Five design lessons to note from Louis Vuitton's exclusive pop-up boutique in Lombardy
The minimalist haven on the fringe of Lake Como has shaped our summer interiors – this is what we've learnt from the Parisian powerhouse
As we begin to indulge in the joys of international travel once again, Louis Vuitton has announced a new pop-up store – housed in the prestigious Villa d'Este hotel on the banks of Lake Como.
Following the launch of their Summer by the Pool collection, the French label set its sights on the nineteenth-century Lombardy jewel as the quintessential setting for its celebration of the season.
While we lust over the collection, we're equally lusting over the store's interiors. From its sweeping arches to its minimal accessories and fearless color scheme, these are the five design tips we're mirroring in our modern homes right away.
1. Buy houseplants – then buy even more
Louis Vuitton has just given us every excuse we could need to pick up some more new house plants – just in case you needed another excuse anyway. You now have complete permission to fill your interiors with an abundance of greenery and experiment with flowers in the most unexpected of places (spot the peonies, white roses, and eucalyptus in a very chic container) for a chic way to showcase your flowers.
If you're looking for new houseplants, follow Louis Vuitton's lead and invest palms, philodendrons, and a whole lot of fiddle-leaf figs, because this is summer after all.
2. Accentuate your arches
While it's hard not to feel happy in a Louis Vuitton boutique in the foothills of the Alps, we have another theory as to what makes the boutique so effortlessly joyful: its arches. Interior experts and psychologists alike agree on the unwavering power of circular shapes and their ability to boost our wellbeing – and we can get on board with their advice when arches look this good.
If your home isn't blessed with an arch, it is still possible to bring this look into your interiors through furnishings such as arched bed heads, crescent mirrors, and tiles that will spark the same satisfaction throughout your home.
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3. Be courageous with color
Perhaps the most notable interior design feature from the boutique is its daring injection of tangerine orange hues – drenched across the walls to reflect the blazing sky above Lombardy.
This is the season to overly-indulge in playful tones that will evoke a sense of nostalgic summers and an anticipation of the kaleidoscopic journeys to come.
It's also a guaranteed statement that will act as a backdrop to at least nine of your ten friends' Instagram posts after your first summer house party. Because if Louis Vuitton approves of orange, then who can surely disagree?
4. Choose minimalist accessories to complement your scheme
Whether you've just kissed your walls with a maximalist shade, or you're looking to highlight your Scandi-cool scheme, minimalist accessories are for everybody. While we can lose ourselves in an overflow of houseplant, we're following Louis Vuitton's lead and keeping home decor accessories, such as candles, vases, and decorative books, to a minimum.
For the best place to start and end, we recommend mirroring the look above and bringing a curated selection of two books and one lantern to the forefront of your interiors – and at least one of these books must be about Louis Vuitton, but that goes without saying.
5. Bring the outdoors inside
See: Explore this cabin-style house in Italy with colourful global influences
With an increasing desire to create a flow between indoor and outdoor living, we're continuously looking for ways to blur the lines between our interior and exterior spaces – but we've just found the chicest new technique that we're rushing to try. Amongst its more conventional furnishings, this boutique exhibits a large tree-trunk style seat that is a subtle yet powerful nod to the natural Alpine setting whilst immersed in the splendor of the store.
While we can't all invest in a mountain cabin, we can still bring organic furniture into our interiors– to break up our orthodox furnishings and remind us of the outdoors laying beyond our windows and doors.
We suppose recreating the Louis Vuitton boutique will be sufficient until we can visit the Lombardy kingdom for ourselves.
The store opens in Villa d'Este hotel throughout summer 2021.
Megan is the Head of Celebrity Style News at Homes & Gardens. She first joined Future Plc as a News Writer across their interiors titles, including Livingetc and Real Homes, before becoming H&G's News Editor in April 2022. She now leads the Celebrity/ News team.
Before joining Future, Megan worked as a News Explainer at The Telegraph, following her MA in International Journalism at the University of Leeds. During her BA in English Literature and Creative Writing, she gained writing experience in the US whilst studying in New York. Megan also focused on travel writing during her time living in Paris, where she produced content for a French travel site.
Megan currently lives in London, where she relocated from her hometown in Yorkshire. In her home, she experiments with interior design trends and draws inspiration from the home decor ideas she observes in her everyday work life. Her favorite pieces include her antique typewriter and her expansive collection of houseplants. When she isn’t writing, she is browsing London’s coffee shops and bookstores to add to her ever-growing library, taking over the open shelving in her apartment.
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