Jacques Grange

THE MASTER OF ECLECTIC DESIGN. Jacques Grange is a world-famous French interior designer, renowned for his eclectic style, high-profile celebrity clientele, and classical training. Born on June 27, 1944, in France, Jacques studied at the École Boulle and the École Camondo in Paris. He worked under legendary designer Henri Samuel, assisting on major restorations like the Grand Trianon at Versailles. Jacques opened his own Paris-based design firm in 1970. Known for seamlessly blending traditional and contemporary tastes, he combines high art, antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries, and modern statement pieces with a touch of wit.

22 minutes read time.

You can listen to the podcast of this interview here.

Jacques Grange, how did you discover that you wanted to become an interior designer?

When I was at school, I was never very interested in conventional subjects, but I was always the best at drawing and painting. My mother realised very early that art was my passion. Every Thursday she took me to the children’s workshops at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and eventually she suggested that I apply to the École Boulle.

I was accepted when I was fifteen, and it changed my life. Suddenly I found myself surrounded by craftsmen, artists and people who cared about beauty. After Boulle I continued at the École Camondo, where I studied interior architecture. By the time I graduated, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Through a family friend I managed to meet Henri Samuel. I asked if I could join his office, and, fortunately, he accepted me. I was only twenty. Working with Henri Samuel for three years was an extraordinary education. He taught me what quality really means. I followed the restoration of the Grand Trianon at Versailles, visited Diego Giacometti to commission furniture for the flat he did it for Marcel Bleustein Blanchet, a very important in Paris, proprietor of Publicis, and saw the chateau being restored for the Rothschild family. I was exposed to the highest standards of decoration.

Jacques Grange

Jacques Grange, you have often spoken about Jean-Michel Frank.

I never knew him, of course. He had already died when I discovered his work in 1968. But I still remember the first time I entered the salon Jean-Michel Frank had designed for Marie-Laure de Noailles. I was overwhelmed. It was one of those moments when your idea of beauty changes forever.

Soon afterwards I met Madeleine Castaing, whose work I also admired enormously. Frank and Castaing were very different, but they both taught me that decoration is not simply about furniture; it is about atmosphere.

Yves Saint Laurent loved Jean-Michel Frank just as much as I did. He used to say that Frank’s salon for Marie-Laure de Noailles was the eighth wonder of the world. We shared that admiration, and it was one of the reasons we understood each other so well when we began working together.

How did that relationship begin?

It began as a friendship. At first I designed his studio, and gradually I became responsible for all of his houses. Eventually I worked on almost every project for Yves and Pierre Bergé. Those were extraordinary years.

Including Château Gabriel?

Yes. Château Gabriel, of course, but also the houses in Marrakech with Bill Willis, and later Villa Mabrouka in Tangier. I’m particularly happy that Villa Mabrouka has become a hotel without losing its soul. Jasper Conran restored it and respected the spirit of what we had created for Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. That gives me enormous pleasure.

Morocco became one of your great inspirations.

Absolutely. Morocco opened another world for me. I discovered Orientalism there, and I fell in love with it. Later I travelled to India, which had an equally profound effect on me. Then, in 1974, I went to Iran to work for members of the Pahlavi family. Visiting Isfahan was unforgettable.

Your interiors are known for bringing together classical and contemporary pieces with complete ease.

Every house belongs to its own context. The location is always the starting point. You cannot decorate a house in Marrakech in the same way as a penthouse in New York, or a beach house in Comporta, or an apartment in Paris. Every place tells you how it wants to live. Only afterwards do you begin mixing periods: eighteenth-century furniture, contemporary art, Art Deco, modern sculpture. The dialogue between different eras creates life.

You once said that every successful interior needs “a mistake in taste”.

People always ask me about that. What I really mean is surprise. A room should never be entirely predictable. If everything is perfect, it becomes boring. There has to be one unexpected element, something that disturbs the harmony just enough to make it memorable. That is not bad taste. It is personality.

You live in Colette’s apartment at the Palais-Royal.

Yes, and I realise how lucky I am. I lived on the Left Bank, in an artist’s studio near Saint-Sulpice. Then one day a friend called me and said, “You must come and see Colette’s apartment.” After Colette died, her husband inherited it. Later his second wife lived there, and she offered to rent it to me. She told me, “Live here for fifteen years, and afterwards it will go to my son.” I couldn’t resist. Fate intervened in a rather sad way because her son died before her, and eventually I was able to buy the apartment. Sometimes life gives you extraordinary opportunities.

