Rare Find

When Orso founders Anouk and Louis Solanet were searching for the next address in their burgeoning hotel group they knew they had stumbled across a hidden gem with Hôtel Cabane, a 42-room property which uniquely comes with its own log cabin.“We knew we wouldn’t find this again in Paris,” Anouk says. “To find another space where we could get a permit and build a cabin ourselves, well it wouldn’t have been possible. We also really liked a lot of the existing features such as the real wood floors and statement arched windows in the guest rooms. We just needed to add our own special touch.”

To imbue the boutique address with the atmosphere of a countryside guest house, the duo tapped Charlotte Cadé, co-founder of Selency, to bring her keen eye and selection of vintage furniture to the project. In the petite guest rooms Charlotte retained the open plan bathrooms, a smart choice to maximise space, and the soft sage green hue which extends from the tiles to the painted walls. Desks we redesigned bespoke to fit the typically Parisian proportions and the rest of the furnishings were kept to a minimum with Scandi-style bedside tables, Flos Glo-Ball lighting, and chunky square poufs which have been luxuriously updated in orange velour from heritage fabric house NOBILIS.

After falling in love with the original forest green walls in the downstairs dining area, Charlotte sourced vintage wood furnishings in rich tones to complement the earthy colour palette. As in the bedrooms, satisfying the hotel’s more practical furniture needs with Selency’s collection proved to be a challenge and so dining tables were custom-made and crowned with vintage lampshades signed by the now defunct German-Swiss brand Temde Leuchte. The once metallic bar was warmed up with terracotta tiles from Beaujolais and a rustic communal table was chosen to sit centre stage “to encourage sharing and to feel more like a chambre d’hôtes guest house than a Parisian hotel,” says Anouk.

To avoid the space feeling like a huge brocante (flea market), design collectibles such as the lobby’s Ligne Roset Togo sofa were brought in to add a more sophisticated finish. Olivia de Fayet and Fanny Saulay from young gallery Wilo & Grove curated the eclectic selection of artwork, which includes a triptych painting from Spanish artist Kanica and lino prints from Emma Iks, while the photographs come from the anonymous artists at Galerie Incognito. “We think it’s really important to have art in a hotel,” says Anouk. A scattering of plants brings the outside in and link the hotel with La Cabane, a country wood cabin which stands alone in the leafy garden. Charlotte took design cues from 1960s California to create the cocooning interiors, adding vintage furnishings, a Butterfly armchair, and 1970s shell-shaped wall lamps to the French timber walls. In the bathroom the original dark slate walls and rough, unfinished sink are another nod to the natural surroundings, which have been spruced up with young plants and saplings that will continue to shape the space for years to come.