Angelenous love great design, a fact that made our fair city the obvious choice for Francine Gardner when she decided to open a West Coast outpost of her thriving New York-based Interieurs showroom. Born and raised near Bordeaux, France, Gardner moved to the States to study business, but soon traded finance for a career as a head buyer for Nordstrom. Traveling extensively, Gardner discovered a passion for landscaping, antiques, and home goods. In 1996, she opened Interieurs, specializing in imported French furniture and rustic hand-painted antiques from the South of France. “The store was an immediate hit,” says Gardner, and “high-profile clients were constantly asking us to do their interiors.”
With that inspiration, Gardner and her team launched Interieurs Design Studio, a firm focusing on harmoniously mixing contemporary pieces with antiques, which Gardner says has since become “a staple of design.” Her exceptional taste has attracted A-listers like Hilary Swank and Julia Roberts, but when it comes to her interior design business, Gardner keeps her client list small to maintain an unparalleled level of personalized service and leave her the time to cultivate other ideas.
An avid environmentalist, she recently launched three furniture concepts: Le Bamboo Collection, L’Espirit Interieurs, and L’Industrial Interieurs, all offering pieces handmade in America with sustainable materials or reclaimed rare wood. All of this, and the unbelievable array of recycled 1800s Industrial furniture salvaged in Europe and the US, not to mention exclusive lighting from luminaries like José Esteves, and other eclectic pieces, have tastemakers salivating. Did we mention that bicoastal Gardner is in the market for a West Hollywood pied-à-terre? To that we say, welcome home. Interieurs, 450 North Robertson Boulevard, West Hollywood, 310-652-5002; interieurs.com.
