Family
At the port of Nice, a bright apartment with Italian flair has been redesigned by the founding duo of Studio Lelaz.
)
At
Marion Lepetit, Erkan Varer and Raphaëlle, 6 months old
The striped canvas blinds, slightly bleached by the sun, flap gently in the breeze. Just below, the 'pointus', the pride of Nice with their pointed sterns, respond by bumping gently into each other in the sunshine. Light floods in everywhere in this typically pastel-coloured building in Nice. That's what first attracted the architect couple who founded Studio Lelaz. Not to mention the hint of Northern Italy in the materials and layout of this family apartment overlooking the port of Nice. When Marion Lepetit left Paris for the south of France, she had imagined creating a world of whitewashed walls and wooden furniture. But she hadn't taken into account the local colours. Five years on, she says they still inspire her more than ever. Partnership, moving house, new discoveries - the duo have changed their lives in the space of a year, and that's what piqued the curiosity of The Socialite Family. We met them at their home over a breakfast of brioche with a fine sea view.
Location
Nice
Author
Elsa Cau
Photos and videos
Valerio Geraci, Carine Bouhier
)
Everywhere in Nice, the architecture blends French and Italian influences so characteristic of the Côte d'Azur..
)
And the colours are not just on the façades. Many buildings conceal spectacular entrance halls.
)
)
)
On the dining table, designed by Studio Lelaz, a pair of vases by Eva K. Richard.
)
)
On a shelf in the living room, vintage ceramics and a vase by Inès Angelini, aka Umami, whom we had also interviewed with her family...
)
Leaning in a corner of the living room, a vintage Ultrafragola mirror by Ettore Sottsass.
)
)
TSF
Marion, Erkan, who are you?
Erkan
I'm 36, an interior designer and the father of little Raphaëlle, who is now almost 7 months old. We're really happy.
Marion
I'm 35... and I feel the same! We set up our agency together. We've been living in the south for five years. We were in Paris before that. Me, for 10 to 13 years; I'm from Normandy.
TSF
Can you both tell us about your background, please?
Erkan
I wanted to be a graphic designer. I switched over to photography. That was before I got interested in design... and moved on to interior design. Marion and I studied at the same place, but we don't have the same skills at all!
Marion
Esam Design is the modern art and design school in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. It's a private institution but is recognised by the CFAI (French Council of Interior Architects). We were two years apart.
Erkan
I was on a work-based learning course and worked in events and hotel design agencies like Les Deux Ailes (since renamed Girós & Coutellier). I also worked with Fabien van......'s agency; he was something of a mentor to me. Marion and I have also worked on TV sets.
Marion
In fact, we met on a set...
Erkan
A floral set.
TSF
So, your paths didn't cross at ESAM?
Marion
Yes, but he didn't notice me (laughs). We met when I was getting my degree. We had a design teacher who was one of the most interesting people I ever met, Marianne Guedin. She's a scenographer working with plants, and I did my work-based learning placement with her. At the end of the year, she put us... on a set that had to be created for the reality show Secret Story! But Erkan and I met on the Monumenta set, which I was creating as part of my training with Marianne Guedin.
TSF
Why do you say you don't have the same skills?
Marion
Erkan has built his career in interior design and luxury goods. As for me, I got the same degree, but I concentrated on the decor. Then I moved on to Inès de la Fressange, where I designed lifestyle products: perfumed candles, scarves, motifs and patterns, etc. It was interesting, but it wasn't what I was looking for - fashion. And we both ended up saying, well, here we are. This time, it was sets for the TV, and we had to do 120 of them in two months. We also did sets for music videos, luxury homes, shop windows, launches, dinners... It was an amazing experience. So I branched out into set design with Atelier LUM, a really cool and creative events agency in Paris.
TSF
When and how did you decide to join forces?
Marion
I decided to stop working on events. The pace was so hectic, and I also wanted to get back to my first love, interior design. I think it was about that time some friends asked us to do an apartment for them. We officially joined forces in July 2019: we've just celebrated our fifth anniversary!
Erkan
When we started out, we worked on small apartment projects as part of our daily lives. But there comes a time when you have to make a decision... I started out as a freelancer. I wanted to set up a company, and I wanted to set it up with you. I suggested it, you hesitated, and, finally you agreed.
Marion
Erkan is a great entrepreneur. I was on a permanent contract, and I tend to look for security... I was a bit scared of jumping into the same boat.
Erkan
So far, we're very happy with our choices. And then in 2019, we said to ourselves, who knows why: either we stay in Paris, or we leave it all behind.
)
)
Parentesi floor lamp by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzù for Flos, Gueden chairs, Cab Cassina armchair, drawing by Charlotte Colt, and green USM modular furniture: eclecticism reigns here!
)
On the wall, a painting after Fernand Léger and a portrait of Marion by Charlotte Colt.
)
Among the vintage objects, three carafes by Marianne Guedin.
)
)
"Les Siciliennes" lamp published by Studio Lelaz.
)
)
our vision has evolved over the years: we're looking for customers who appreciate the authenticity, the craftsmanship, and the handmade aspect that we value in luxury. Maybe it's a generational thing...
)
TSF
Change of life, change of place, change of work... You did it all at once, you might say.
Marion
Give or take six months!
Erkan
It all got a bit mixed up. At first, it was: Come on, let's set up a business. A friend of ours had a space in his office and offered to sublet it... And that's when we started asking ourselves a lot of questions. In the end, we said to ourselves: we're going to leave Paris, and we're going to do this somewhere else.
TSF
Why leave Paris?
Erkan
I've wanted to leave Paris since I was 20!
Marion
For my part, it took me a long time. I loved my life in Paris, and I couldn't see myself leaving for the south.
TSF
Because right away, the decision was the south or nothing?
