Guest area conceived by Elliott Barnes at Maison Billecart-Salmon in Champagne, France.
Photo: Yvan Moreau
Elliott Barnes Crafts a Remarkable Space for Maison Billecart-Salmon
The Paris architect, a Galerie Creative Mind, conceives a stunning guest area in Champagne that melds the house's 200 years of history and a contemporary aesthetic
For the oval shaped tasting room, Barnes drew inspiration from the labels of the house’s Millesimes cuvées and installed a custom wall covering influenced by the aerial view of the wine fields. Photo: Yvan Moreau
Established in 1818 in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, France, Maison Billecart-Salmon lures oenophiles from around the globe looking to sample the award-winning cuvées amongst the vineyard’s breathtaking setting. Now, visitors have an even more astounding environment as Paris architect Elliott Barnes, a Galerie Creative Mind, has helped introduce a beautiful reception area used for guests to sample the wines and learn about the label’s 200 years of history.
To construct the sumptuous new building, the team—which included Barnes and architect Vincent Fierfort from Épernay, France—demolished a 1950s area and conceived a graceful structure that complements the historic properties already on site that is now overseen by the seventh generation of the Roland-Billecart family, Mathieu Roland-Billecart.
“I told Mathieu when I met him for the first time, everything I need to create this project is present on site,” Barnes tells Galerie. “That idea opened the door to an identification of forms and materials used by the house that could be transformed for use in interiors. For example, the oval shape of the professional tasting room is inspired by the oval present on the labels of the house’s Millesimes cuvées. Another example is in the Club St Hilaire which uses a wall covering made from Clos Saint Hilaire cuvée 2022 grapes skins and hemp fibers (used for the original muselets from the time of Dom Perignon).”
Barnes filled the myriad spaces with a mix of custom furnishings and exceptional finds. Photo: Yvan Moreau
Each room has a unique color assemblage from a palette of colors that were crafted with Cecile Mugler. Photo: Yvan Moreau
The tasting room is a particularly striking destination with a romantic window above that floods the tranquil space with a gentle glow and a bold geometric design enveloping the walls, which also draws influence from the vineyard itself. “The geometric pattern was inspired by a vision of the wine fields from an airplane,” notes Barnes. “It is quite probably what Charles Roland-Billecart (4th generation) saw when he flew his WWI plane over the Billecart Salmon vineyards.”
Inside, Barnes filled the rooms rendered in a tranquil, neutral palette with a mix of custom furnishings and exceptional finds. “Each room has a unique color assemblage from a palette of colors that were crafted with Cecile Mugler,” he says. “In the Salon Elisabeth & Nicolas, there are two custom screens with leaves from the chestnut tree in the Billecart-Salmon garden that I commissioned from Alyssa Jos. There is also a lamp from Marion Agnel-Guidoni that recalls the stone markers that identify the owner of the vineyard rows and parcels. All of the rugs were custom designed and made by Lelièvre.”
All of the rugs in the new space crafted by Elliott Barnes were made in collaboration with Lelièvre. Photo: Yvan Moreau
While art and exceptional furnishings fill the rooms, the envelope is something Barnes is particularly proud. “I think my favorite moment are the wall treatments; whether an updating of more traditional pilasters and moldings or more conceptual articulations as in the professional tasting room,” he says. “I prefer these because they are an example of how materials and finishes (some taken directly from the garden vineyards and caves of the house), can be assembled to support a narrative that captures the Billecart Salmon genius loci.”
See more images below.
View into a new guest area at Maison Billecart-Salmon conceived by Paris architect Elliott Barnes and Vincent Fierfort from Épernay, France. Photo: Yvan Moreau
In the Salon Elisabeth & Nicolas, Barnes installed two custom screens with leaves from the chestnut tree in the Billecart-Salmon garden that the architect commissioned from Alyssa Jos. Photo: Yvan Moreau
View of the Salon Elisabeth & Nicolas with custom screens by Alyssa Jos that were constructed using leaves from the chestnut tree in the Billecart-Salmon garden. Photo: Yvan Moreau
The new structure at Maison Billecart-Salmon takes the place of a former 1950s era warehouse and was constructed to meld with the other historic buildings on the site. Photo: Yvan Moreau
Maison Billecart-Salmon in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, France. Photo: Yvan Moreau
Maison Billecart-Salmon in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, France. Photo: Yvan Moreau
Cover: Guest area conceived by Elliott Barnes at Maison Billecart-Salmon in Champagne, France.
Photo: Yvan Moreau
More from Galerie
