studio GGSV transforms historic parisian apartment into salons for the imagination

The Salons of Imagination at Manufactures nationales

The Salons of Imagination is an immersive installation by French design duo Studio GGSV, created for the newly established Manufactures Nationales as part of its inaugural PAVILLON program. Conceived for this first edition at the invitation of the institution, the project gives contemporary designers free rein to imagine the interiors of tomorrow while honoring the role of the interior designer. Housed inside the Pavillon d’Angiviller at the historic Manufacture des Gobelins in Paris, it transforms a 200-square-meter apartment into three interconnected interiors where art, architecture, and craftsmanship converge to offer profound sensory experiences. For this commission, Gaëlle Gabillet and Stéphane Villard, founders of Studio GGSV and known for their experimental use of illusion and trompe-l’œil, designed every piece of furniture and décor, presenting several never-before-seen works. The three environments — the Reception Salon, the Conversation Salon, and the Reading Salon — are conceived as spaces that stimulate the mind as much as they invite contemplation, encouraging visitors to imagine, exchange, and dream while celebrating French savoir-faire.

designboom visited the installation in person to explore the three rooms and speak directly with the Parisian design duo. ‘France has a long history of distinctive styles — every king had his own. Yet the concept of the ensemblier is unique: creating interiors as complete wholes, where architecture, fixed décor, movable décor, and furniture are in dialogue. This approach flourished through the Mobilier National until the 1920s, with Art Deco often seen as the last great French style to embrace it. Since then, focus shifted more narrowly to individual pieces of furniture, and the integrated vision was largely lost,’ Studio GGSV tells designboom. ‘For the centenary of Art Deco, rather than mounting another exhibition, the director of the Mobilier National posed a new question: what could an ensemble mean in 2025? The result is a reimagined apartment divided into three rooms, each exploring a different relationship between décor and furniture.’

the Reception Salon | all images © Jean Allard

THREE UNIQUE SALON CONCEPTS BY STUDIO GGSV IN PARIS

Founded in 2011 by Gaëlle Gabillet and Stéphane Villard, Studio GGSV takes a multidisciplinary approach that spans design, installation, exhibition curation, and interior architecture. The duo, known for their experimental use of illusion and trompe-l’œil, were residents at the Villa Medici in 2018 for a research project exploring the application of painting to objects and architecture. Their works are part of the collections of the Centre Pompidou, the CNAP, and the Mobilier National, and they have been commissioned by institutions and brands including the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Fondation Rothschild, Hermès, Chanel, and Galeries Lafayette. In 2023, they won the call for proposals Re-enchanting the Villa Medici with their project Camera Fantasia, and are currently presenting the monumental installation Grand Feu to mark the 200th anniversary of the Musée de la Céramique in Sèvres.

In this commission, the Paris-based design duo blurs the boundaries between architecture, décor, and furniture. Patterns, materials, and forms echo and extend one another to create a unified yet unconventional whole. The result is three environments: the Reception Salon, the Conversation Salon, and the Reading Salon.

the Conversation Salon

The Reception Salon

The Reception Salon explores the dialogue between architectural structure and applied décor. At its center stands a monumental segmented-wood library, its hypnotic black-and-white rhythms recalling the twisted columns of Louis XIII style. These patterns extend across console tables, lamps, and molded wall panels printed directly onto wood, creating trompe-l’œil perspectives that multiply depth. Pilasters shift between illusion and reality, merging décor and structure into a unified whole. Classical and baroque references combine with art deco geometry, forming a layered composition where perception continuously oscillates between surface and volume.

‘Working with Mobilier National’s carpenters, we created a modular furniture system with an architectural scale — flexible enough to generate multiple pieces from the same structure. Its form references the curves of Louis XIII furniture, but reimagined with alternating black and white laminated layers that transform the surfaces depending on the angle,’ Studio GGSV explains. ‘The result is a contemporary ensemble that honors tradition while pointing toward new possibilities.’

hypnotic black-and-white rhythms recall the twisted columns of Louis XIII style

The Conversation Salon

Conceived as a space for sociability, the Conversation Salon is centered around a large sofa tailored to the room’s proportions. Its generous, organic forms reinterpret the conviviality of historic salons while echoing the art of topiary. ‘The second room takes inspiration from the garden, organized around a monumental hexagonal sofa designed for conversation — echoing both French traditions of salons and Middle Eastern majlis spaces,’ Gaëlle Gabillet and Stéphane Villard share. The walls are covered with textile frames in metallic verdigris reliefs, reflecting light in subtle gradients that evoke foliage and garden shadows. Divided into moldings and cornices, these frames mirror the bay window and visually extend the surrounding landscape. Overhead, a luminous ceiling disc evokes a shifting sky, casting the room in an atmosphere designed for dialogue and exchange. Tapestries by Canadian artist Xénia Lucie Laffely introduce landscapes of fire and greenery in relief, further blurring the line between inside and outside. Historic vases and sculptural pieces from the Mobilier National collection complete the scene, reinforcing the dialogue between interior décor and garden-inspired forms.

the Conversation Salon is organized around a large hexagonal sofa

The Reading Salon

The Reading Salon envelops visitors in a total environment where architecture and painting dissolve into one. Romantic landscapes inspired by 19th-century art and Mobilier National tapestries cover the walls, floor, and ceiling, transforming the interior into a three-dimensional fresco. Rocks, mountains, and vegetation intertwine to create a dreamlike landscape where built-in libraries and armchairs appear to grow from the setting itself. ‘Drawings once confined to chair backs or framed panels now spread across the entire space, covering walls, armchairs, and even the floor — which reflects like a blurred lake. At first glance, visitors see a landscape; at second, colors; at third, a meditative space for introspection. Custom aluminum wall lights add impressionist reflections, further merging architecture and furniture into a seamless, immersive environment,’ the Studio GGSV design duo mentions. Hammered aluminum sconces scatter colors in impressionistic flashes, further blurring the boundary between interior and exterior. The result is a contemplative atmosphere dedicated to perception and imagination.

the Reading Salon

COLLABORATION WITH Manufactures nationaleS ARTISANS

Several pieces were developed in collaboration with the artisans of the Manufactures Nationales, the institution created in 2025, from the merger of the Mobilier National and the Cité de la Céramique – Sèvres & Limoges, which brings together more than 53 artisanal trades. For this project, the Sèvres workshops produced three porcelain vases with petit feu decoration, their fiery glazes recalling the centuries-old alchemy of ceramics, while the Atelier de Recherche et de Création (ARC) worked with Studio GGSV on the library, console, and lamps. Crafted from white sycamore and ancient bog oak, these turned-wood pieces reinterpret the twisted column of Louis XIII furniture as a structural motif and are designed to be assembled without screws, highlighting both adaptability and technical virtuosity. Displayed until the end of 2025, the installation links centuries of artisanal heritage with contemporary design experimentation, while the Pavillon d’Angiviller hosts cultural events, professional gatherings, and exhibitions, promoting French savoir-faire both nationally and internationally.

rocks, mountains, and vegetation intertwine to create a dreamlike landscape