THIERRY LEMAIRE

RIZE
Jul 24
4 min read

Updated: Oct 21

Between contemporary and classical

Photos: Jerome Galland, Isabelle Bideau, Mark Cocksedge, Jean Francois Jaussaud

He is an Architect, an Interior Designer and a Designer: Thierry Lemaire’s three-dimensional approach has led him to expand his horizon and broaden his palette encompassing a wide variety of residential and commercial projects. Based in his studio located in Paris, Lemaire caters to an international clientele; his distinct style mainly focused on interior architecture and furniture design. He has also furnished several rooms of Palais de l’Elysée, the French presidential palace, including the French President’s office. RIZE spoke to him about his career, his inspirations and future endevours.

RIZE: Monsieur Lemaire, could you please tell us a little bit about your background and what made you choose your profession?

Thierry Lemaire: I started working with an architectural diploma in hand. The various economic fluctuations of our country also directed me towards interior architecture. The combination worked very well. As I worked on increasingly large projects, finding suitable furniture became complicated, and I began to design table seats and lighting to satisfy my clients. Today we are also furniture publishers, a fascinating activity which has taken a prominent place in our work.

Where do you draw your inspiration from and what inspires you?

Traveling is what inspires me most, being in a foreign country and exploring the local traditional and contemporary architecture is very fulfilling. Also my collaboration with craftsmen from different fields of expertise is also really rewarding, their vision (technical and artistic) really nourishes mine and ends up creating a very interesting piece of design. Also, I have always been attracted to the work of different designers and artists from the 20th century from Jean Michel Franck to Pierre Sabatier. They managed to mix both roughness and sophistication with such beautiful intelligence, creating very strong and stately design elements.

How would you describe your style and what is unique about your collection?

My design intentions are very much driven by the art, architecture and design culture I have been gathering all these past years, this allows me to create some timeless pieces, and mix roughness with luxurious finishes, this is what makes my collection unique.

How do you start work on a design?

Usually, when I start drawing a piece, it is because I saw an image, or something during my trips or my multiple escapades in Paris. It is not necessarily a piece of furniture that inspires but most of the time a detail on a building, an interior decorative element, a pattern on the floor, or even something just thrown away in one of my craftsman warehouse (like a foundry drop,

a piece of broken marble etc).

Do you think about trends when designing pieces?

It is very interesting to look at what people are fond of in the present moment, because the origin of our work is to create comfortable interior spaces where our clients identify themselves.

»My design intentions are very much driven by the art, architecture and design culture I have been gathering all these past years, this allows me to create some timeless pieces, and mix roughness with luxurious finishes, this is what makes my collection unique«

Thierry Lemaire

You also incorporate paintings and and fine art in your interior design. How do you select those special artworks?

Selecting an art piece for a client is very personal. You need to have a profound understanding of the clients’ tastes. Also, I have been nourishing my personal knowledge in this field by going for many years to auctions, galleries and at antiquities dealers. This knowledge allows me to be able to find the right pieces for my clients, that will fit logically in their contemporary interiors. Also, I really love playing with the duality between contemporary interiors and classical art pieces.

In which part of the world do you like to work the most? Do you have a favorite place?

It is very difficult to only select one place, I have been lucky enough to work in amazing places such as in Morocco or Lebanon for example, and those projects always led to collaboration with local craftsmen, which helped to give a true soul to my design intentions.

You have furnished parts of Palais de l’Elyssée, the French presidential palace and the French President’s office. How did that come about?

We have been contacted by the Mobilier National, they asked us to propose some specific furniture pieces for the Elysée palace, we ended up designing the desk for the French president and furnishing several main salons. We felt really honored, aside from Pierre Paulin, we are the only contemporary designer to have the opportunity to design a desk for our president.

Could you please share your next plans?

Currently we are showcasing a solo show at The

Invisible Collection in NYC (until mid-November 2024), we are also planning exciting events at my Parisian gallery (11 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris) such as the launch of a new collection during the Paris Design Week next September 2024.

Monsieur Lemaire, thank you for taking the time.