Family
In Paris, a classic apartment brought to life by the joy of cheerful colours
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Tiphaine Verdier, Albertine aged 17 and George aged 15
In the secluded verdant enclave of a serene Parisian neighbourhood, the leafy courtyard offers seclusion behind the grand porch of a bourgeois building, adjacent to Parc Monceau. Few would suspect that atop one of these elegant edifices sits a spacious family cabin adorned with walls splashed in vibrant, cheerful hues. For Tiphaine Verdier, resident of this apartment christened "the new life", colour becomes a quasi-militant act of happiness. Freshly separated, she redefines her daily existence alongside her two teenagers, Albertine and George. Envisioned as a sanctuary, the apartment programme is crafted to cocoon the family in peace and merriment during this transitional period. With the unwavering bond of a steadfast trio and some magician-like tactics – from wall paint to thrifted furnishings – the space is transformed, even without ownership. This encounter evokes a tinge of emotion, akin to the early days of spring.
Location
Paris
Author
Elsa Cau
Photos and videos
Jeanne Perrotte, Elsa David
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At home, Tiphaine Verdier blends genres and eras, unhesitant to reupholster antique pieces to suit her interior.
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TSF
Tiphaine, Albertine, George: can you tell us who you are, please?
Tiphaine
I'm lucky enough to be the mother of these two wacky characters (laughs). I'm 50 years old, and I've set up a decorating brand: Les Causeuses.
George
I'm 15 years old, I'm at secondary school in year 10, and I'm a fan of hip-hop. I have a deep love of dance. I started by going to ballet for five years when I was very young. In London, I did gymnastics.
Albertine
You've become excellent. I'd never seen anything like it. I didn't think it was possible. You'd never done it before, and after two months, you were doing triple somersaults!
George
When I got back to Paris, I discovered contemporary dance. I did it for a year, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then, I discovered hip-hop. I've been passionate about it ever since.
Albertine
I'm 17 and in my final year of secondary school. I love cinema and theatre. Next year, I'll be studying business in Rotterdam. Ideally, it would be for production. Because two or three years ago, I discovered a real passion for cinema. But I know what I'm good at, and I think I could do well in management and business. The producer's job is, to some extent, the result of a convergence between art and creativity, and I really like that, and then there's the management and budgeting side.
TSF
When did you arrive here?
Tiphaine
We arrived just under a year ago, last June.
TSF
Did you have to do a lot of work?
Tiphaine
Actually, we are tenants here. So we were limited in the work we could do. When we arrived, there was nothing but white walls. And that brownish staircase! It floated there, in the middle, and I had to rack my brains to make it disappear without repainting everything, everywhere... In the end, I decided to repaint the entrance in the same colour as the staircase!
TSF
You've moved around a lot up to now.
Albertine
But we've always known this area. We lived here as a family before moving to London... and coming back twice!
Tiphaine
The first time, we stayed in London for eight years. The second time, one year.
TSF
Was it easy to make these changes in your lives?
George
I was in Year 6, so it wasn't too difficult, especially as going to secondary school represents a new beginning for many children - even if I sometimes think I would have preferred life in London.
Albertine
The change in schooling has had an impact on me. I really thrived on the English way of teaching and the way you are constantly encouraged. We also had a very different teacher-student relationship from here: the teachers are part of your life; they know it. Here, it's much stricter, it seems to me. I loved the sport, the unlimited creativity, and the organisation too: finishing school at 15:00, followed by lots of activities. Technically, we probably spent less time studying, but I'm convinced that we were hyper-productive when we were working, and we had the desire to work! In fact, I know exactly what I studied during those years. In any case, coming back was complicated for me. I went back to the neighbourhood and to school, but it was hard to reconnect with the people I'd left behind, the groups of friends that had broken up. But it was difficult for all of us.
Tiphaine
It's linked to our separation, their father's and mine. The two times we went to London, it was for John's work. We were very happy there, in Notting Hill, but I missed France. My roots are here, and I feel very French. The second time in London, life happened... and I came home earlier than planned. With the children!
Albertine
We'd only just settled in properly, and that's what made it so hard. I should have known something was up: I was planning my birthday at the time, and you were saying yes to everything (laughs)! Now our father lives here too.
Tiphaine
He doesn't live far away. At the time, we weren't quite separated... he joined us here, in Paris. Then we made the decision, and I lived in the apartment we refer to as 'transitional'.
