Haut Couturier

'French 18th-century furniture is always chic," says decorator and architect Robert Couturier, "but let's face it, it's often too formal, completely over-the-top—and beyond most people's means." And so the impish Parisian, best known for creating Shangri-las in Mexico and France for legendary financier Sir James Goldsmith, has forsaken brocade and gilt for "subdued elegance." His new collection of made-to-order furniture debuts this month at his first public showroom, in midtown Manhattan.

"In the 18th century, French furniture was designed specifically for every room and for every use," explains Couturier. "Today, unless you are very rich, you can't afford to own a chair that doesn't function in many roles: hall, side, and dining," he says, surveying the loft that houses his extensive line of furnishings, including Moorish-inspired chairs, sofas, tables, and lamps of exquisitely carved woods and understated fabrics. Then, flopping his impeccably suited frame onto a silk-upholstered divan piled high with pillows, he muses, "To me this sort of easy comfort is just heaven. Let's just say that I've evolved in my taste."

KHOI NGUYEN