Florence Deau 
Past-midnight arrival last Sunday in a quiet street of the 9th arrondissement, close to the Opéra Garnier in Paris.
The elegant Chess Hotel is my final destination for the night.
After a complete make-over by Parisian interior designers Gilles & Boissier, this uniquely charming contemporary hotel opened its doors last June. ‘More than just a place to stay, the Chess Hotel is a place to live’, they say. I’d say a fabulous spot with definite artistic sensibility, a genuine and sleek interior design style, enhanced by a generous and high-quality hospitality.
The Chess offers a distinct and original colour style scheme. With its black and white checkboard pattern as the ubiquitous benchmark for decoration (also reflecting the name of the establishment), architects Gilles & Boissier chose to mix beautifully coloured clay and mustard hues with shades of pale blue. Most of the design furniture originate from Gilles & Boissier’s collection.
If you’re an artsy person, you’ll be delighted to spot the works of some very fine French artists. Cyprien Chabert drew the graphics on the bedroom doors and created a monumental black & white vegetal mural that runs on the interior courtyard wall from the second floor to the rooftop of the hotel (remember his vivid frescos at Hôtel La Banane in St Barth?). Graffiti and street-artist Victor Ash chose to picture the giant and hypnotizing portrait of a black owl in the dining room.
And whilst I headed for breakfast that morning, I was delighted to bump into graphic and pattern designer Alix Waline who was delicately live-drawing on the lobby walls and ceiling with her thick black marker. An unexpected and nice surprise.
Check out more : www.thechesshotel.com
Photos © Flodeau on Instagram
