Family
An artist's retreat that feels like the countryside, right in the heart of Paris
At
Olivia Roland, Alexandra and Julien Hananel, Anouk 6 years old and Théodore, 10 years old.
She could be the Amélie Poulain of the Left Bank, with a smile for everyone and a special affection for life's little moments. Olivia Roland lives freely—an important term—and alone, but don’t be fooled: hers is a life full of company. Her cat, Providence, is never far away, even if he refused to appear in our family photo. Her friends, whom she considers a second family, are always nearby, as is her actual family. Olivia has chosen to share this moment with her nephew Julien and his wife Alexandra, to whom she is very close, not to mention their children, Anouk and Théodore. Their beds are always ready, and the fridge is always stocked. But it’s not just for them: in the heart of Paris, Olivia has created a true country retreat. Everything is prepared for the passing friend, the unexpected visitor, the child coming to play. The door and windows are always open, the garden ready to welcome, the table set. Approaching her home, one can’t help but think of the painter Ary Scheffer’s house, now the Musée de la Vie Romantique in the Nouvelle Athènes district of Paris. A white house with green shutters and a lot of eclecticism: is this the secret of happiness? Add a touch of mischief, conversations about bold life choices, and an Art Nouveau fireplace… yes, time has stopped and brightened, in the heart of a rainy summer.
Location
Paris
Author
Elsa Cau
Photos and videos
Clothilde Redon, Elsa David
TSF
Can you tell us about yourself, Olivia?
Olivia
Where to begin? I love colour and mixing genres, whatever they are; I love all sorts of people, whatever their background. I've got friends from 4 to 90 years old. I like to mix 'n match aesthetics, whether it's an interior or fashion. I'm a bit of a Jack of all trades. I really enjoy bargain hunting, and nurturing the creativity we all have as kids, where everything is amazing. I was a freelance journalist and copywriter in a previous life. Aside from that, I've always loved making things. We didn't talk about upcycling back then, but it's now the term. Making blouses from old curtains, necklaces from old keys found lurking in drawers or collages from photos and letters that I never had copies of, etc. Until such a time when it became my job. My job is to transform materials, mainly vintage fabrics, and create new pieces. So, I'll take a dress or a scarf and transform it into a cushion or a bag.
TSF
So, when did you leave journalism to become a designer?
Olivia
Around a decade ago. I came across a stockpile of old scarves and began to buy them. For me they were like paintings, and I wanted to pay tribute to the artists who designed them. Plus I feel the cold, so I made a reversible poncho with a patchwork lining made out of silk scarves. Which led to my partnership with Petit H (ed: Hermès). I make a garment for them that's more of a "cape". I put the pieces together one by one. At the same time, I hold several private sales each year by reservation.
TSF
What sort of environment did you grow up in and how did it influence your taste and lifestyle?
Olivia
My parents took me everywhere as a child: museums, concerts, ballets, gardens, to admire beautiful things, uplifting things. My mum created a British-style home when we lived in Boulogne. She mixed 'n matched fabrics even if the overall style was classic. As for me, I loved the Bloomsbury Set, it was a creative, artistic movement, they were a group, they stood out. Even as a child I particularly loved silk and fur, even though it's no longer politically correct to say so (laughs). I remember my mother's drawers smelled of Jicky (ed. a Guerlain perfume). She placed soaps on the silk scarves in her drawers and then wear one as a headscarf or around her neck or wrap one and pop it in a bag. It was soft and sweet. Plus us kids never wore big silk scarves like that. Mixing things up was something I learned from my parents. My mum made bouquets and presented a TV show segment on how to arrange bouquets - there weren't many TV stations back then. She published books and wrote articles for British magazines... Flowers are a bit like fabrics. Meaning if you don't actually paint, it's a way to create paintings. I think that's where it comes from. Plus I always had fun. When I was a kid, there were always boxes full of buttons, ribbons and house linen. I thought it was lovely, but that the pieces needed to 'live'.
TSF
And your father?
Olivia
My dad was a property developer. So he was obviously a fan of architecture. He also liked modern, abstract paintings. In brief, my parents were people who lived by what they loved. It's true that when I think about it, I also need harmony, things that calm me, comfort me, a gentleness. I need to create a bubble around me. When I stay at hotels, I create a little home-from-home. I'll hang necklaces in front of the window and lay a big shawl across the bottom of the bed. I sort of create my own clutter - a bit like a gypsy caravan!
