When Parisian design guru Didier Krzentowski, founder of the gallery KREO, introduced interior architect Rodolphe Parente to a pair of sophisticated young collectors in the sunny South of France, it was a match made in heaven. “They are my age, so it was all super easy and nice," Parente says. "They wanted to create a space which was a bit different, to go further than just decoration, so we started with zero references and created a story together." 

The clients, a young couple with two children, live between Paris and the Côte D'azur. They also, as it happens, have a wonderful, growing collection of contemporary art and design pieces.  "This is a project in the south, so the light is different there—we wanted natural materials, nothing shiny and rich, like straw on paper, this works with the southern light." he says.

Parente begins all of his projects with two core design directions, inviting dialogue—making a space for the clients to say what they love and what they don't. Parente don’t like the idea of a signature style. Each project is really a dialogue—playing ping-pong with the client; I need to understand and respect their lifestyle and their lives.