The founder of Maison Sarah Lavoine opened the doors of her retreat in Cap Ferret to us : four cabins in the dunes, with dazzling simplicity. Bohemian dream!
Horizon, Dunes, Mimbeau… The names of the beaches pass by, and then at the end of the dead end Sarah Poniatowski welcomes us to “paradise”. This is the name of his refuge on the Cap Ferret peninsula. The decorator has always known this small, exceptionally well-preserved strip of sand between the Atlantic Ocean and the Arcachon basin: “As a child, I spent all my summers at the pool, at my father’s house. There was a unique atmosphere, a sense of freedom, security as well, we were always in the company of friends, we found ourselves at large family tables where all generations mingled without distinction. They all spoke together, in the scent of pine trees warmed by the sun and this golden light, so special. The house was open, and the decoration was simple, I reproduced that at home.” Its roots are here. Before his father, his grandparents also owned the pool house.
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So, when the opportunity arose to buy a plot of land with four wooden cabins in the immediate vicinity of the dunes, Sarah knew immediately that she had found her vacation home. The proof is: six years later, he still vacations here with his family and comes to recharge his batteries whenever he can. “I kept the sheds, I gave each one an identity by playing with contrasting color combinations. It’s a place in Brazil called Trancoso, where all the houses are painted in different shades, that inspired me. It’s cheerful and adds style to very simple wooden structures.” Sarah fell in love with style when she was little. “My mother was a decorator and I had the opportunity to practice my eye with her,” he explains. I understood very early the importance of an anchor in which we feel good, the need to have a universe that suits us. I think the place that I like the most is my vacation home.”
And the first feeling you get when you walk in is that you feel good. In the main cabin, painted yellow on the outside and lined with natural wood on the inside, you enter directly into a large, warm room. On one side, a long table in green lacquered wood, topped with a spectacular chandelier, specially made by a ceramicist friend, shelves on which mix books, children’s photos, vases, candlesticks and board games; on the other, the living room and its welcoming red sofa; between the two, a fireplace for burning in cool evenings. We feel that everyone gathers here.
It is the beating heart of the house, with its small open kitchen: “Very functional in minimal space, and I even managed to fit a huge fridge in there! I like to cook on vacation, I have more time, and the products here are delicious.” On open shelves, vintage sets blend in with Maison Sarah Lavoine crockery and add to the decor. “That way anyone can set the table,” he jokes. Above all, I have a passion for plates, I even collected my parents’ wedding service. The other part of the shed is Sarah’s cocoon. She chose warm and soothing tones, aubergine and sandy yellow for the bedroom, with touches of the famous “Sarah blue” for the zelliges in her bathroom.
This mastery of the chromatic game is the signature of Maison Sarah Lavoine, a brand founded by Sarah Poniatowski in 2012. Interior architecture, design of furniture and objects, as well as ready-made clothes, is her entire universe that she delivers through collections, which today include more than five hundred references present in twenty and one country. Success that allows him to get involved in things that are close to him. His architectural studio designed the visual identity of Cafés Joyeux, whose mission is the inclusion of people with disabilities. He also designed modular furniture for the Paris Hospital Foundation and recently helped set up a shelter to accommodate women victims of violence in their homes. “I honestly believe that beauty is comforting. In addition to the simple arrangement of furniture, there is a constant search for that harmony that vibrates our senses and calms our mind.
Harmony, that’s what this vacation house could be called, created for receiving and sharing. The garden, all around the cabins, is an invitation to settle down and relax, tables, sofas, deckchairs and armchairs are scattered as well as many other places to meet in a group or one on one. “There are a lot of corners, there can be many of us without getting in the way. From the beginning I thought about this place for my three children and me. In the beginning, everyone had their own cabin. Today they are grown up, so I arranged one of the huts with a bedroom so that they can entertain friends and have parties. I like the idea that the house evolves with us, it’s a living place.”