TSF
You have always lived an atypical lifestyle.
Olivia
When my mother passed away, my dad found himself alone in a big house and would call me very often. I decided I should reorganise my life, so I moved into a big house in Boulogne with him. We were lucky to have a home big enough to allow us our own space. Funnily enough, back then my nephew and brother both lived there, plus two nieces who swung by for a while and a friend who lived there between moves. So it really was a cross-generational home! But there still needed to be rules, of course! My dad wasn't young, so it wasn't about all of us sitting down to eat dinner together. For anyone living here, when it was 'whiskey o'clock' - an after-work habit my dad kept up - we'd rustle something up. It was easy-going and fun. He taught us how to enjoy getting older, to take an interest in others, for want of a better word. He taught me that as we age, the secret is to not be introspective as you'll end up focussing on fading looks, the slowing down or feeling that you've underachieved and so on. So no to all that; it's important to be interested in others - the kids, the grandchildren, friends, friends of friends, etc. I stayed by his side until the end. It was an atypical life. We were lucky not be stuck in a tiny space, that would have been impossible...
I love the mix of genres, whatever they may be: styles, objects, fashion, people... I have friends aged from 4 to 90.
TSF
I get the impression that even though you live alone, you still have a home that's open to everyone.
Olivia
When I moved in here, I immediately wanted a home that was open to everyone. The fridge is more or less full, I love having people over for lunch or dinner, or settling down with a drink around the coffee table. I have two families: my actual family and my family of friends. Friendship is a huge part of my life. I can't overestimate its importance. More important than love... Meaning I'm a better friend than a lover because, for me, love is part and parcel of friendships. Love and lust are great, but fleeting. You need to reach a moment when love and friendship combine. And I believe that involves a lot of talking, sharing, lots of different things.
TSF
Are your friends still around even though they may now have growing families?
Olivia
Yes, but I'm also very respectful of that. I don't call them as often, but I have become friends with their children, we have our own connection. Nowadays my friends' kids are my friends, we have meals together, and we chat. They're a big part of my life, it's moving to watch them grow up, have opinions, work like mad, fall in love. All that to say I have friends of all ages in my entourage! I didn't have kids. So I love them - I've got friends from 4 to 90! Maybe that's why I never wanted to become a mother. I never felt ready, it was never an issue. Back then, when I was 30, it was more complicated. I wasn't against motherhood. I just didn't think about it, it wasn't my time. And I never got pregnant by accident. If someone were to ask me, I can't explain exactly why I never had children.
TSF
Despite that, I get the impression you have a far bigger 'family' than if you had a partner and children!
Olivia
That may well be, I do have a close relationship with all my friends. When it comes to matters of the heart, I'm sure men think there are too many others in my life. Because to be with me means accepting the other people in my life. They may not be my children, but they are my friends.
TSF
What relationship do you have with your nephew, his wife and your great-nephews, who are here with us today?
Olivia
I'm very close to Julien as we lived together in our cross-generational family home. When my dad and I lived together in the big house, Julien also came to live there. He's a nephew who's like a younger brother. Alexandra, his wife, is like a niece to me. Plus he and my dad loved each other dearly. They're a fantastic couple with lovely kids who come by often. They'll sleep over, we do stuff together at the weekend or on Wednesdays (a French school day off). I have banquette seats in the living room so the kids and my friends can stay the night. I converted a loft space above the living room to create a small bedroom that's mainly for the kids. They can also sleep upstairs. In my mind, having a home is also about welcoming everyone to it.
TSF
How did you find your home and have you ever lived here as part of a couple?
Olivia
Not really. I was in a couple when I found the place, but it was during lockdown. I found the house and thought how nice it would be to have a place with an outdoor space, plus a place that was mine. I was in a relationship with someone who didn't like the countryside. So it was like a country home, but in Paris. The right word, I guess, would be a Dacha. A British meets Russian house that pays homage to the 19th century with furniture and objects brought back from a trip abroad. My partner at the time did give me a wonderful gift - the lovely Art Nouveau fireplace.
TSF
What work did you carry out here?
