumped at the chance to involved with the Dar Algajola project. So not a professional endeavour for me, but still a family affair!
Adrien
I'm Christine and Gilles' eldest son, I'm with Juliette and father to Ava, aged 7. I founded Le Perchoir with my uncle Christophe. We both love taking on new projects and the pleasure of entertaining.
TSF
Laurence, Christine, what's your background?
Laurence
As young women, we both worked at Hermès on Faubourg Saint Honoré, where we learned a lot and evolved in a world focused on beauty and excellence...
Christine
We remained together and opened Les Autruches, our decor boutique in Paris's 14th arrondissement, 20 years ago. The Dar Algajola project is totally in tune with our boutique and the world of furniture, lamps and fabrics that we love finding in holiday homes - with some extra twists. We love mixing things up, but we also aim for harmony, especially when it comes to colours; everything has to look good after all! Laurence is more daring than I am, but we do complement each other.
TSF
How did you find this place?
Laurence
We've been coming to Essaouira for 12 years, ever since Christine celebrated her 50th birthday here. We all fell in love with the place. In 2020, just before lockdown, we decided to buy a plot of land to build a family home.
Christine
Yes, we've been coming for over ten years and would stay in a guest house right next door. So we went to look at the adjoining plot with Juliette, Laurence and Christophe's daughter. We loved it. And that's when Laurence, Christophe and I had the seed of an idea... Because all three of us are involved in the Dar Algajola adventure! I got divorced about twenty years ago. At that time, my brother-in-law, Christophe, who is very entrepreneurial, encouraged us and, above all, helped us set up our decor boutique.
Laurence
In 2020, the Baoussala plot of land next to where we would stay, was put up for sale. We exchanged contracts the day before the first lockdown and less than a month later, we completed the purchase!
Adrien
The family's been coming to Essaouira for 15 years and now that we have a family base, I'm really enjoying showing our friends around the region. We're even organising a week of festivities for Christmas / New Year! This is why we've embarked on a new hotel project in Essaouira. We called on Jaune Architecture, Paula Daniel and Marine Delaloy, to design the hotel of our dreams. It's really exciting to be involved in the development of a region as rich as Essaouira, which remains a destination with loads of potential...
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"We've been coming to Essaouira for twelve years and all fell in love with the place. During the 2020 lockdown, we decided to buy a plot of land and build a family home."
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TSF
Juliette, your daughter, is also part of the project...
Laurence
Juliette is a set designer. She studied interior design in London for three years and then went on to do a master's degree in set design at the Arts Décoratifs in Paris. She was the one who recommended we open up and expand the layout of the house, which was originally designed to be more of an enclosed riad. She opened it up and redesigned everything. She took charge of the artistic direction and project managed the works with her dad.
Christine
We had quite a few surprises, including a change in building regulations during the construction phase.
Christophe
We went from a COS (Ed: Land Occupation Coefficient) of 4% to 30%.
TSF
The whole family was involved in creating this place!
Laurence
Well, the house is for the kids. We just want to be the managers! Adrien's advice on the hotel side of things was invaluable, even though we consider this more of a guest house than a hotel. Christine's daughter helped us with the garden, particularly with the solar panels.
Christine
We've tried to create a place that's self-sufficient - or at least as much as possible - in terms of energy use. There's a well-stocked vegetable garden, and we also have a hen house.
TSF
Can you tell us about the Dar Algajola project? You don't live in Essaouira all year round.
Christophe
I more or less do! Laurence and Christine still have the boutique in Paris. But as for me, I'm keeping very busy here! Welcoming guests has become my new job... and I realised how much I love it!
Laurence
There are 11 bedrooms. The name comes from a Corsican village that my sister and I have been visiting for sixty years! Our parents bought a house there in the 1970s... We quickly settled on dry stone for the Dar Algajola's exterior, and we also did a lot of bargain hunting here. We all live together full-time in Paris's 14th arrondissement. Our grandma owned a building and gave us both a flat. I lived on the first floor, Christine and Gilles on the second. For years, the kids moved from one flat to another as if they were in a family home. When we moved because it was too small and ended up... right next door.
