For the typical tenant at midtown's SELENE tower, the sky is the limit. Designed by British firm Foster + Partners, the status building thrusts into Manhattan’s skyline with an undulating, folded glass facade, a 64-story feat (one that renowned architect Norman Foster described as impossibly skinny) attracting a studded list of residents to the likes of George Clooney and Cindy Crawford.
One set of those residents, a globe-trotting couple who fell for the pencil tower's supreme views, tapped local interiors firm frenchCALIFORNIA to not just decorating an apartment, but designing a calm and collected, high-style pied-à-terre — with interiors that rise to the occasion.
Guillaume Coutheillas, the founder and creative director of frenchCALIFORNIA, was no stranger to SELENE. The Paris-born designer worked on several model residences within the tower, making his studio an experienced pick for the project. But the couple also resonated with Guillaume's personal style. He has a knack for layering old and new pieces — an expert at searching high and low for European furnishing from online marketplaces like 1stDibs and Etsy — while bringing an ultra-functional and importantly Parisian style (read: both members of the couple can speak French) to the sky-high unit.