Marion
Not necessarily: it could as easily be an hour away or eight hours from Paris!
Erkan
I even talked about Australia.
Marion
And then you have to put things in context: leaving Paris before lockdown wasn't exactly fashionable... Everyone looked at us in amazement, wondering what we were going to do...
Erkan
We used to come here every summer, not to Nice, but to Cannes, where my father has a house. We said to ourselves: let's start with a town by the sea, and we'll see later if we want to go further inland. In 2020, as luck would have it, we were in lockdown at my father's house.
Marion
We'd left Paris just before, so we moved almost at the same time as the lockdown without realising it. We thought we'd have a place to stay until we found something.
Erkan
We quickly settled on Nice, but not the port area, because we thought it would be too expensive for us. And then we found this apartment which we love, but which we rent - we can't afford to buy it!
Marion
The neighbourhood is great, it's the antiques district, and our office is right next door. We're sharing it with artist Charlotte Colt. And in the space of a few years, Nice has really moved forward and become more dynamic.
TSF
Did leaving Paris allow you to work better?
Erkan
In any case, it makes you feel less like part of the masses. Even our vision of luxury has evolved over the years: we're looking for customers who appreciate the authenticity, the craftsmanship, and the handmade aspect that we value in luxury. Maybe it's a generational thing...
Marion
It's also easier in the south to work with craftspeople, and to go and see them.
TSF
What sort of environment did you grow up in, and how did it influence your tastes?
Erkan
I was born in Istanbul, and we moved to the Paris suburbs of France when I was just over a year old. My father is a former revolutionary communist... Our home wasn't exactly the centre of attention. I'd describe it as empty (laughs), in any case, without any specific kind of decor. My parents split up and my brothers and sister and I moved around a lot in Paris, Montpellier, Saint-Mandé, Vincennes... and Nice. We were a close-knit family, all the same. And we returned to Turkey every summer. My mother is Turkish-Armenian. It was my sister who got me interested in design. Because I was a bit at a loss. Like a lot of people, I went to Australia to be somewhere other than France. When I came back, my father said to me: It would be a good idea for you to go back to school, because you don't know where you're going! But it's true that craft and design have always interested me.
Marion
I grew up in Normandy. My parents are still together, and I was brought up in a big house with a fairly classical décor. My mother took great care with the interior, and it was always beautifully decorated. I wasn't brought up with a particular culture of design or architecture. On the other hand, my grandmother had an apartment full of fringes and braids and tassels: I've always loved that attention to detail. I didn't like her antique furniture, but she used to tell me, "You'll see, you'll get a taste for it later, your eye will sharpen!" When she died, I salvaged a lot of things that I still have... and I like to mix all the styles, just as she predicted! In the end, it's the same for everyone; these things simply get passed on.
TSF
How would you describe the Lelaz studio's style?
Erkan
I don't think we've managed to define it yet.
Marion
Because there isn't one particular style. We adapt. There are several criteria that come into play for each project, including the history of the site and the customer's specifications. Fabrics and stripes are a recurring theme.
Erkan
I'm more into materials and minimalism.
Marion
We talk to each other a lot.
TSF
What did you want to create here in your apartment?
Marion
We arrived with nothing, really, nothing. I searched everything out online, on Leboncoin. Now we mix contemporary pieces like USM, pieces from furniture designer/producers and pieces from designer friends.
Erkan
When we arrived here, we told ourselves that we'd stay in this apartment for a year before buying anything else.
Marion
That was four years ago (laughs).
Erkan
We didn't do any work, just decoration.
Marion
And as I'm always into colours and patterns, I thought I'd give the white and wood decor a try - more 'southern'! But it's no use: I just can't do it. It doesn't matter, it's fine, it's just not me. We really like the apartment as it is, in the entrance hall, for example, it's a bit like being in Italy... It's true that in Nice, all those colourful Italian façades inspire and influence me.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
TSF
Can you tell me about one or two pieces here that you particularly like?
Erkan
The item I'm most attached to is the photo in the living room of one of my childhood friends, Laure Tiberghien.
Marion
That'd have to be the coffee table in the living room! Erkan made it. He also made the tiled stool.
Erkan
I found some legs on Leboncoin...
TSF
What would be your dream renovation?
Erkan
A boat.
TSF
What's the latest news?
Marion & Erkan
We've just completed a brasserie called "Les Mimosas" on Cours Saleya in Nice. We're currently working on a family villa in Biot, a hotel for the Accor group in Spain and a house in Le Perreux sur Marne.
TSF
What does The Socialite Family mean to you?
Marion
I've had a real affection for the magazine since it was first published. I like the eclectic bias of the portraits, the notion of intimacy, opening the doors to people's homes without having to fit into style or fashion boxes for a magazine. The stories are both unique and friendly.
TSF
Do you have one or more favourite pieces in our collection?
Marin & Erkan
The Achille chair has perfect lines and proportions. And the timeless Carlotta coffee table with its pink marble top and iroko legs!
TSF
What are your go-to places in Nice?
Marion & Erkan
Fanfan et Loulou, La Cave des Copains, for natural wines, vinyl and good humour! Les Oeillets, at the bar in winter or on the terrace in summer, they welcome you as if you were visiting their home! And don't miss Barale for their ravioli and panisses, plus the team is so friendly. A few kilometres away is the Villa Kerylos in Beaulieu sur mer, an architectural gem inspired by ancient Greece.
)
Placed on the coffee table in the living room,
blends discreetly into its colourful surroundings.
)
)
Caravane pendant light in the master bedroom.
)
In the entrance, a full-length Lipstick mirror by Roger Lecal and a painting by Lucas Le Roy.
)
)
)
)
Recreate This Setting with Our Pieces
Related Story
)
Next Up