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The apartment's entrance posed a real challenge upon the family's arrival. "It was just there, in the middle, completely drab: I eventually decided to repaint the entrance in the same colour as the staircase," explains Tiphaine Verdier.
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I was looking for a bedside lamp. I found this one and thought it was a very small lamp. Instead, this huge lamp arrived with, initially, an even bigger shade. I decided to do something about it : I turned it into a floor lamp by placing it on a stool that gives the impression of being an extension of the foot. Now, it's like a sculpture, a huge piece of candy.
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Our
, perfectly matching the colours of the living room.
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TSF
So here we are in the apartment that belongs to your new life. The one you chose together.
Tiphaine
Yes! There are no four-way memories here. It's a new beginning. And it did indeed take me a long time to find the apartment because places mean so much to me. Maybe that merits psychoanalysis.... (laughs). In short, I loved the space and the fact that it was a duplex, and the children loved it, too. We're very lucky to be able to live here, but the flat was pretty sterile. I've been thinking about how to change the decor temporarily so that, one day, we can put everything back the way it was when we moved here. The kitchen was all white tiles and white furniture.
TSF
Did you children have any say in the decoration?
Albertine
Let's just say that there's something new every time I come back home. One day, I got back here, I was with a friend, and the dining room was yellow... but fluorescent!
Tiphaine
That was the only time the children said: no, it's too much!
Albertine
After that, we repainted and then changed it again, and I think we've probably gained a metre of wall thickness by dint of painting (laughs).
George
But I really like it green!
Albertine
It's sad, but I don't really have an eye for it. Generally speaking, when you're putting a room together and decorating it, Mum, I can't see where you're going with it. But it turns out great every time. If I'd gone with you to the shop to buy the fluorescent yellow curtains (again!), I'd have said, "What on earth are you doing! ". But you've actually got a talent for assimilating objects that are quite strange at times, but it looks good.
George
I knew when we arrived that we were going to do the same thing as all the other apartments! It's true what Albertine says: when it's underway, you can't really know where it's going. But as soon as it's finished, you feel good, and you love it!
TSF
And your bedrooms? If I've understood correctly, it's "Hands off! »
Albertine
I'm a very messy person, and it took me two months to unpack my boxes of stuff! As long as my desk is there and my bed is there, I'm fine. Although, that didn't stop me coming back from holiday one day to find my wall had been painted!
Tiphaine
Barely white with a little touch of pink in it. It's not even visible; it's just a change from white...
George
My bedroom's always been a bit quirky!
Tiphaine
In London, it was a real cupboard (laughs).
George
When I returned to France, my bedroom was a bit dark. I didn't really like it. But here, I love it. It's neither too small nor too big. And what's more, I've got a big bed. I'm not like my sister. I'm very fussy, and I tidy everything up - at least in my bedroom. In short, it's white, too, and understated, but otherwise, I love what my mum's done with the apartment; it's warm. Cosy.
Tiphaine
But there's dialogue, all the same. There's a lot of dialogue between us! What's more, when Albertine leaves next year, there will be a void. We're very close; we form a real trio. We laugh a lot. We shout a lot, too! I've tried to create a cocoon here. As I do every time, but with the added need for reparation. We need to repair the family that we are, and it's always an emotionally delicate time after a separation. I have a passion for room settings and boxes in general. And I feel like I've transformed these rooms into safe, soothing, happy little boxes. At least, I hope you feel it, too!
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In the dining room, more rustic pieces, such as the tapestry and the paintings on the walls, sit alongside the custom-made pink onyx table.
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Our
sits atop the marble fireplace in the dining room.
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TSF
Tiphaine, what environment did you grow up in, and how did it influence your taste?
Tiphaine
My parents are art lovers, and I spent all my weekends in auction rooms and flea markets, with my nose stuck in old books and locked up in attics. And then we'd go to the museum to see exhibitions. Yes, we were a cultivated family with a culture of beauty and respect for a certain tradition. My mother was a literature teacher, and my father ran a property management company, but I think he got very bored. So, on top of that, he also taught architecture at the Beaux-Arts: that was his little escape valve! I think I've had it in me since I was a little girl, and my family has a lot to do with it.
TSF
What was your parents' apartment like in Paris?
Tiphaine
It's funny; I was thinking about this a little while ago because we had a salmon-pink dining room. A bit like my living room! Otherwise, my parents love old things: paintings and comfy old armchairs. But I like a mix of things. When I was growing up, I did a foundation course at Penninghen and then went on to Studio Berçot. But the fashion world didn't appeal to me. I went on to do a DEA, a postgrad qualification in art history. After that, I worked in a gallery. Then it all came together: I got married and moved to London, where I worked for an illustration agency. And when I had the children, no doubt instinctively, I got closer to the world of childhood. I've done things for the Bonton brand, for example.
