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Gabrielle 'Coco'

Gabrielle 'Coco' CHANEL's Apartment

 Paris

Honey, we’re home! Welcome to our staycation homestead, 31 Rue Cambon – the infamous abode of Gabrielle (a.k.a Coco) Chanel. It’s not at all what you would expect from Coco’s trademark black-and-white allover aesthetic. Her rouge-infused, Orient/Occident-inspired home remains to be a staple in our Parisian dreams. In fact, we’re still asking ourselves, “Did that really just happen?” and if we could, we’d click our quilted ballet flats to go back in a heartbeat. It’s a surreal and magical place… to say the least!
We lusted, we learned and we lounged in the very same place Coco, herself, did some 75-plus years ago with Giacometti, Stravinsky and Dali. And we couldn’t help but feel her presence with every step we took. Every crevice and corner oozed that mystical allure of CHANEL; the ever-present camellia fleur, the black lacquered surfaces and the Coco-designed, suede sofa created an inescapable air of enchantment. And, call us crazy, but we’re pretty sure Coco made an appearance that day 'cause our camera captured something quite peculiar! (We’ll explain that later!) After walking up the mirrored, spiral staircase of which, we later learned Coco used to see the audience’s reaction to her collection during the show—we played “I Spy” with her custom, crystal chandelier.
It’s no surprise that we were itching to Coveteur Coco’s infinite bookshelves, which were screaming for some signature strands of CHANEL pearls. The East-meets-West feel of Coco’s eclectic place was a Coveteur’s dream come true. There were lions and deers and frogs... Oh my! And who knew Coco was so superstitious? The inspiration for Uncle Karl’s more recent collections is a constant thread throughout Coco’s home. The marble lion with the ball, anyone? How could we ever forget the CHANEL Couture F/W 2010 show? Even the miniature birdcage played inspiration for Chanel's “Coco” perfume campaign, featuring our girl, Vanessa Paradis. And the ears of golden wheat were sprinkled throughout Lagerfeld’s luxe SS/2010 collection from belts to bracelets to headbands.
From her mahogany desk, which is etched with the legacy of a million scratch marks to her hand-assembled Chinese screens, which enclosed the space, traces of Coco’s legacy remains mummified and hidden away in her eternally beautiful apartment. It never ceases to amaze us how behind the façade of the art-deco-influenced exterior, lies a perfectly preserved and ultra-luxurious piece of CHANEL history.

This birdcage was the inspiration for Vanessa Paradis’ “Coco” perfume campaign.

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During the fashion shows, which took place down stairs, Gabrielle Chanel would sit on the staircase. Thanks to the mirrors she could see everything taking place, but no one could see her. She wanted to know the immediate reaction, if the journalists and clients were pleased with the collection.

Read More

In contrast to Coco’s personal space, the staircase had a heavy art- deco influence.

Read More

The camellia flower was also very important to Coco Chanel. It symbolized purity and longevity in Asia and was very prevalent in her designs.

Read More

The gold boxes were a gift from the Duke of Westminster. He offered Coco these boxes with the most beautiful and most precious metal- gold, on the inside and not on the outside. It is the idea of luxury hidden, that luxury is not something you have to showoff, only you know it is there.

Read More

The clear table in this picture was the first piece of merchandising furniture for CHANEL. Coco asked the designer to do something very clean and very simple to have all the costume jewelry, make-up, skincare, and perfume merchandised. It was to enhance the beauty of the product. At the time, it was very clever as she was one of the first to do this.

Read More

Behold! Coco’s desk where she sketched at, and her very own glasses. Remember we told you about those peculiar things our camera captured? We took this exact picture on our digital cameras and when we looked at the photo later, the glasses were blurred out and all that remained was this mysterious, glowing light. Call us crazy, but we're pretty sure Coco was sending us some sort of sign!

Read More

In this picture you can see objects that were very important to Coco. Pairs of lions, beige suede on the chairs and Chinese screens.

Read More

All of Coco’s books have deep red tones. Just like the iconic lipstick she created and the inside lining of the bags.

Read More

Coco had an eclectic mix of decor. French classic furniture, antiquities, Italian influences and Japanese deers. At the time, it was really exceptional to mix Orient and Occident- when East meets West.

Read More

Coco designed this couch herself. She wanted it to be very comfortable. Normally people used silk or velvet, but Coco used suede, which was very cutting edge.

Read More

When the mouth of a frog is open it is to bring love, luck money and health. If you look closely you can see a crystal placed in it's mouth, another important symbol for Coco.

Read More

Coco was photographed many times in this iconic white chair. The octagonal shape of the mirror on the wall was the inspiration for the cap of CHANEL No.5. It is also the same shape of the iconic Place Vendome, which Coco could see out of her window of her residence at the Ritz Hotel.

Read More

Coco believed that it was more important to have luxury on the inside then to have it displayed for everyone to see on the outside.