You have had several of them. Comporta is another example.

That was completely accidental. Vera Espírito Santo Iachia worked in my office. One day I went to Portugal in a small plane. I looked down and saw this huge beach. When I returned to Paris I asked her where it was. She told me it belonged to her family. I went immediately and fell in love. The dunes, the rice fields, the Atlantic—it was paradise. Her mother Nina was considering selling one of the houses on the dunes. Three people were interested, but she very generously offered it to me first. I accepted immediately.

Jacques Grange, you discovered Comporta long before it became fashionable.

At that time almost nobody knew it. What struck me was that it was one of the last untouched beaches in Europe. It was peaceful, safe and completely unspoilt. The climate is marvellous. When I first arrived people could hardly believe such a place still existed. I helped people discover it.

Many of your friends followed you there.

Yes. Pierre Passebon came, and many others after him. I love that Comporta has remained simple. The Atlantic is very important there. I have always loved the Atlantic, perhaps because Tangier is also on the Atlantic, but Portugal gave me something different. It allowed me to have my own place, independent of my friend Saint Laurent’s world.

You have worked not only on private houses but also on remarkable hotels. Palazzo Margherita in Bernalda, Italy, for Francis Ford Coppola, for example.

It is a marvellous pleasure to work with Coppola. The first thing I received from him was a handwritten letter beginning, “My name is Francis Ford Coppola…” I laughed and told my assistant, “I want to meet this man immediately.” He was very easy to work with. Exactly like Yves Saint Laurent, he gave me a theme and trusted me to develop it. When that trust exists, the relationship becomes effortless.

When you enter a new house for the first time, what do you see?

I have to understand how the house wants to function, because every client lives differently. Some have children, some entertain constantly, others live almost alone. I redesign the floor plan and then decide on the style and I begin to mix periods and materials. I have never believed that everything should come from the same century. I like eighteenth-century furniture beside contemporary sculpture, Art Deco beside modern painting. I have been lucky because so many of my clients are collectors, so I can put fantastic works on the walls. My best American client has five Brâncuși, Picasso, Giacometti and Yves Klein. To work with masterpieces like those is marvellous.

Isn’t it a bit intimidating?

Not at all. Art has always been part of my life. It’s easy for me. Don’t forget Yves Saint Laurent was one of the greatest collectors of his generation. Marie-Laure de Noailles surrounded herself with extraordinary artists. I grew up professionally among people who lived with art every day. When I stayed with Marie-Laure for two summers at her villa in Hyères, I discovered Robert Mallet-Stevens’ architecture, the furniture of Francis Jourdain and Diego Giacometti’s lighting.

You have always championed contemporary artists as well.

Very much so. I admire Daniel Buren, Giuseppe Penone, Maurizio Cattelan and many others. I remember meeting Penone after buying one of his sculptures. He explained that the arrangement of the leaves suggested the outline of a human face. I loved hearing him speak about his work. I need to organise a visit to his studio. My friend Daniela Memmo d’Amelio knows him very well and she promised to go with me to the Penone studio in Turin. Daniela Memmo d’Amelio also loves the work of Osanna Visconti with a passion, as do I. She is so talented and she never stops working. Her work is now getting known all over and it’s great.

You have always mixed many people of great talent together.

I met Mattia Bonetti many years ago, when he was working with Elizabeth Garouste. His imagination was extraordinary and later we worked together and organised exhibitions. We discovered the ceramicist Bela Silva. Pierre Passebon and I also discovered Jacques Royère and Alexandre Noll long before they became fashionable. Pierre organised important exhibitions, and together we published the first book on Noll. The important thing is never to close your eyes. There is always something new to discover.

Jacques Grange

Jacques Grange

Jacques Grange

Photo by Nicolas Matheus

Jacques Grange, friendship seems to play an important role in your work.

It does. Many of my clients become friends, and many of my friends become clients. I have always preferred long relationships to constant change. Some American clients have worked with me for more than twenty years. François Pinault has trusted me for decades. Paloma Picasso has been my friend almost all my life. Francis Ford Coppola became a friend through work. I think decoration is based on trust. You are entering someone’s private life. That requires confidence on both sides.

