Checking In With Hotel Interior Designer Jean-Philippe Nuel | wsj.com

The man behind some of Frances splashiest new boutique hotels talks about minimalism, flea-market furniture and the films that inspire his work wsj.com

WHEN IT COMES TO inspiration, French architect and interior designer Jean-Philippe Nuel often finds himself wandering over to his bookshelf and randomly picking out a volume of poetry. Rimbaud, Mallarm, Octavio Paz.

Its just to have a little bit of soulful input that goes beyond the realm of graphic arts, says Mr. Nuel, whos comfortably installed beside a virtual-flame fireplace in the lounge of the Cinq Codet in Paris, one of his latest boutique hotel projects.

Trained as an architect at the citys Beaux-Arts, Mr. Nuel, 54, has designed the interiors of some of Frances splashiest new hotels. Their styles range from the luminous, cream-colored suites of the Intercontinental Htel Dieu in Marseille to the hip Art-Deco-meets-street-art of Pariss Hotel Molitor, a restored 16th-arrondissement landmark.

The designers latest venture, opening this spring, is the sprawling seaside Cures Marines Hotel Thalasso and Spa in Trouville, a destination once frequented by wealthy Parisians for the fashionable casinos and thermal baths. It was also a favorite with the literary set, from Stendhal and Flaubert to Proust and Marguerite Duras, and Mr. Nuel says hell pay tribute to some of their best quotes in the dcor.

Im always influenced by the history of each place, but I never try to reconstruct the past, Mr. Nuel says with a smile, from his perch on a low-slung sofa of his own design. And as much as I like creating contemporary furniture, you should feel at ease about putting your feet up on the table. Otherwise, theres no point.

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Checking In With Hotel Interior Designer Jean-Philippe Nuel | wsj.com