Uchronia Paris Design Week

In a creative and colourful homage to the Hôtel de la Marine’s 18th-century interiors, French design studio Uchronia has installed a giant four-poster bed in the hotel’s forecourt for Paris Design Week.

Titled “Day Bed”, the larger-than-life installation features a graphically-tiled four-poster bed with an upholstered headboard and curtains, accessed via steps. The installation references the hotel’s Indenants’ Apartments, which once belonged to the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, which managed the furniture of the French royal household.

“Each apartment showcases sumptuous beds adorned with intricate details and vibrant drapes, all contributing to a truly captivating atmosphere,” explains designer Clémentine Bricard of Uchronia. “Every element, down to the smallest detail, sparked our imagination.”

For their design, the studio covered the bed posters and steps in vibrant red, orange, pink and blue ceramic tiles from the Dutch company Palet. For the curtains, they opted for an outdoor fabric with a wavy pattern from Casamance.

“We wanted to give a contemporary approach to the bed, so ceramic tiles were an obvious choice for the project,” says Bricard. “The blue comes from Madame Thierry de Ville d’Avray’s state bedroom, the red from the Salon Diplomatique and the yellow from Marc-Antoine Thierry de Ville-d’Avray’s study. The design for the fabric, meanwhile, is perfect for adding movement to the design.”

Commenting on the opportunity to work on the project, Uchronia says: “We were absolutely enchanted by the Hôtel de la Marine,” Bricard said. “It was a cherished dream of ours to take over this space. It’s important to have a new generation to rethink the city and its public space.”

“Day Bed” is on display until 22 September as part of Paris Design Week.