Madison Cox has said that your work has changed over the years.

I met Madison many years ago, soon after he arrived in Paris from America. Since then we have collaborated on gardens all over the world. We worked together in Marrakech, then in Comporta, in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and elsewhere. He understands my way of thinking, just as I understand his. Working with people you admire makes everything easier.

Your clients seem remarkably loyal.

I am loyal to them too. One American client began with a single apartment. Since then I have designed almost every house he owns. The same is true of many other clients. Per Skarstedt asked me to design his homes in New York and Paris, and recently he called again with another project. The conversation is always the same. “Jacques, I need you.” That makes me very happy.

You have also worked with some remarkable architects.

Yes. I greatly admire Renzo Piano. For Jérôme Seydoux I designed many houses over several decades. When Renzo built the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé in Paris, I had the opportunity to meet him. Later, during the renovation of the Pathé Palace, he asked me to work on the historic rooms that could not be altered architecturally. It was a wonderful collaboration. Renzo has an extraordinary sense of light and space. Everything appears simple, but nothing is accidental. That is very rare.

His museums have that quality too.

Exactly. The Fondation Beyeler near Basel is one of my favourite museums because the rapport between the building, the landscape and the art feels completely natural.

Listening to you, it sounds as though work and friendship are almost inseparable.

Perhaps they are. I have designed only a handful of hotels, but each project became a friendship. The Mark Hotel in New York is one example. The Cappuccino Hotel in Palma de Mallorca is another. Afterwards I designed a house in Seville for the owner, then another hotel project, then an apartment in Madrid. The work never really ends because the friendship continues.

You work all over the world.

That has been one of the great joys of my life. I have worked in Peru, Morocco, Portugal, Italy, Spain, the United States, South Korea and many other countries. Every place teaches you something. In Lima I designed a large triplex apartment for a wonderful client. Later I continued to work with him in New York and now I just finished his country house near New York.

Does your studio remain in Paris?

Paris is my base. The office has about twenty people, and we also have a smaller studio in New York. Many members of my team have worked with me for decades. Serge, for example, who is here with me now, has been beside me for almost forty years. That continuity is invaluable. People begin to understand your instincts without long explanations.

Do you ever stop thinking about projects?

Never. Often the best ideas arrive at night. I wake up thinking about a room, or imagining a different arrangement for a client. It has always been like that. I don’t separate my life from my work. There is no reason to stop. Madeleine Castaing worked until the end of her life, with pencil and paper still in her hand. I understand her perfectly.

Where do you find the objects that make your interiors so distinctive?

Everywhere. Antique dealers, galleries, auctions, flea markets. Paris is extraordinary because everything exists there, from eighteenth-century furniture to contemporary design and the fantastic auction houses of Christies and Sotheby’s. I also buy constantly in Italy, Spain and Portugal. Sometimes I discover something in Florence, sometimes in Sardinia, sometimes at the Marché aux Puces. I can find a fantastic armchair, bench, or table anywhere.

You worked with Yves Saint Laurent for many years. Was he a demanding client?

Not at all, because as I told you he never imposed details. Instead, he gave you an idea, almost like the beginning of a novel. For Château Gabriel, he said, “I want a Proustian house. Every bedroom should evoke a different character from À la recherche du temps perdu.” That was enough. Then he suggested that some rooms should recall Monet’s Nymphéas. We decided that the darker rooms would have darker interpretations, while the sunny rooms would be lighter and more luminous. He also spoke about Visconti’s movies, and in Tangier about eccentric English ladies with chintz sofas, country houses, about fabrics and atmosphere. Francis Ford Coppola works in exactly the same way. Creative people understand collaboration based on confidence. They choose the right people and allow them to develop an idea.

Tangier was an important project?

Very much so. The British antique dealer Christopher Gibbs established a remarkable world there, and Bill Willis created the decorative language of Marrakech that so many people later admired. I was fortunate to know them all. Today, when I return to Villa Mabrouka in Tangier, now a hotel, I am deeply moved because its spirit has survived and the new owner Conran called me and said, “Jacques, Jacques, come, come.” Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a house continue to live without losing its identity.

People seem to call you simply “Jacques”.

Clients, craftsmen, assistants, old friends—everyone says “Jacques”. I hadn’t really noticed until you pointed it out. But perhaps that is how I have always wanted relationships to be: direct, uncomplicated and personal.