Olivia
When I arrived the interior was very 70s, with a jacuzzi downstairs and an upside-down layout. The living room and kitchen upstairs and the bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor. The upstairs had a fitted carpet and the kitchen a terracotta floor I repainted, changed the flooring, the windows, the heating. For example, we found tiles when we removed the carpet. I also did the loft conversion to make a big room for the kids. It's their den! It was the first time I'd tackled a renovation, I didn't know what clearing rubble and rubbish meant! I'm an expert now! I used an architect for the house's layout and did the decor myself, in my way and not in an interior design/architect's way. It's quite the opposite really, because nothing is really set in stone.
TSF
Here, we write on the walls and furniture, and we reuse and customise fabrics.
Olivia
It goes back to lockdown. I took over a wall, I started to write and draw on it, stick things on it. I was already making and customising lampshades. So in the living room I had fun making a 'visitors' lampshade rather than a guest book, which is actually on a wall. Visitors signed it with handprints.
TSF
What about the rest of the decor? What sort of ambiance did you want to create?
Olivia
I based the living room - and the interior in general - around one piece, the green and purple Art Nouveau fireplace. These two colours form a common thread throughout the house. I have low seating, I love us all sitting on the floor, like in 1970s Morocco! And I've thrown in pieces I bargain hunted, much of which I upcycled. For example, I found this small banquette seat and spray-painted it gold. I bargain-hunted the fabric and made a double mattress. I made the cushions with bargain-hunted fabrics. I also make them to order, sometimes with fabrics that people want upcycled as they have a sentimental value.
TSF
Tell us about some objects here that you hold close to your heart.
Olivia
When I was born, my dad gave my mum a small drawing by Foujita. I cherish it. My mum, you see, fell pregnant at 45. It was like becoming a mum aged 55 today. Overall, the paintings and photos you see here are by friends like Edit Baudran and Julien Drach, or even my nephew Julien Hananel, plus collages by Axelle Viannet... I have very eclectic tastes. See the egg collection in my living room? They come from all over the place. It's become a game with my guests, they bring them back from their travels... wood, sewn, Russian, Wedgewood, painted ones...
TSF
There's something a bit British about your home.
Olivia
Brits are great a making things cosy, not to mention their comforting traditions - take tea time, for example. Yeah, I like their comfy, soft chairs with lots of cushions and a range of prints...
TSF
Not to mention your love of rattan!
Olivia
I found the living room cabinet at a flea market; it’s by Perret & Vibert, the predecessors of CFOC (Compagnie française d'Orient et de Chine, editor's note). Rattan has been a recurring theme here. Then, I found the chest of drawers for my bedroom on Leboncoin. Over time, I have blended old rattan, English rattan, French rattan from the 1950s, and Second Empire rattan.
TSF
You were lucky to find a place in Paris with a little garden...
Olivia
I loved the outdoor space the moment I arrived. I wanted to create a pot-filled garden seeing as it's very shaded, but keeping with my colour scheme: green, white, purple, mauve. Plus the rattan, so it feels like the garden and interior are one, like winter garden furniture. And for the downstairs bathroom, I wanted a little green garden shed-style.
TSF
So, where will we find you in the coming months?
Olivia
I'll still be organising private upcycled scarf clothing and accessory sales by appointment. People can get in touch via my Instagram. I call it virtuous luxury: I work with small quantities according to my latest finds.
TSF
What are the good places in your neighbourhood?
Olivia
Le Naguère, a café on rue Daguerre, is a place like no other. It's like stepping into a Sautet film, minus the smoke, with the addition of newspapers: it doubles as a kiosk! The Giacometti Institute is located in a small private mansion that belonged to Paul Follot, blending Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. You can even take drawing classes there! The Cave des Papilles for its natural and organic wines. Montparnasse Cemetery, a green lung in the city that I have gradually come to appreciate. Its presence weighed on me at first, but I learned to walk through it and sometimes linger there.
TSF
What does The Socialite Family represent to you?
Olivia
Constance Gennari had a wonderful idea: she proves that you can develop a brand with generosity. By attaching it to a media platform open to the art of living together and family—whatever the family model—you uphold values that are dear to me.
TSF
Do you have one or more favourite pieces from our collection?
Olivia
I have a weakness for glass objects, especially the Marta lamps and the Duetto vases. Between sculptures and candies, they bring joy to the utilitarian. I also like the Rotondo modular sofas which adapt and allow for change.