Designer Fabrice Juan reimagined the interiors for a client, furnishing the living area with his own designs, including the sofa, lounge chairs, and the rug. The tables, among the pieces he has created in collaboration with Marc de Berny, are topped with ceramic sculptures by Marc Uzan, Julie Bergeron, and
Camille Le Dressay
Photo: Xavier Béjot
When Paris-based designer Fabrice Juan was enlisted by a client to refresh a modernist vacation home in Cap Ferret, on France’s Atlantic coast, he sought inspiration from the cinematic views. Designed in 1970 by Michel Pétuaud-Létang, an architect from nearby Bordeaux, the house features expansive windows that ensure every room is infused with “the atmosphere of the Arcachon Basin and the golden Cap Ferret light,” says Juan. “The house, with its incredible architecture, is completely immersed in nature.”
In keeping with Pétuaud-Létang’s design, it was imperative that the flow between inside and outside remain intact and that any updates work in harmony with the original structure. This meant making the most of the main, upper level of the house, which is fully glazed on three sides and projects outward with a cantilevered, wraparound balcony shaded by the overhanging roof.
Fabrice Juan stands next to one of the home’s distinctively curved columns and a wall-mounted light of his design.
Photo: Xavier Béjot
A Camille Le Dressay sculpture perches on the travertine bar counter in the kitchen, which opens to a dining area where Juan designed the plaster ceiling light, the lacquer-top table, and the rug as well as the chairs, produced by Marc de Berny. The tabletop ceramics are by LRNCE, the sculpture in the corner is by Xavier Veilhan, and a Casamance fabric was used for the curtains.
Photo: Xavier Béjot
Counterweighted by a concrete garage below, the house feels as if it is floating among the sand dunes and maritime pines. “It has a very sculptural appearance,” says Juan. “It could almost be considered a work of art.”
Across the bright, open main floor, the entertaining areas connect seamlessly, never interrupting the impressive panorama visible from every window. Everything has been tailored with ease, intimacy, and comfort in mind. This is a home, Juan notes, “to be enjoyed fully with family and friends.”
Conceived in 1970 by architect Michel Pétuaud-Létang, the house nestles among maritime pines, overlooking Arcachon Bay on the Atlantic coast.
Photo: Xavier Béjot
At one end of the living room, a Xavier Veilhan stabile presides over a den-like seating area with Juan-designed furnishings, including tables made by Marc de Berny that host a Camille Le Dressay ceramic sculpture and Pierre Cardin vases.
Photo: Xavier Béjot
To soften the modern rectilinearity of the exterior architecture, Juan embellished the inside with sumptuous curves, inspired partly by the living and dining area’s distinctive C-shaped structural columns. “I wanted to emphasize them with a large, rounded cornice that runs along the top of the windows and walls,” says the designer, who took that sensuously sculptural line and threaded it throughout the house via rounded doorways and cabinets, elliptical light fixtures, and curvy, organically shaped sofas, lounge chairs, and tables. It is also reflected in the rounded forms of artworks by Xavier Veilhan, Marc Uzan, and Julie Bergeron. Juan even surrounded the fireplace with corrugated plaster, a gesture he describes as “a way of interpreting the undulations of the ocean.”
Designer Fabrice Juan reimagined the interiors of this stunning retreat in Cap Ferret, France.
Photo: Xavier Béjot
Woven through all of Juan’s projects is a devotion to the French art of living, an ethos that celebrates unflinching attention to detail, a passion for the finest materials, and an appreciation for the richness of the country’s tradition of craftsmanship. Whether reimagining a grand Haussmann-style apartment in Paris or designing furnishings and accessories for the likes of Maison Pouenat, Métaphores, Marc de Berny, and Tai Ping (which debuted his collection of prêt-à-porter rugs last year), he takes an approach that is about “reinterpreting traditional methods with a freshness,” he says.
Here, Juan worked with expert craftsmen to design almost all the furniture—both new and customized from his collections—as well as the cabinetry, lighting, and rugs. “In my design process, I want the decor to reflect the architecture, like the way the tabletop overhangs the kitchen island, echoing the silhouette and sense of balance of the house,” he says. The living room sofa, one of his existing designs expanded to some 16 feet long, provides a generous perch for taking in the magnificent views over the basin.
Ferm Living pendants hang in the kitchen, which features custom brushed-oak cabinetry—offset by a backsplash of Maison Surface tiles—as well as a lacquered metal table and a travertine bar, all by Juan, who also designed the plates and the poufs, upholstered in Nya Nordiska fabrics.
Photo: Xavier Béjot
Texture plays an equally important role. Juan emphasized the tactility of materials such as brushed oak and natural pine, honed travertine, and braided rattan, not to mention silky wool patterned rugs. “It is a challenge to strike the right balance between architectural form, color, and pattern, but the desired effect is always surprise and a feeling of comfort,” says Juan, who studied woodworking and interior design before spending a decade at Jean-Louis Deniot’s firm and ultimately establishing his own practice in 2011.
“It has a very sculptural appearance. It could almost be considered a work of art”
Fabrice Juan
An artwork by Martin d’Orgeval is installed over a guest room’s custom-made bed with pillows in a Misia fabric; the rug is a Juan design made by Marc de Berny.