TSF
When did you set up Les Causeuses?
Tiphaine
In 2016. The adventure began with two people. I sourced the fabrics and a friend who was an upholsterer fitted them to the seats. Initially, it was really bench seats. I used to hunt out school benches, and I also had some made in the south of France. Then we wallpapered. We soon went our separate ways, and I continued on my own. I don't just go shopping for fabrics: I have some made with my own designs in the north of France. And now I also produce my own wall lamps for Les Causeuses. That's where I'm at now, and there's something else I want to do - I want to move into decorating consultancy and set design. Which I've started to do, little by little.
TSF
You've been here for a year, settled in with the children.
Tiphaine
I think I carry the regret of not having a family life, and I don't know if I'll carry it for long or not. We've been happy. There's bound to be a sense of failure, and I say that quite naturally. But I have great children and I get on really well with them. And then, of course, there's the advantage of being able to choose all the colours you like (laughs)! In any case, when I come back here, I'm always very happy. I find a kind of harmony there.
TSF
Is colour a form of therapy?
Tiphaine
Whatever the situation, it all starts with colour. I don't start with a piece of furniture to decorate, but with a colour. Here, I really wanted something super-embracing, soft and warm, at least for the living room. And it's true that colour has an incredible effect on us.
TSF
How would you describe the colours you've chosen?
Tiphaine
I'd say they're clear-cut. In other words, there are some very strong colours, like the kitchen, with a pinkish cherry red, in contrast with a true, bright green, an English green, but modern. There's also an almond green in the dining room, which has a softer, more country feel. In fact, I've taken advantage of this spirit to include a tapestry and paintings that match it. And the living room, where we feel comfortable and serene, with this pink interspersed with a bright yellow, perhaps more modern. It's certainly joyful (laughs). It seems to reflect me: I laugh at everything all the time, even when things aren't going well. It's true that, for me, joy is therapy, and it's essential.
TSF
Tell us about something you particularly like, or that amuses you here.
Tiphaine
I was looking for a bedside lamp. I found this one by Roche Bobois on Selency. I thought it was a very small lamp. Instead, this huge lamp (editor's note, in the living room) arrived with, initially, an even bigger shade. I decided to do something about it, and I wanted to make it even bigger: I turned it into a floor lamp by placing it on a stool (editor's note, India Madhavi for Monoprix) that gives the impression of being an extension of the foot. Now, it's like a sculpture, a huge piece of candy. In a completely different style, I've placed this wall lamp by Hans Kogl on the wall next to my fake floor lamp. The light is lovely and subdued.
TSF
What's your favorite piece from The Socialite Family collection?
Tiphaine
I adore the Marta lamp, I couldn't resist it. I find the color and the mix of materials very subtle; it has found its perfect place in my living room. I also love the Duetto vases, their playful shapes, and the colorful combinations. And the simplicity of the Mara shelf line that beautifully complements a sofa.
TSF
Do you have any good recommendations in your neighborhood?
Tiphaine
MobilHome (108 rue Legendre, Paris XVII) is a must-visit for fans of 1950s and 1960s vintage. That's where I found my little Knoll bench that I reupholstered in a yellow fabric from Pierre Frey. Plaka (46 rue Legendre, Paris XVII) has been in the neighborhood for less than a year: it's the best Greek caterer I know! Dimitri can also organize tailor-made events for you. La Marguerite (106 rue Cardinet, Paris XVII) offers the most beautiful selection of cut flowers in the neighborhood, in a delicate and colorful atmosphere. Moustache (42 avenue de Wagram, Paris XVII) is the go-to place for our furry friends, dogs, and cats. You're welcomed with good humor and care! Lastly, Cave en Terrasse (17 rue de la Terrasse, Paris XVII). Lise, passionate about fine wines, gives excellent advice for choosing a wine for any occasion. Tasting available on-site!
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Plat de présentation, coupe à fruits ou simple vide-poches,
trouve toujours sa place dans la maison !
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Is colour a form of therapy ? Whatever the situation, it does all start with colour. I don't start with a piece of furniture to decorate, but with a colour. Here, I really wanted something super-embracing, soft and warm, at least for the living room. And it's true that colour has an incredible effect on us.
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