All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
A designer and illustrator's quaint 19th-century live-work cottage in the Normandy countryside
French illustrator and designer Marin Montagut is something of a darling of the design world, known for his whimsical designs and equally whimsical shop in Paris’s 6th arrondissement. ‘I’d describe my aesthetic as joyful,’ says the Toulouse-born designer, who first came to prominence 18 years ago when he produced a series of hand-painted, illustrated maps of Paris that got him noticed by the likes of Paris-based lifestyle store Merci. After running an online shop selling his designs for many years, Marin opened his bricks-and-mortar store in 2020, offering a beautifully curated selection of all of his signature designs – from hollowed-out secret storage books made from papier mâché to hand-painted ceramics adorned with everything from four-leaf clovers to crowns. Stepping into the shop is like entering another world and it’s no wonder he’s got an almost cult following, with over 248,000 Instagram followers. Currently, he has a pop-up at Liberty.
Unsurprisingly, the place where Marin dreams up many of his creations is equally otherworldly: a quaint 19th-century cottage in the Normandy countryside that is both weekend home and studio. ‘Almost everything I design for the brand begins here,’ he explains. Hidden behind a creaky old gate and resembling something that could have sprung from the pages of a children’s book, it is the stuff of fairytales. And then there is the jewel box of rooms that unfold within, rich with colour and curiosities. From a fridge covered in a collection of kitsch magnets that he and his partner have collected on their travels to an array of fleamarket finds, the house hums with Marin’s personality. ‘I call it the happy house, because everything feels good here,’ explains the designer, who has rented the cottage for over 10 years after being attracted by its old world charm.
The house came with much of its furniture, which could have been a challenge if it had not been for the fact his taste is aligned with the cottage’s owner, French supermodel Inès de la Fressange. Marin hadn’t really been looking for a house in the countryside, but that changed after Inès, who he used to make documentaries for, showed him some pictures. ‘It was just love at first sight,’ he recalls. Inès was looking for a tenant and Marin for a studio space, so it was a bit of a no-brainer. ‘I realised I’d prefer to get the train for an hour and work in a proper house than a tiny studio in the city,’ he explains. The bones were good, so it was just a case of Marin moving his things in. Spread across two floors, the house is largely one room deep. The ground floor consists of a living room, kitchen-dining room, guest bedroom, bathroom and a bedroom-turned studio, while the upper floor plays host to two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Marin’s first task was to turn what had been a generous bedroom at one end of the ground floor into his studio. All of the furniture came out and he enlisted the help of a few willing friends to paint the room, ceilings and all, in a strong green that he bought from his local hardware store. ‘My friends kept asking me if I was sure on the colour, but I’m so happy with the effect,’ he says. ‘It looks out onto the garden through this big window, which is why I just wanted everything to be green. It feels like you’re working outside almost.’ Many of Marin’s designs begin life in this studio, with almost everything starting as a watercolour before being applied to everything from illustrated Tarot cards to silk scarves.
Much like in Marin’s designs, colour is at the heart of the house. Even though he had carte blanche to paint, he kept some of the rooms in the colours that he found them in, including the shocking bubblegum pink guest bedroom. ‘It’s one of my favourite spaces in the house,’ says Marin, who has given it his own twist by curating a ‘wonder wall’ of curiosities, featuring many of his own designs, including a plaster head and porcelain ex-voto. ‘I change this wall all the time,’ he explains. What has never changed, however, is the warm yellow walls of the sitting room. ‘This felt like a very new colour for me, but I like it because it’s a strong tone,’ explains the designer who has jazzed the room up with a red and white striped sofa and armchair that he found at a local flea market. ‘I just mixed in my pieces with what was already here,’ he adds, gesturing to a grand mirror and half-glazed bookcase. And that, of course, is one of the reasons the house feels so effortlessly layered – it is filled with pieces sourced by different people, bit by bit, rather than being the result of a speedy overhaul.
Marin’s wonderful eye is partly the result of years watching his antiques dealer parents buy things. ‘I’ve been going to fleamarkets since I was in a pushchair,’ he recalls. ‘I’d see my parents falling in love with the story of pieces, as much as the piece itself.’ This formative training, Marin suggests, is why everything he does today is rooted in the past. ‘My inspiration comes from antiques,’ he explains. ‘All my glassware is inspired by 18th-century pieces, while the secret books are based on the 18th-century tradition of cutting pages out of a book to hide jewellery or love letters.’
