In Miami: International Arrivals

VIVE LA FRANCE—EN MIAMI

COURTESY LA CHANCE

THE FRENCH INTERIOR DESIGNER and photographer Emmanuelle Bernard moved to Miami only to discover that many of the furniture and design brands she knew and loved were simply not available there, or in many cases, anywhere in North America. She determined to remedy that by opening L’appartement—which is part gallery, part furniture showroom, part home goods shop—in the city’s Wynwood Arts District. She set it up like an apartment, thus the name, with a front hall, kitchen, living and dining rooms, and bedrooms for both adults and children.

L’appartement made its debut during Maison & Objet Americas in May with a well-received booth in the show, and in Wynwood with an inaugural exhibition by the quirky French design company iBride, just one of the hard-to-find brands in its line-up. Among the designers showcased at L’appartement are Constance Guisset (whose oversized Vertigo hanging lamps are the most dramatic in a space that is largely devoted to far subtler pieces), François Azambourg, Alain Gilles, Nathalie Du Pasquier, and Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance (whose recent work for Bernhardt Design caused a splash in New York in May at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair).

The “rooms” at L’appartement are intentionally usable, right down to dishtowels in the “kitchen” and baby toys in the kids’ room. Thus, unlike many galleries and showrooms, a certain danger lurks: impulse shopping. lappartementstore.com