As part of his makeover of a vacation retreat and guesthouse near Cannes, France, designer Francis Sultana commissioned Mattia Bonetti to create an array of exuberant furnishings, including the main dining room’s chandelier, table, and sideboard with cherublike figures. Works by Marc Chagall hang on both sides of the mirror.

Sultana accented the dining table with a work by Amsterdam glass artist Barbara Nanning, who conjures bewitching objects that resemble spindly, sprouting flora. “I find her vases very special,” he says. This piece, titled Daphne (2012), beautifully demonstrates the breadth of her capabilities: Even though it resembles metal, it’s made of blown glass that has been hand formed, cut, sanded, and gilded to striking effect. 

Two lithographs by Marc Chagall were the final pieces placed in the dining area, which features an array of custom Mattia Bonetti furnishings, among them a snail-inspired floor lamp with a multitude of shades and a console held up by horned cherubs. “That’s the good part about loving the art—finding where it’s going to fit,” explains Sultana. 

A Barnaby Barford apple sculpture stands in a courtyard surrounded by landscaping Sultana devised with local firm English Garden.

On the pool deck, Santa Barbara umbrellas shade chaise longues designed by Francis Sultana with cushions in a Perennials fabric.

A George Condo painting presides over the main house’s entrance hall, which features a Mattia Bonetti hanging lantern and a console table topped by André Dubreuil lamps; the rug, stair runner, and wall sconce are by Sultana.

In the main salon, an armchair and sofas by Mattia Bonetti are grouped with a cocktail table and circular side tables by André Dubreuil as well as a pair of tufted stools by Syrie Maugham; the floor lamps are by Bonetti, the table lamp is by Dubreuil, and the sculptural bronze side tables are by Sultana, as is the rug, while the curtains were made by Designs of the Time in a Antico Setificio Fiorentino fabric.

To create moments of whimsy throughout the home, Sultana teamed up with André Dubreuil, a highly regarded French artisan known for his sculptural metal furnishings loaded with poetic symbolism and ornamental craftsmanship who passed away in 2022. A group of his former collaborators continues to work for Galerie Mougin under the Atelier Dubreuil moniker, introducing new pieces that adhere to the style of the decorative arts luminary, such as this engraved steel side table. 

A Jamb light fixture overlooks the conservatory’s Sultana-designed table and chairs, which are upholstered in an Élitis fabric; the rug is by Beauvais Carpets. 

Bonetti made a bespoke floral-form screen that separates the salon’s bar and the dining room.

Sultana designed the outdoor breakfast area’s table, chairs, and banquette, which is cushioned in a Perennials fabric; the umbrella is by Santa Barbara.

“The clients asked for yellow to be the predominant color outside,” Sultana says. He responded by designing a pair of boomerang-silhouetted outdoor sofas as well as matching kidney-shaped tables. “The curves make it easy for people to sit around,” he explains, noting the homeowners “love to have big parties and invite all the neighbors.”

For the guesthouse living room, Sultana created the mirror and floor lamps that surround the Jamb mantelpiece, as well as the sofas and glass-top end tables; the cocktail table is by Mattia Bonetti, the gueridon is by Garouste & Bonetti, the rattan chair is by Bonacina, and the painting is by Sue Williams.

Sultana’s clients collect works by artist Sue Williams, who conceives her energetic canvases as an antidote to the male-dominated Abstract Expressionist movement. Her paintings, like 2022’s Re-uptake Inhibitors, probe subjects such as gender roles and the human body and look at ideas of transparency and autonomy. 

Also lined in a de Gournay wall covering, the primary suite’s TV room features a mirror and sconces by Joy de Rohan Chabot from Galerie Chastel-Maréchal installed above a bespoke sofa and ottoman upholstered in a Fox Linton fabric by Sultana; the side table is by Bonetti. 

Working largely in bronze, famed French artist Joy de Rohan Chabot creates nature-inspired furnishings and objets d’art, like this Cage aux Papillons gilded chandelier from Galerie Chastel-Maréchal. “She’s  one of these true old-school decorative artists,” raves Francis Sultana, who installed fanciful mirrors, tables, and lighting by the Paris talent throughout this enchanting Côte d’Azur residence. 

The primary suite’s custom marble-top vanity incorporates panels by Atelier Mériguet-Carrère, Baguès sconces, and THG sink fittings alongside a Bonetti chair covered in a Toyine Sellers fabric.

A de Gournay wall covering clads the primary bedroom, where Sultana custom designed the Savoir bed dressed in Gayle Warwick linens; the bench, low side table, and floor lamp are by Mattia Bonetti, the bedside lamp is by André Dubreuil, and the curtains are made of an Élitis fabric.

Shimmering like a disco ball, the powder room began as an ostensible joke between the homeowners. “As soon as the husband said he wanted a gold toilet, the wife looked in horror,” say Sultana, laughing. “In the end, the joke became reality.” The final mosaic-wrapped space features Volevatch fittings set above a Murano glass-and-marble pedestal sink. “It’s an English tradition for people to have fun with the guest loo. You make it a talking point.” 

To give the conservatory an indoor-outdoor feel, Sultana sheathed the walls in a trompe l’oeil trellis, then layered in painted terra-cotta plates by influential Surrealist Jean Cocteau. “Cocteau made ceramics not very far from where this house is located,” he notes. “The plates are randomly placed, so it’s very relaxed.”