Florence Deau 
Last week, I was kindly invited to collaborate with Danish design brand &Tradition to style their new Palette Desk in a trendy Parisian venue of my choice. So I picked Hôtel Bachaumont‘s luxury Montmartre suite in Paris 2nd arrondissement to stage the sculptural desk designed by Spanish superstar Jaime Hayon.
Reminiscent of Alexander Calder’s kinetic sculptures, Palette is a series of 3 doubled-tiered desks which partner two different shapes together in a mix of materials.
“Calder transformed a 2D object into an enthralling 3D kinetic experience” says Hayon. “At first his mobiles appear flat, until the slightess breeze rushes in , breathing life into these simple geometric shapes. When I first saw them, I was almost mesmerised. My Palette Desk is an homage to this supremely simple concept of poetry in motion. As I see it, a desk is where we are supposed to sit still and make decisions. And yet, it is also where we find distracctions. For the Palette Desk, I merged two different sized shapes in contrasting materials to hopefully bring a cohesive sense of order out of chaos.”
I love the minimalist lines and the versatile use of the desk. From an office desk in a home office or a vanity cabinet in a bedroom to a display table in a living room, I feel that Palette could fit so many interior environments – only the sky’s the limit!
At Hôtel Bachaumont, I used Palette as an elegant bedroom desk and staged a simple “afternoon tea time” moment, suspended in time and space, like Calder’s mobiles. Here is the result. Hope you will find it inspirational.
xo Flo
Photos © Florence Deau
“In a world where everyone is rushing around mega multi-tasking, to sit at an ordinary desk feels so static,” says Hayon. “I felt compelled to design a desk with a feeling of motion, inspired by the kinetic sculptures of Alexander Calder. Balancing various shapes and materials at various heights supported by a metal frame. In theory it’s like a mobile but in reality it’s a desk.”
More infos at &Tradition
A big thank you to &Tradition, Pernille and Florent from Pernille Christiansen Communication & Press Relations and to the people of Hôtel Bachaumont for making this great styling possible.
