Meet Nadine Teboul of The French Apartment Gallery

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadine Teboul.

Hi Nadine, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Paris in a very loving, stable family: my father was a doctor who loved music and arts, and my mother was an artist who managed to keep her feet on the ground!

I shared with them the making of our family dream home, from the very first floor plan sketches to the final deco details. I discovered artists in world-class museums along with the backstage view, touring many painters’ studios. I also spent time at my grandparents’ clothing workshops. 

It truly made me understand design and the making of art, the value of quality materials and handmade perfection. Artists are artisans and artisans are artists.

Despite my master’s degree at the French Institute of Fashion and Design, I never considered positions with Yves Saint Laurent or Louis Vuitton like my classmates. I preferred starting my career working at Robert Le Héros, a renowned boutique design studio with an artist workshop atmosphere and a startup mindset. It specialized in luxury “avant-garde” home textiles; it was the place for home decor projects with a twist!

After that first experience, I spent many years living in different countries. From Tokyo to NYC and Tel Aviv, I have been exploring local cultures and lifestyles and I developed my passion for art de vivre and decoration through different personal remodeling and interior design projects.

In 2019, I opened The French Apartment Gallery, a space dedicated to high-end French furniture. I have converted my passion into a business and put myself in the shoes of an ambassador of the French designers and artisans in California!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Opening The French Apartment Gallery in LA has been an extraordinary yet demanding moment! It took me about a year to imagine and set up all the details, with the extra challenge of coordinating a project between Paris and LA while still living in Tel Aviv. To that day, I am proud to say I went through all processes and opened my space in the WeHo design district just a month after I moved to the City of Angels!

Next, I had to develop my local business network from scratch, and when the Covid crisis happened just few months later, connecting with new clients became very challenging.

Now, as my business develops, I try to keep in mind 2 important guidelines:

. First, what I do as a passion must also be managed as a business, which I sometimes forget, spending hours searching the perfect piece for a client… 

. Also, I pay close attention to the environmental impact of my business. I believe “less is more”; therefore, instead of aiming at quantities, I focus on high-end exclusive pieces, custom ordered for each client, to keep my shipping volumes low. And, even if I would love to meet my French artisans in person, in their wonderful studios, I avoid flying overseas. Thanks to Covid, we know how to collaborate remotely and efficiently, working with photos or on Zoom, and shipping only small materials samples when necessary!

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about The French Apartment Gallery?
At the French Apartment, we present high-end furniture, rugs, and art from France. We focus on custom-made pieces with exceptional savoir-faire and a French creative twist.

We are proud to welcome wonderful private customers, wise collectors, and talented interior designers with multimillion-dollar house projects seeking for their unique statement pieces. We collaborate with clients from all around California and beyond…

Inspired by the most recent Parisian trend as for furniture showrooms, our space has evolved to a new concept of Apartment Gallery, thought to offer our clients a unique experience.

Our Instagram account is indeed a great opportunity to review our exclusive collections and get inspired. 

When possible, we also love to welcome our clients in person. Because, when it comes to luxury and art pieces, we believe you like to discover more about the design process, making, materials, finishes… all details that make our furniture and accessories so special. Our apartment gallery is your unique opportunity to appreciate a selection of our designers’ pieces in real-life situation.

We are now conveniently located in the heart of LA, in West Mid-City, and opened by appointment only to offer the best possible attention to our clients.

At our apartment gallery, you will find:

– A selection of pieces, available for immediate sale and displayed among our private collection,

– An inspiring environment where we can:

• discuss about your custom version of a piece,
• source additional pieces among our designers’ collections,
• coordinate the whole design and production process between you and our artisans in France,
• provide our “Atelier The French Apartment”, an interior design consultation to help private customers enhance their living space.

Our goal is to offer our clients a smooth and meaningful experience!

According to our clients, our collections are chic, creative, poetic, sustainable, glamorous, dreamlike, refined, impertinent, eclectic, delicate… 

The Gallery style narrates my own personal vision of the French interior decoration. In particular, as the years pass by, I feel more and more into nature and softness; most of my selections feature natural and organic shapes.

Our pieces are made of traditional and sustainable high-quality materials and represent the artisan’s savoir-faire. They can last a lifetime and get a wonderful patina over the years. The production begins after the order is complete, to the client-specific requirements to avoid spoiling materials.

To keep The French Apartment Gallery a unique interior design destination for our clients, and future clients, I keep searching, every day, wonderful new pieces of art, handmade with love by great designers and makers.

I am very proud to promote French talents and to share with Angelenos a certain French Art de vivre!

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Housing evolves slowly but here are possible trends in home design I would personally point out: 

• Living space will get smaller and multifunctional (live/work/rest).
• Outdoor space, so popular during the pandemic, should remain a must-have.
• There will be an increasing focus on “green”, healthy and “aging in place” equipment.
• Upcycling will become a new design specialty.
• Home will become smarter if technologies turn out more user-friendly and ensure safety and privacy.
• Online interior design services will keep developing and make “better design for better living” accessible to all.
• Luxury niche market will combine the best of new technologies with exceptional human savoir-faire and in-person experiences.

Please reach out in 2030 to discuss what really happened 😉

Pricing:

• Home decor accessories from $ 300
• Lighting from $ 1 000
• Rugs from $ 3 000
• Furniture $ 1 500 – $ 50 000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thefrenchapartmentgallery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefrenchapartmentla/

Image Credits
Cécile Delepière Karine Hervouet