On the Cover: This Paris Apartment Is a Manifesto Against Boringness

mars 19, 2026

Thursday, March 19, 2026

Just this fall I found myself sitting with the Paris-based designer Laura Gonzalez in her TriBeCa gallery. It was the first time we had met, and immediately, it was like we were old friends. Not only was I already a huge fan of her exuberant eye, but I had heard so much about her from Elle Decor's Brand and Editorial Director, Stellene Volandes. A few months later, and we pulled off a cover story all together, along with photographer Matteo Verzini, stylist Marie-Anne Derville and author Chris Bollen. You may have seen Laura's work for the Printemps department store downtown, but check out this beautiful, imaginative private home in Paris. "It's a manifesto against boringness," says Laura of her work. That's for sure.

—Elisa Lipsky-Karasz, head of editorial content

This Paris Apartment Epitomizes French Taste

Forget "Non, pas possible." Paris-based Laura Gonzalez trades snobbish restraint for a spirited "Oui!" bringing her unmatched energy to an ever growing roster of projects and clients.

Designer Laura Gonzalez is sitting in the living room of her latest completed project, a three-bedroom apartment in a classic Belle Epoque building in Paris's 7th Arrondissement, a block from the bustling cobblestone markets on picturesque Rue Cler. It's a sunny January afternoon, and out the window the gold dome of Les Invalides peeks above the neighboring rooftops. Gonzalez, 43, is perched on a vintage 1940s Berga Möbler oak armchair, sharing her definition of French taste.

"It isn't one style. It's about the mixing of cultures. Look at me: I'm from the South of France, but my mother is Spanish and my father is Algerian and a quarter German. That's the French flair. And that's what I do, mixing centuries, cultures, artistic movements, materials…" In this apartment alone, a traditional English kitchen is accented with a French floor, Parisian moldings, and Venetian glassware. If aesthetic diversity is the hallmark of French taste, two decades into her career Gonzalez has come to define it.

READ THE COVER STORY