The historic Hellenistic-style residence on the southern coast of France hides within its walls an apartment that resembles a holiday destination on Mount Olympus.
Villa Primavera. This was the name given to the summer home of Alphonse Lenoir, a wealthy advertising executive who commissioned architect Arthur Demerlé (1868-1953) to realize his dream of a residence on the Côte d'Azur, on the southern coast of France – a region also known as the French Riviera. More than a century later, Vanessa Margowski, passionate about art and co-founder of Joya – a fair specializing in jewelry and precious stones – sees a wish of hers and her husband's come true: transforming an architectural whim from the early 20th century, divided into apartments since the 1950s, into the ideal home for her eclectic and sophisticated collection.
When we first entered, we were speechless. We had no doubt that it would become a life project. — Vanessa Margowski
Upon crossing the threshold of the imposing 240 m² two-bedroom property, the journey begins to an era in which the celebration of the Mediterranean and its classical myths echoes the infinite sea at your feet. The Doric columns that greet the visitor from the entrance are an architectural prologue of gray Attica marble (the same as the Parthenon in Athens), inviting one to observe the blue horizon stretching before the eyes of those who enter. The vision is completed by the work of the decorator and painter of the time, Jules Wielhorski (1875-1961), author of the markedly Art Nouveau ornamentation that covers the walls. Scenes inspired by the iconography of jars and vases from ancient Greece narrate, through murals, marble friezes and mosaic floors, the myths of Athena and Dionysus, and the poems of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
“When we first walked in, we were speechless. We had no doubt that it would become a life project,” says the homeowner. “It’s not easy to take ownership of a place so full of history and with such distinct characteristics. For us, it was an exercise in style. At the same time, the process helped us see design in a different way, no longer as individual objects, but as part of a functional decoration according to our needs, which is, moreover, the basis for creating a new story, a whole.”
The couple rose to the challenge: from the repertoire of pieces accumulated over the years, they created unusual combinations made with personality and an innate talent for set design. Free from the constraints of pre-existing spaces, the furniture presents itself as an element of rupture, but also of dialogue. This is a conversation between the geometries of the meanders of the walls, the tesserae of the floor and the sinuous lines of the chairs, between postmodern complements and the more rigid forms of the rationalist movement.
For us, it was a stylistic exercise. At the same time, the process helped us to see design in a different way. — Vanessa Margowski
Walking from one room to another, postcards follow one another, and the flow between environments, enhanced by the large, always-open doors, creates everyday scenes where nothing is by chance. The result is an intoxicating cacophony of silhouettes and eras that suggests an updated reading of the place. Furniture by Carlo Scarpa, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Josef Hoffmann, Philippe Starck, Kazuhide Takahama, and Ettore Sottsass enliven every corner, along with a 1950s lacquered table from Japan and a rudimentary African chaise lounge from the Senufo tribe. Sideboards, tables, side tables, and fireplaces become improvised displays for small decorations, which feature bronze sculptures, glass objects, vases, malachite boxes, and other precious materials.
Books abound everywhere, propped up here and there, enlivening the various surfaces and providing the hosts with hours of reading accompanied by the song of swallows. The icing on the cake comes in the form of several works by contemporary artists – from Andrea Branzi to Luigi Ghirri, passing through Mark Handforth and Sam Falls. In this unique haven, surrounded by the lush nature of Cap-d’Ail, art, design and history come together to create a cultured and contemporary home.
