Luke Edward Hall's design for a Parisian hotel pays homage to Madeleine Castaing

Luke Edward Hall could be described as having the Midas touch; yet rather than gold, everything he touches turns kaleidoscopic. The British artist, designer and FT columnist's star has been steadily on the rise since he founded his eponymous studio five years ago. Luke has worked on a broad range of commissions, from interior design and fashion projects to murals and illustration work for books, restaurants and hotels. He has collaborated with a variety of companies and institutions including Burberry, Lanvin, Richard Ginori, Svenskt Tenn and Habitat.

In early 2019, Luke was approached to work on the interiors of a new Parisian hotel in the 10th Arrondissement. Les Deux Gares is situated in the streets that separate the Gare du Nord from Gare de L'Est, two of the main stations in the city. 'I thought the location of the hotel had a kind of romance about it,' said Luke, 'because the bedrooms overlook Gare de l’Est. Railway hotels have a sort magic potential about them.'

The location was key to Luke's imagining of the hotel, where he worked on not only the interiors, but the branding, uniforms and stationery. 'I always like to have a backstory in mind for my projects. For Les Deux Gares, I imagined the building belonging to a Parisian collector who has spent his life travelling and has now decided to open his home to guests. I wanted to draw upon the hotel’s location, so I bought French antiques for the lobby, and sourced Parisian exhibition, travel and club posters for the walls.'

Luke was given free rein on the project and describes the art direction as, 'a sort of new French style, inspired by the past and filtered through an Englishman’s eye for colour and pattern. A London-Paris mash-up!'

The filmic palette has more than a touch of Wes Anderson about it. In one bedroom, blush pink walls and a yolky yellow ceiling are intersected by forest green cornicing and skirting boards. 'My aim was to create interiors that feel classic and elegant, but at the same time unexpectedly playful,' explained Luke. 'My favourite thing in the bedrooms might be the black and toffee-coloured geometric carpet, made by Wilton, an historic company based in Wiltshire,' Luke explained.

While colour dominates the private spaces, the public ones are all about pattern. 'I’ve mixed graphic, geometric carpets with leopard print and stripes; antique gilt-wood furniture with Seventies lighting. I also looked to two of my favourite design heroes – David Hicks and Madeleine Castaing. There are little homages to them dotted around the hotel – geometric carpets, leopard print fabrics and ebonised antiques.' Bold blocks of colour are used against all this fabric to break the space up; the walls are panelled on the lower half and painted a bright green, while the upper half takes on a blue and red toile de jouy style wallpaper.

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From the archive: an interview with Madeleine Castaing (1966)

The scheme for the adjoining cafe, which is pure Parisian bistro, is more delicate than the hotel, but still certainly has Luke's stamp on it. Even the gym has been reimagined in Luke's vision, with Josef Frank's acid bright 'Eldblomman' wallpaper, red and white checkerboard floor and wooden equipment.

Les Deux Gares: hoteldeuxgares.com
Luke Edward Hall: lukeedwardhall.com