ELLE DECOR

Putting together ELLE DECOR’s annual A-List issue—our chance to celebrate top design talent around the world—is always a special treat. For one thing, the editorial team gets to pore over truly breathtaking work in residential interiors, architecture, and landscape design by some of the brightest lights in our business. But this issue also gives us an opportunity to recognize the ELLE DECOR community: the many designers who consistently share their work with our team and our audiences, here and online; the fabricators, millworkers, plasterers, weavers, masons, and more who make it all happen; and, of course, the clients who bring their curiosity, enthusiasm, and no small dose of vulnerability to the fore by commissioning such stellar work—and by allowing us into their private realms, photographers in tow. And in we went, visiting…

STAY: PARIS FRENCH TWIST Bubbe meets Madame du Barry at Le Grand Mazarin, opening June 15 in Paris’s Marais neighborhood. Designed by ELLE DECOR A-List ace Martin Brudnizki, the hotel nods to its setting in the historic Jewish quarter with its restaurant Boubalé—”my little darling” in Yiddish—while guest rooms feature such Versailles-like touches as custom tapestries. “It’s an homage to the sumptuous residences of the aristocratic era,” says Brudnizki. —Ingrid Abramovitch legrandmazarin.com EAT: SANTA MONICA COASTAL COOL Local landmark hotel the Georgian originally opened its Art Deco doors in 1933, housing the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe. The hotel was purchased in 2020 by Jon Blanchard and Nicolo Rusconi of BLVD Hospitality, the developers behind Ace Hotel DTLA. They brought on U.K.-based firm Fettle, responsible for London’s Marylebone Hotel and the Rome outpost…

1. HIBA ATMOSPHERE SPRAY This is my favorite scent for the home and office. It’s like being in a forest full of hinoki trees. tortoisegeneralstore.com 2. EDIBLE GARDENS FARM BOX My friend Lauri Kranz and her husband run this farm here in L.A., where they grow everything themselves. lahomefarm.com 3. SANTA MARIA NOVELLA POTPOURRI I keep this in my car. It transports me back to the beautiful old pharmacy in Florence. smnovella.com 4. UTRECHT CHAIR We’ve used this Gerrit Rietveld piece in so many projects. It’s still so relevant. 1stdibs.com 5. BEATRICE LAVAL VELVET QUILT I love how soft and cozy this is. It really makes the bed look dressed. lemondesauvage.com 6. SONIA BOYAJIAN RING Sonia made this owl-eye ring for me from two gorgeous amethysts. soniabstyle.com 7. SHAMSHIRI: INTERIORS Our first book, out in September, is as much a story about family as it is about design and…

It’s too bold. It’s too green. It’s too too. There are moments, even in the best designer-client relationships, when doubt and discord take hold and designers find themselves saying some version of “You just need to trust me.” Plenty of clients will relent, but others push back, maybe even insist. So, are they ever right? “Whether you’re right or wrong or they’re right or wrong, it becomes a gray area, especially with the clients who aren’t sure of what they want,” says designer Brian McCarthy, who has worked through all kinds of ups and downs with clients in a nearly four-decade career. “When I’m able to say, ‘Trust me, this is it,’ that comes with deep conviction, and I mostly do it with clients I have a real relationship with.” McCarthy…

When it comes to chic leather accessories, few fashion houses are as top of mind as Louis Vuitton. That material mastery also applies to the brand’s Objets Nomades line of furniture and decorative objects, which includes pieces with colorful hide woven and folded into playful-yet-soigné configurations. Launched at Milan Design Week this spring, the maison’s latest creations push innovation to even further heights. The Italian firm Zanellato/Bortotto debuted its Basket Table, composed of interlocking leather strips. “We were fascinated by the Central Asian nomadic tradition, where people move around with the support of the yurt,” says designer Giorgia Zanellato. Swiss firm Atelier Oï’s decorative mobile, Quetzal, was inspired by the bright plumage of the tropical bird; two-tone leather was folded into a rainbow of hide “feathers.” Another of Atelier Oï’s…