Any home that is purchased with a dog's needs in mind, considered above anyone else's, is a home I am bound to love- and fashion designer Stefano Pilati's Parisian duplex is no exception. Every peculiar accessory and well-positioned detail in this house gives me life. He chose this particular home over other contenders because it had a backyard garden his boxer "Bepi", pictured below, could roam freely in:
At the time this story was originally published in Architectural Digest in 2013, Stefano Pilati was the creative director of Italian menswear brand Ermenegildo Zegna. He gained considerable notoriety while working as lead designer for Yves Saint Laurent from 2004-2012, and in late 2018 he announced his work on a new label, "Random Identities". Pilati worked with architect Bruno Caron to re-design his duplex format and carry out the design. First, he moved the kitchen from the lower level to the first floor and put a gym and laundry room in it's place. Then, he acquired additional space on the first (ground floor) to place a master dressing room and vaulted master bath- which can be reached from the master bedroom above via an elegant winding staircase:
The paneling above is covered in velvet, and the terracotta Venus is from the 19th century. The floor lamp and straw shade are from Paul Bert Serpette, "home of the rare". The vaulted bathroom below, attached to the dressing room, features Lefroy Brooks fittings and brass accents:
Pilati's TV room is anything but pedestrian. The chic writing desk is Louis XVI, and the desk chair is an early Thonet-Style:
Pilati's office houses a vintage light fixture and desk, painter's canvas on the walls, and a funky abstract chest of drawers designed by Martino Gamper:
The master bedroom walls are painted in the most soothing shade of gray, and a silk and leather hide shag rug anchors the seating area by the fireplace:
Pilati's master bed is upholstered in suede, and a whimsical "love" pillow from Kate Moss sits atop the shams:
A crafted geometric bookshelf seperates the master bedroom from the smoking room:
A material you don't often see on a kitchen floor -leather tiles- lines the galley kitchen:
