Magazine Coco Chanel’s Riviera Gardens Restored with Iconic Tweed Suits in Mind

Architect Peter Marino has restored Coco Chanel’s beloved Riviera estate, La Pausa, to its 1930s glory, emphasizing the designer’s vision of a private retreat and artistic haven.

Reflecting Chanel’s Vision

The restoration, completed in 2015, involved flooding the hillsides with lavender and iris, and bathing the centuries-old olive trees in a moonlit glow. Marino meticulously researched the estate’s archives, referencing 1935 as the key period for recreating Chanel’s intended aesthetic.

“We wanted this ambience of the ’30s, which, as you know, was the Depression,” Marino explained. “People weren’t spending lavishly, so it had to be somewhat demure.”

Chanel originally purchased the nearly 10-acre property in 1928, utilizing profits from her hugely successful perfume, No. 5. The house, built with architect Robert Streitz, was inspired by the austere Aubazine convent where Chanel was raised. La Pausa served as her Riviera retreat until 1953, when she sold it to publisher Emery Reves.

Key elements of the restoration include preserving the original olive trees, one of which Chanel insisted be left in place, and incorporating jasmine and iris – ingredients of Chanel No. 5 – into the landscape. The East façade features shutters painted in a custom blue shade, mirroring the original color.

Archival photographs showcase Chanel amidst lavender at La Pausa in 1938 and the estate in 1929.