Violaine de Pourtalès - Interior & Furniture Designer

Bringing warmth to your interiors with lively colors and splendid fabrics

Swiss and French designer Violaine De Pourtalès has been drawing houses and furniture plans since the age of 11, when she moved with her family from Geneva, Switzerland to Nassau, Bahamas. The colorful Bahamian interiors that she had never seen before amazed her!

How did you come to do what you do?

I was always ambitious and started internships at Christie’s while I was still in high school While studying at Parsons School of Design in New York, I continued working at Christie’s one day a week in the Proposal Department. This experience was great in parallel of my Bachelor studies in order to get a sense of the working environment.

I always wanted to take advantage of the time I had to deepen my knowledge and skills. Therefore, every summer during my Parsons’ school years, I was interning for India Madhavi’s studio in Paris.

After four great years in New York, I pursued a Master degree at Domus Academy in Milan, before working for Luis Laplace, a well-known Argentinian architect, based in Paris.

In 2015, I created Pourtalès Design, an interior and furniture design studio, where I design interiors for clients in France and abroad, as well as build furniture for all kinds of spaces.

What's the most exciting part of your job?

In my job, you must collaborate with different kinds of craftsmen to complete a project. For example, I love going to a carpenter’s woodshop, to visit an artist's studio that mixes brass with silk and to visit another artisan that paints on glass. I learnt how to build furniture with my own hands at Parsons School of Design, therefore I love and appreciate the beautiful work done with your hands.

What challenges do you usually encounter?

The first challenge is to understand the client. As every client is different, it’s crucial to comprehend their needs and budget. But most importantly, to find the best way to interact with them to run an efficient project and get the work done.

The second challenge is to supervise the construction site. It is important for me to finish on time. Therefore, I need to stay very organized and on top of things so that everything runs smoothly.

What's your typical day like?

Every day is different! The job requires to wear different hats, as an artist and as an engineer, for example. I can either be on a construction site, drawing plans on AutoCAD, visiting fabric stores and antique boutiques, or sketching furniture and communicating with my craftsmen.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I believe that the eye is a muscle one can train by observing beautiful objects, paintings, or fabrics. Everything can be a source of inspiration!

In my designs, I like to mix classic and contemporary styles. I enjoy colorful patterned fabrics and unique handmade materials and therefore train my eye and find inspiration at contemporary art fairs, flea markets, as well as private and public auctions. For instance, I just saw a beautiful exhibition of Paul Signac and was inspired by the way he uses colors in his work. His technique gave me new ideas for current interior projects.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

I generally like to paint, read and dance, but unfortunately, between Covid and my family, I don’t have a lot of free time for this. However, I have two beautiful daughters, Célestine and Henriette, and spending time with them when I’m not working is what I enjoy most.

What’s your go to track or album at the moment?

I used to be in love with electronic music, but now I’m more into classical music. I listen to Prokofiev, for example :)

Any exciting news you’d like to share with our LIDO fam?

I am proud to be starting a new collaboration with the gallery « Mayaro » based in Paris. This gorgeous gallery is very well located in the 7ème arrondissement of Paris and exhibits unique furniture and objects, exhibits at the PAD, and works with other artists who create beautiful exclusive materials.

Follow Pourtalès Design on Instagram and discover the studio’s beautiful website.

Photos courtesy of Pourtalès Design