Old and New: Pouenat

Nothing goes together better than venerable savoir-faire and imaginative new design. Take the storied past of Pouenat, in Moulins in central France, a firm that has been making wrought iron banisters, gates, doors and furniture since 1880. Its works, in styles ranging from the 12th to the 20th centuries, have graced such prestigious venues as the Château de Versailles and the Plaza Athénée hotel in Paris, Parisian couture houses Dior and Balmain, and the ocean liner France.

Then add to the Pouenat know-how the imaginative input of bright contemporary designers. Fifth-generation Henri Pouenat, who studied with wrought iron master Gilbert Poillerat, has done just that, launching a new gallery in Saint Germain des Prés to show it all off. Among the most intriguing new models: Thomas Boog’s irresistible Sailor Stool made of polished chrome and nautical rope; Tristan Auer’s sleek leather- sheathed Valmont desk—or dressing table—with platinum steel or bronze legs; Nicolas Aubagnac’s Olympe, a medieval torchère turned into a modern sconce; and Damien Langlois-Meurinne’s Hello Sunshine mirrored sphere ceiling light.

Pouenat, 22 bis passage Dauphine, Paris 6th, website

Originally published in the April 2011 issue of France Today