Photo: Xavier Béjot
For the home’s color palette, Juan drew heavily on the hues of the Cap Ferret peninsula—the azure blue of sea and sky, the greens of the trees, the white of the sandy beaches. But he also peppered the spaces with colors that feel “a little more Pop,” as he puts it. Hits of blazing orange accent a wallpaper here and a rug there. Cherry red borders a bathroom mirror. A citrusy yellow enlivens the bed skirt and throw in a guest room, evoking the “sunny glow that’s ever present in southwest France,” he notes.
When someone enters one of Juan’s spaces, he wants them to be seduced. But he also hopes “people will feel quickly at home and make the place their own,” he says, likening his role as designer to that of a “great couturier” tailoring a fine garment to fit as effortlessly as a second skin. “Beauty, class, and good taste,” he adds, “should be easy to live with.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Spring Issue under the headline “Coastal Utopia.” Subscribe to the magazine.
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Fabrice Juan Conceives an Architectural Marvel in Cap Ferret, France
Designer Fabrice Juan reimagined the interiors of this stunning retreat in Cap Ferret, France.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
Conceived in 1970 by architect Michel Pu00e9tuaud-Lu00e9tang, the house nestles among maritime pines, overlooking Arcachon Bay on the Atlantic coast.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
A Camille Le Dressay sculpture perches on the travertine bar counter in the kitchen, which opens to a dining area where Juan designed the plaster ceiling light, the lacquer-top table, and the rug as well as the chairs, produced by Marc de Berny. The tabletop ceramics are by LRNCE, the sculpture in the corner is by Xavier Veilhan, and a Casamance fabric was used for the curtains.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
The organic sculptures conceived by artist Camille Le Dressay complement the villau2019s environment with a sandy appearance and undulations that recall ocean waves. u201cHer ceramics intertwine; the lines ripple and merge,u201du00a0notes Juan. u201cThis effect creates multiple perspectives and cavities.u201d Shown here is Limaille, a hand-built stoneware piece enriched with iron oxide that exudes an enthralling complexity.
Photograph by Jeff Mikkelson, Courtesy of Studio Tashtego
Gentle curves abound in the dining area, which features a rounded cornice and wide columns with swooping cutouts. Anchoring the space is a bespoke table with an oval shape echoed in the plaster light fixture above and custom rug below. The chairs are Fabrice Juan Editions for Marc de Berny, as is the sconce.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
Fabrice Juan stands next to one of the homeu2019s distinctively curved columns and a wall-mounted light of his design.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
Ferm Living pendants hang in the kitchen, which features custom brushed-oak cabinetryu2014offset by a backsplash of Maison Surface tilesu2014as well as a lacquered metal table and a travertine bar, all by Juan, who also designed the plates and the poufs, upholstered in Nya Nordiska fabrics.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
At one end of the living room, a Xavier Veilhan stabile presides over a den-like seating area with Juan-designed furnishings, including tables made by Marc de Berny that host a Camille Le Dressay ceramic sculpture and Pierre Cardin vases.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
An artwork by Martin du2019Orgeval is installed over a guest roomu2019s custom-made bed with pillows in a Misia fabric; the rug is a Juan design made by Marc de Berny.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
Daniel Gallo sconces frame a Juan-designed mirror above a bespoke vanity in travertine and oak with Roca sink fixtures.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
On the wraparound terrace, a chair by Juan is poised to provide exceptional views.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
In the living room of a home perched among the cliffs of Cap Ferret, France, designer Fabrice Juan mixes colorful tabletop sculptures by Marc Uzan (left) and Julie Bergeron with breathtaking views.
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
Drawing inspiration from the texture of dry, crackled earth, French ceramist Karen Swami creates vessels beloved by designer Fabrice Juan, who arrayed several in this Cap Ferret project. u201cSheu2019s at one with the clay as she crafts her pieces,u201d he says of the artist, who applies exquisite glazes to her wheel-thrown works before burnishing them with agate and then bisque firing them. u201cShe leaves an indisputable mark.u201d
Photograph by Courtesy of Ateliers Courbet
u201cThe exterior of this cabin is made entirely of wood in the spirit of the houses on the peninsula,u201d explains Juan of the detached guest quarters, located at the wateru2019s edge. u201cI sheathed the floors, walls, and ceilings in the pinewood typically used for Cap Ferret villas, playing on the angle of the strips to add a graphic aesthetic.u201d
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
Juan devised a constellation of plaster rings for the serpentine walls of the entryway. u201cMy inspiration for creating these large circles came from the existing curves of the house,u201d he explains. u201cI was also influenced by the work of French designer Michel Boyer, who in the 1970s often used these very rounded shapes. I wanted to generate a strong rhythm and design.u201d
Photograph by Xavier Béjot
Itu2019s easy to get lost in the pigmented swirls of Corine van Voorbergenu2019s work, which often contains a mix of acrylic, ink, and natural pigments, all coated in a slick epoxy skin. Examples can be found in the boutiques of Louis Vuitton, which has been collaborating with her since 2021. In this home, an artwork by the Amsterdam talent plays off the guest roomu2019s Lu00e9on Wuidar canvas.
Photograph by Courtesy of Corine van Voorbergen
Belgian abstractionist Lu00e9on Wuidar, who conjured the guest bedroomu2019s vibrant, puzzle-like painting, made his name in the art scene during the 1960s with surrealist pieces inspired by Paul Klee, before later developing a more architectural approach. u201cI love the solid tones and the colors he uses,u201d says Juan. u201cThe piece installed here, Composition (1999), suited the room because of its bold and colorful aspect.u201d