Read More

While journalists visited Coco in the salon, it also hosted many of her famous friends such as Elizabeth Taylor, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.

Read More

The top of these tables are black lacquer but were originally marble. Gabrielle Chanel wanted to take off the marble and have the black lacquer. It may remind you of CHANEL's make-up-black lacquer with the logo on top.

Read More

Karl Lagerfeld “sprinkled” ears of wheat throughout his Spring-Summer 2010 collection: showers of golden wheat ears were embroidered or cropped up on chain belts, bracelets, headbands, necklaces and shirt fronts.

Read More

The entrance to Coco’s apartment where an original work chair remains. Lower chairs were used for fittings as it was easier to sew and work with the fabric being lower to the ground.

Read More

Japanese deer could be seen in pairs throughout the apartment.

Read More

Wheat symbolizes prosperity and can be seen throughout Coco’s apartment.

Read More

Coco Chanel believed in the healing power of crystal. She had this chandelier custom made. Can you spy the iconic 5’s?

Read More

Coco was very superstitious. Elements of this can be seen all over her apartment with sculptures of different animals and religious artifacts. She wanted to feel protected at all times.

Read More

Coco was a Leo and she incorporated it’s symbol, the Lion, into her personal space.

Read More

Coco was very close with artists such as Giacometti, Stravinsky and Dali.

Read More

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This birdcage was the inspiration for Vanessa Paradis’ “Coco” perfume campaign.

During the fashion shows, which took place down stairs, Gabrielle Chanel would sit on the staircase. Thanks to the mirrors she could see everything taking place, but no one could see her. She wanted to know the immediate reaction, if the journalists and clients were pleased with the collection.

In contrast to Coco’s personal space, the staircase had a heavy art- deco influence.

The camellia flower was also very important to Coco Chanel. It symbolized purity and longevity in Asia and was very prevalent in her designs.

The gold boxes were a gift from the Duke of Westminster. He offered Coco these boxes with the most beautiful and most precious metal- gold, on the inside and not on the outside. It is the idea of luxury hidden, that luxury is not something you have to showoff, only you know it is there.

The clear table in this picture was the first piece of merchandising furniture for CHANEL. Coco asked the designer to do something very clean and very simple to have all the costume jewelry, make-up, skincare, and perfume merchandised. It was to enhance the beauty of the product. At the time, it was very clever as she was one of the first to do this.

Behold! Coco’s desk where she sketched at, and her very own glasses. Remember we told you about those peculiar things our camera captured? We took this exact picture on our digital cameras and when we looked at the photo later, the glasses were blurred out and all that remained was this mysterious, glowing light. Call us crazy, but we're pretty sure Coco was sending us some sort of sign!

In this picture you can see objects that were very important to Coco. Pairs of lions, beige suede on the chairs and Chinese screens.

All of Coco’s books have deep red tones. Just like the iconic lipstick she created and the inside lining of the bags.

Coco had an eclectic mix of decor. French classic furniture, antiquities, Italian influences and Japanese deers. At the time, it was really exceptional to mix Orient and Occident- when East meets West.

Coco designed this couch herself. She wanted it to be very comfortable. Normally people used silk or velvet, but Coco used suede, which was very cutting edge.

When the mouth of a frog is open it is to bring love, luck money and health. If you look closely you can see a crystal placed in it's mouth, another important symbol for Coco.

Coco was photographed many times in this iconic white chair. The octagonal shape of the mirror on the wall was the inspiration for the cap of CHANEL No.5. It is also the same shape of the iconic Place Vendome, which Coco could see out of her window of her residence at the Ritz Hotel.

Coco believed that it was more important to have luxury on the inside then to have it displayed for everyone to see on the outside.

While journalists visited Coco in the salon, it also hosted many of her famous friends such as Elizabeth Taylor, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.

The top of these tables are black lacquer but were originally marble. Gabrielle Chanel wanted to take off the marble and have the black lacquer. It may remind you of CHANEL's make-up-black lacquer with the logo on top.

Karl Lagerfeld “sprinkled” ears of wheat throughout his Spring-Summer 2010 collection: showers of golden wheat ears were embroidered or cropped up on chain belts, bracelets, headbands, necklaces and shirt fronts.

The entrance to Coco’s apartment where an original work chair remains. Lower chairs were used for fittings as it was easier to sew and work with the fabric being lower to the ground.

Japanese deer could be seen in pairs throughout the apartment.

Wheat symbolizes prosperity and can be seen throughout Coco’s apartment.

Coco Chanel believed in the healing power of crystal. She had this chandelier custom made. Can you spy the iconic 5’s?

Coco was very superstitious. Elements of this can be seen all over her apartment with sculptures of different animals and religious artifacts. She wanted to feel protected at all times.

Coco was a Leo and she incorporated it’s symbol, the Lion, into her personal space.

Coco was very close with artists such as Giacometti, Stravinsky and Dali.