Léonie Alma Mason sitting on her custom-designed dining room table with a lava stone top and solid oak base. The bookcase is also one of her custom designs.
Léonie Alma Mason begins, “I was born in Switzerland, grew up in Paris, but also spent five years in Germany. I come from a family of art historians and grew up with art.” Though it is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her art education, it will do for now. Years later, fresh with a degree in interior architecture and design from the prestigious École Camondo in Paris, Léonie began to carve out her own career in the art world with a three-year stint at a design agency before she launched her own firm, LA.M Studio in 2014.
It will come as no surprise that her current space is full of works of art, each and every one of them with a story. Visiting her gracious, light-filled apartment in the tony 8th arrondissement of Paris is a study in cool contemporary meets custom design and beautiful materials. At approximately 1,600 square feet, the space is large enough to accommodate her studio office as well as her family and visitors. “We have this nice large terrace with a great view of Paris,” she adds.
Léonie describes her apartment, originally and intentionally a blank slate, as an opportunity. “This is a rented place and we really wanted a white box, a classic space. This one has nice floors and moldings. We didn’t change anything and I really just built it up. We just came in and added lots of custom furniture, which is a specialty of the studio.” Léonie adds that her fiancé has influenced the design as well. “We are both collectors and there is lots of vintage.”
The main salon has a large custom sofa in tinted oak covered with a blue linen velvet. The ikat pillows are from Turkey and the room is anchored by a painting by French artist Robert Combas. The two table lamps are prototypes by Léonie’s grandmother, artist Odile Mir. The larger marble coffee table is a custom design and the smaller one is Italian vintage from the 1970s.
Léonie’s apartment is full of art, both received as gifts throughout the years and collected with intention and care. There are also design pieces by her grandmother, artist Odile Mir. Léonie enthusiastically adds, “I have a project of editions I am doing with my grandmother. A few years ago, completely by chance, we discovered a series of designs she did ages ago. She had never told me about them before, and when we found all of these models, some lighting, we decided to do a book together and to launch reeditions. At the time, they were sold at a store called Prisunic, a precursor to IKEA.”
Although her style has been described as very French, she begs to disagree, stating, “I’m not sure about that description. I am inspired by travel and lots of other things. I pay attention to colors and materials, plus vintage and contemporary art. I want to design a personality for each project.”
The big lithograph on the right is by German artist Georg Baselitz, a portrait of his wife, Elke. Léonie designed the light blue velvet stool for a hotel project in Dinard, France. The floors are the original parquet.
CLAIRE ISRAEL 2019⚒ Do It Yourself
Paint it out Léonie says the original kitchen was all wood and felt like a chalet. She decided to paint it light blue with green trim and is now, in her opinion, “one of the prettiest kitchens ever! A super simple thing, but it changed everything.”
Art everywhere There are no rules when it comes to hanging art. Lean it, or hang it solo or in clusters. Léonie likes to group things around a theme, like women, which she has done in the Main Salon.
The pink silk curtains are by an Indian sari maker. The pair of vintage lounge chairs are from the 1930s and were reedited by Andrée Putman for Ecart International. The vintage dining chairs in the background are covered in khaki-colored leather found at the Parisian Flea Market at Saint-Ouen. On the wall are artworks by Abdelkader Benchamma, Man Ray, and the works around the theme of women. In the fireplace is a chrome magazine stand designed by Odile Mir, which will be rereleased this year.
? Shop It Out
All products featured on Architectural Digest are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Crescent Moon Club Chairs, Ralph Pucci
Prints by Georg Baselitz, Lumas
The commode is custom designed. The vintage wall lights are from the Parisian Flea Market at Saint-Ouen and the photograph is by Raymond Depardon. “Depardon came from a family of farmers. So does my fiancé.” Léonie shares. “This is one of his pieces and he said he wanted to wake up with this image of a cow every day. All of our art is super personal.”