What matters most in your profession? Taste? Knowledge? The eye?

All of those things. You need an eye, certainly, but you also need culture. You have to know painting, sculpture, architecture, furniture, gardens, history. Nothing exists in isolation. I was fortunate because I began very young. Henri Samuel, Marie-Laure de Noailles, Madeleine Castaing and Yves Saint Laurent were all extraordinary teachers. Without them I would never have become the decorator I am.

Your relationships seem to last for decades.

Loyalty has always mattered to me. The Noailles family is a good example. I knew Marie-Laure, then her descendants, and recently completed another project for the family. That continuity is very moving. One day Polissena Perrone said to me, “Jacques, please don’t ever die. We still need you.” It was such an affectionate thing to say. I shall never forget it.

You are also known for delivering projects on time.

That depends on the people around me. I have worked with many of the same craftsmen for decades. My assistants know me so well that often they understand what I want before I explain it.  Serge has been with me for almost forty years. That kind of continuity is invaluable. An interior is never created by one person alone.

Where is it more difficult to work?

Europe is not difficult. America is surprisingly easy because the builders are exceptionally professional. Los Angeles is not complicated. Italy is a pleasure. Portugal takes time, but the quality is excellent. Peru is perfect. Oddly enough, London has often been the most complicated place to work. Finding the right craftsmen there has not always been easy. Every country has its own way of building. As a decorator you have to adapt.

Several years ago you sold much of your personal collection at auction. Why?

Because I like to change. After the Yves Saint Laurent sale I became fascinated by the idea of seeing how other people responded to a collection built entirely by instinct. The estimate for my sale was around ten million euros and it made 27 million. Of course I was delighted. I also helped Jean and Terry de Gunzburg build the collection they just sold in America for close to 100 million. But what pleased me even more was discovering that other people appreciated the choices I had made over a lifetime.

And afterwards you began collecting again.

I buy new things all the time, not every day, but I still buy paintings, sculpture and furniture whenever something truly moves me. But I never sell gifts. Yves Saint Laurent gave me a blue tile from Marrakesh and that stays with me. I will sell what I have bought but not gifts.

And your apartment that belonged to Colette at the Palais-Royal has also grown into a duplex.

One day my upstairs neighbour decided to sell. She called me before speaking to anyone else and said, “Jacques, Jacques, I want to sell my flat. If you want it, it is yours.” I agreed immediately without discussing the price. When you have the opportunity to unite two apartments in the Palais-Royal, you don’t negotiate. You simply say yes. Sometimes life is extraordinarily generous.

Do you enjoy entertaining at home?

I invite close friends to my home. If I am seeing people I know less well, I prefer to meet them in a restaurant. But there are no rules. My office is only a short walk from my apartment. I love the Palais-Royal. I love walking through the city. Paris remains one of the great capitals of beauty. But I also love New York. Every city gives you something different. Rome is a little provincial, but I love it too. Venice is magical. I have completed several projects there, including a beautiful apartment for Diana Picasso. With the right local architect, even Venice becomes easy.

Do you continue to travel a lot?

I do. Soon I shall be in Seoul for a new project. Fourteen hours on a plane is a long journey, but curiosity has always been stronger than fatigue. I have a new client who has a chain of hotels named Paradise. Perhaps I do not enjoy the long flights, but I still love discovering new places. Curiosity has never left me. Recently I worked with a Chinese client who owns an extraordinary collection of historical French furniture. She had already furnished one house in Provence beautifully on her own with art deco etc., and when she asked me what she should do with the 18^th century furniture in her collection, I said, “You need to put it in a château.” She laughed. Then we found one and she wants to continue that project with me.

Everyone loves Jacques! Do you ever refuse a commission?

I don’t know if everyone wants Jacques, but Jacques is happy to have a very nice client. Only rarely do I feel there is no possibility of trust. In my entire career I have probably refused three clients. If the relationship is wrong at the beginning, it never improves.

Do you ever argue with your clients?

No. We discuss. I prefer conversation. I am not complicated and decoration is something you create together.

You seem remarkably content.

I think I have been fortunate. I discovered my vocation very young. I met exceptional people. I have worked with clients who became lifelong friends. And I still wake up every morning wanting to begin another project. There is no greater privilege than that.

Thank you very much Jacques Grange.

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