Paris vue depuis les toits, by Alain Cornu

'Paris vue depuis les toits', translates to 'Paris, as seen from the rooftops'... These majestic photographs are the work of French photographer Alain Cornu. I recently stumbled across his work, as well as an interview with the photographer, on the Vivre Paris website. It's no secret that I am taken aback by all that is Paris. And, I mean,  'literally' taken aback, to when I used to live in this magical city. But one can live in Paris all their life and never attain this secret glimpse of night-time rooftops that Cornu has captured...

My favourite shot is the one just above, with the Sacre Coeur. When I look at this image I just think 'home', because for almost four years of my six spent in Paris I lived just behind this breathtaking church. Beyond my emotional little link, however, the image is nevertheless excellent in its composition. It captures the grandeur of the Sacre Coeur in the background, all while bringing to light the notorious bargain den that is Tati, in all its neon glory. Moreover, I see at least four different stages of life that Cornu has captured, giving this image all that much more depth for the viewer to escape into; the street, the metro line above the street, the high windows of the Tati store, and then the Sacre Coeur in the heavens...   

If you dabble in French, there is a really good interview with the photographer on Vivre Paris. He talks of how he gets access to the rooftops via friends, and friends of friends, because it is really difficult to attain access through official channels, especially during the night. He explains that he chose to capture Paris from its rooftops because he has always loved the mountain, and the relation to being at a height gives him an aspect of danger as well as goose-bumps. He is also asked which is his favourite monument in Paris, to which he responds that it is the Sacre Ceour. While it appears to him as a grandiose cake at first glance, look at it longer and it turns into a beautiful Indian palace... 

Source - vivre paris

Images - vivre paris

Photography - alain cornu 

Related Nest of Pearls post - The sheer magic of Parisian rooftops, by Michael Wolf 

Paris home of fashion designer Eymele Burgaud

This is the majestic Paris home of fashion designer Eymele Burgaud. It is softly minimalist yet, at the same time, busy with moments of chaos and quirkiness. There are hints of craziness spicing up what is quite a classic foundation, and it's these hints that give us a look into the very unique character of the people that live here.

My favourite by far is the cosy armchair, pictured above, with layers of material, and holes in its arms, giving it a feel of something that has been used lovingly, and has been worn down over time through sheer enjoyment... like a great pair of jeans. And the chair leg jammed into the book, how clever!! How daring to intentionally break what is essentially a white, clean space with an injection of a little madness. Similarly the pillow on the armchair, squeezed by a beautiful leather belt, what detail...

Actually the more I look at these photos, the more I realise how evident it is that Burgaud uses her fashion design expertise to dress her furniture, and her home overall, as she would a mannequin, composing materials together to bring to life a world that is purely to her own style...       

Source - garancedore

Images - garancedore

Related Nest of Pearls post - Depth of Character in the 7th Arrondissement, Paris

Depth of Character in the 7th Arrondissement, Paris

A couple of weeks ago I came back from 3 weeks in Europe, where we had spent most of that time in Paris. It was crazy to be back yet again in the city where I lived for almost six years. I no longer had any consideration for the hardships that created the daily grind, like the metro, the grumpy people, the queues, the dirty streets... Instead all I could see and feel were all the magnificent things that I initially fell in love with Paris for, and what had made me move my life there. It's a crazy thing the brain, how it remembers the wonderful things above all.

And just as well that it did. I absolutely loved being a tourist in Paris! I was filled with so much motivation and inspiration for the blog almost immediately, and I had so many ideas that I ran out of places to note them, my phone, napkins, pieces of paper, my husband's memory.... I think you get it! I was motivated.   

So, naturally, during this time I kind of migrated to material that centred around Paris and France, and so found myself quite often on a blog that I actually really quite like, that of French blogger Garance Doré. And her blog is where I came across this gem of an apartment.

The home belongs to friends of Garance's, is an apartment situated in the 7th arrondissement in Paris,  and is just very simply, exquisite!! It embodies everything I imagine the perfect Parisian apartment to be, cozy yet sheik, full of depth and character, lots of sophisticated use of colour, and, of course, a view of the ever so elegant Tour Eiffel.

Source - garancedore.fr

Images - garancedore.fr

Related Nest of Pearls post - Paris apartment dreaming, with Paola Navone

CUT Architectures designs third PNY burger joint in Paris

A new, colourful and super dooper contemporary PNY burger joint has opened in Paris in the 3rd arrondissement Les Marias, designed by CUT Architectures. I'm guessing this is only due to the success of the existing two restaurants, PNY Oberkampf and PNY FBG St-Denis, both also in Paris, and both also designed by CUT Architectures.

A little bit about the PNY burger establishments... They're actually part of what is becoming a flourishing concept in Paris, that of digging into burgers. While devouring burgers has always been more of an American thing, the French, who are generally more choosy about the quality of their food, seem to slowly be coming across this concept.

And the success of the PNY concept probably lies largely in their philosophy around the quality of their food. They carefully choose only the very best meat and ingredients, all while serving up a culture that is a blend of NYC and Paris, but minus the typically, corny clichés.

Whereby the first two PNY joints, in Oberkampf and St-Denis, were less colourful and certainly darker, the Les Marais PNY is completely animated with colour and eccentricity. There are a couple of things that stand out for me in the photos here; I love the juxtaposition of the bright, metallic, shiny colours against the rugged, textured wall, and I also get completely lost in the rectilinear, geometric visual cues that pop up as one moves through the space.

So with my flying to Paris in exactly one week from now, this is a definite must do on the list. It ticks all the boxes; I love burgers, love NYC, love Paris, love the colourful interior... however, the waistline may suffer...

Source - contemporist.com

Images - contemporist.com

Photography - david foessel