Christine
And there's still the family vibe, as Adrien still lives there as does my eldest son, Olivier.
Laurence
And Camille, my daughter, lives in a workshop/studio in the building's courtyard. Astrid, our little sister, too. And Juliette, my daughter, is moving in! As far as Essaouira is concerned, we decided to rent it out to cover the costs and, above all, so the kids could have free accommodation.
Christine
Here in Essaouira, we have five employees. We rent the house as a unit, with services included (shopping, cooking, cleaning), rather than renting out individual bedrooms.
TSF
How did you decide on the interior design and decor?
Laurence
Firstly, we decided to use a local stone. We were inspired by our friends' nearby house which was designed by Studio KO.
Christine
We found loads of bargains for the house in Essaouira: the outdoor white wrought iron chairs, for example. We had a lot of cushion covers and rugs made, too. We also found rugs in Marrakech and at the Jama gallery in Essaouira, which has a great selection of antique rugs. The curtains and sofas were made in Marrakech and Essaouira from kiria, the thick white cotton fabric so widely used in Morocco. And, of course we brought over quite a few items from our own shop and suppliers we like: Honoré Déco, Atmosphère d'ailleurs, Tse Tse, Caravane, cinq étoiles...
Laurence
Yeah, we did quite a bit of bargain-hunting. We went to Moustapha Blahoui's in Marrakech. We worked with him on Le Perchoir.
Christophe
We called in a landscape gardener for the garden... except that we didn't do anything he recommended (laughs). We planted olive trees, rosemary and lavender. The design was a real challenge, but we knew we wanted an 'untamed' garden.
Laurence
In all fairness, he did create some feature areas using lush, wild plant species... We drew a lot of our inspiration from the Italian landscape artist Luciano Giubbilei.
Christophe
The vegetable garden was created two winters ago. Every evening, the caretaker and I watched YouTube videos on permaculture. That's how we got started. I also have a friend here who has a permaculture farm and he advised us too. We grow aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, fennel, turnips, lettuces...
Laurence
We were also partly inspired by the Bab Ourika Kasbah in Marrakech.
TSF
As a family, you were also behind the Perchoir project in Paris.
Christophe et Adrien
We set up the first Perchoir restaurant as a family alongside Olivier (Ed: Talon), and it was based on something Adrien came across. We wanted to create the first straw hut in Paris! We now have four in Paris (Ed:Chalet des îles Daumesnil, Perchoir Porte de Versailles, Perchoir Ménilmontant and Pavillon Puebla,)
Laurence
Decor-wise, we got quite involved! Each place and context was different. The first one in the 11th arrondissement was like a big Berber tent, and we changed all the cushions, etc. every season. For the BHV, we worked with Boboboom.
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TSF
How do you see the future of Dar Algajola?
Christine
Dar Algajola is a home for family and friends! It's a great place to meet up, entertain, relax and watch the little ones grow up from holiday to holiday. As grandparents, we'll also be able to make the most of it while still travelling back and forth to Paris.
TSF
What does The Socialite Family mean to you?
Laurence
We see The Socialite Family as a highly innovative concept. We love your curiosity, your culture and your interior design pieces. It's in fact a whole world of cushions. We have very fond memories of the La Scopa event you organised in Paris!
TSF
Do you have any favourite pieces in our collection?
Christine
Yes! (Laughs) The Gioia lamp, the Mara shelf and the new Allegria sponge collection...
TSF
Do you have any good local haunts you'd like to briefly tell us about?
Chrisine, Laurence & Christophe
The artisans at Kilometre 8, at the end of our road to Essaouira, create beldi chic homeware and furniture. La Trattoria, a true local gem in Sidi Kaouki, offers pasta with capers, kefta sandwiches, sardines, and grilled fish in a perfect spot next to the surf schools and facing the beach. The souks: Ida Ougourd on Wednesday mornings and El Had Draa on Sunday mornings, 30 km from Essaouira, the largest rural market in the region.
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"Dar Algajola is truly a home for family and friends! We love to gather there, entertain, relax, and watch the grandchildren grow from one holiday to the next."
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