Profile in Style | Pierre Yovanovitch

Design

By Sandra Ballentine October 26, 2012 1:00 pm

 

Photo

Pierre Yovanovitch stands in front of his collection of midcentury Cartonnages Bonet- Prassinos.Credit Jean François-Jaussaud

 

When Pierre Yovanovitch, the Paris-based designer bought his apartment in the Seventh Arrondissement, it was a 1970s period piece, complete with black lacquered walls, wall-to-wall carpeting and a kitchen that had never been touched, let alone cooked in. “It was pretty ugly,” he admits. “But the situation is amazing — 14-foot ceilings, with one of the best views in Paris.” Indeed, the front rooms practically float over the Seine. Yovanovitch, who is known for chic, modern interiors, spent one year renovating the space, approaching it as he does all his projects — architecturally. “I always think about volumes before décor,” he says. His signature mix of sleek lines and light proportions with strong, tactile materials like oak, stone and steel and sinuous furnishings produce an effect that is spare but glamorous. “I don’t like a white box, like a gallery,” Yovanovitch says. “Minimal spaces don’t have to be stark. They should be sexy.” More…