Marin visits fleamarkets almost every weekend. ‘I don’t go with a particular thing in mind and just see what speaks to me,’ he explains. The tapestry now hanging in the bathroom – and cleverly concealing a water stain – did just that when he happened upon it at a nearby flea market. ‘I’m drawn to pieces that have a story, a certain poetry,’ he explains, telling me that one of the things he often collects is antique artists' palettes. ‘It’s about the colours with those, sometimes there is a connection, sometimes there is not.’
For someone who couldn’t be more French if he tried (he’s rarely seen without his straw boater and many of his designs feature iconic Parisian motifs), Marin admits that he often looks to English decoration for inspiration. ‘I love how the English create a really cosy atmosphere in their interiors, and we need that in Normandy because it rains often,’ he says, with a grin. ‘I love how you mix patterns in England and I’ve tried to do that here,’ he adds, referring to the way that he combines stripes, florals and plains. ‘It makes the house feel happy.’ Stripes, in fact, are at the heart of one of his latest projects: the wall in the dining area. ‘I painted this room a kind of Basque red when I moved in, but it felt a bit much so one day I decided to add white stripes,’ he explains. He taped out the stripes and set to work. ‘And voila – it just gives the room an entirely different atmosphere,’ he says.
Aside from working here, a lot of Marin’s life at the cottage is about having fun – of filling the house and garden with people and having long lunches. The bunting in the sitting room is a hangover from a party, which Marin decided to keep because of how ‘joyful’ it felt, while the silver disco ball hanging above the desk in his studio is another party leftover. ‘The sun comes out in this room at about 4pm and I love how the light catches the ball and turns my studio into a disco club.’ And that’s what this little fairytale house in Normandy is all about: living life well.
Dean Hearne1/25The small hallway leads through to the kitchen.
Dean Hearne2/25The curiosities in the small hallway, ranging from a traditional French boater hat to framed prints bought from fleamarkets, set the tone for what is to come.
Dean Hearne3/25The panelled hallway walls are lined with many of Marin's own designs, including ceramic ex voto, which are based on his own antique collection of silver ex voto depicting the shape of a hand, face, foot, and heart.
Dean Hearne4/25Marin kept the warm yellow walls of the sitting room, adding a red and white striped sofa and armchair that he bought from a local flea market. The ornate mirror hanging above the green chest, another flea market find, was already there too. Marin's own cushions line the sofa.
Dean Hearne5/25On the table lie Marin's hugely successful Tarot card set, which represents a long-realised dream to make his own game.
Dean Hearne6/25Marin's own colourful Tarot cards, which he sells through his shop.
Dean Hearne7/25In the kitchen, the dining table was already there, while Marin bought the blue cabinet from a fleamarket.
Dean Hearne8/25Vintage enamel jars in the kitchen, bought from a flea market.
Dean Hearne9/25Marin recently created the stripes that lead up the staircase, taping out the design and then painting it white in order to create the stripe. The tablecloth came from Portugal.
Dean Hearne10/25While Marin added the stripes in the hallway, he left the kitchen in a deep red, which gives it a cosy, cocooning feel.
Dean Hearne11/25A collection of fridge magnets gathered from Marin's travels adorns the side of the fridge. ‘When me and my boyfriend travel, our aim is to find the most the most beautiful magnet,’ says Marin.
Dean Hearne12/25The view from the bathroom into the kitchen.
Dean Hearne13/25A ceramic figurine sits alongside a painted box, which is one of Marin's own designs.
Dean Hearne14/25In the bathroom, Marin concealed water damage by hanging the vast tapestry up, which he bought from a flea market.
Dean Hearne15/25The bedroom was already painted bubblegum pink, a colour which Marin has grown to love. ‘It’s one of my favourite rooms in the house,' he says. In here, Marin has curated a ‘wonder wall’ of curiosities, featuring many of his own designs, including a plaster head and porcelain ex-voto.
Dean Hearne16/25The bed was also already there.
Dean Hearne17/25A close up of the ever-changing ‘wonder wall’, featuring ceramic ex voto and framed hand-painted artworks.
Dean Hearne18/25Marin's green studio, which once used to be a bedroom.
Dean Hearne19/25Many of Marin's ideas for new designs begin here and he will sometimes come for a few days at the start of a project in order to get his head in the game. ‘I love how the 4pm light catches the silver ball and turns my studio into a disco club.’
Dean Hearne20/25Marin's designs lined up on the wall.
Dean Hearne21/25Marin painting a watercolour at his desk.
22/25Marin with flowers from the garden
Dean Hearne23/25In the summer Marin likes to throw the doors open of the house, which is surrounded by the garden.
Dean Hearne24/25
Dean Hearne25/25Marin's plates on the table
