66

DiviDeContinental

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The exterior stucco is

painted Farrow & Ball’s

Cornforth White; the

aluminum windows are

from Western Glass &

Window. The landscaping

is by Sandra Mabout.

Homeowners witH a love of all tHings

Parisian build a coastal contemPorary

stunner tHat’s decidedly à la mode

By Brielle m. ferreira PhotograPhs By DaviD tsay styling By erin sWift

c

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Countless relationships begin thanks to

discreetly passed cocktail napkins with

telltale digits on their backs, but the

bar-top doodle that Peggy and Richard

Dupuis handed over to the late archi-

tect Dale Naegle four years ago was of

a different sort. Instead, the slight slip

of paper that would forge their part-

nership was a rough rendering of the

couple’s dream home. “My husband

and I were at dinner one night, and we

couldn’t help ourselves,” says Peggy.

“We started sketching what we wanted

to do with some land we had purchased,

and when we gave it to Dale, he under-

stood us right away. He had his first

draft to us in one week’s time.”

While the modern, open retreat the

Dupuises envisioned in San Clemente,

California, is an extreme departure (in

design and location) from Peggy and

Richard’s full-time home—an eclectic

apartment in Paris—it was also a dream

come true. The couple, with children in

tow, had been making frequent trips to

the West Coast for years to visit Peggy’s

family. “We finally decided that it was

time to find a place of our own,” she says.

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The sofa and chairs are from Baltus. The coffee

table is from Leolux; the side tables are from

CB2 and West Elm. The rug is Chilewich, and

the floor lamp is by Foscarini. Opposite: Peggy

mixed the red paint for the entry herself.

In the family room, Peggy’s daughter

Célia sits atop a red butterfly chair

from Circa50 that pops against the

chalkboard wall. The gray pouf is

from CB2. Opposite: Peggy designed

the built-in bookshelves on the

upstairs landing.

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When the search for a move-in-ready

house left the Dupuises feeling luke-

warm, they took a leap of faith and opted

to start from scratch.

As it turned out, the decision wasn’t

difficult. “This was the second piece of

land we saw, and we bought it immedi-

ately,” Peggy explains. “The views of

the ocean were so breathtaking; we fell

in love.” Tackling new construction can

be tricky when homeowners are living

overseas, but the couple’s backgrounds

put them up to the task: Richard works

for one of the biggest construction com-

panies in France, and Peggy is an inte-

rior designer by trade. “Thank goodness

for the Internet,” Peggy says, laughing.

“We were able to approve the materi-

als, look at the plans, and make changes

along the way.”

One of the biggest challenges was the

expansive staircase that now defines

the living room. Dale’s plans called for a

traditional two-level design that would

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abut a far wall, but the Dupuises had

something more extravagant in mind.

Falling back on some of her favorite

materials, Peggy gave instructions for

a staircase made of warm wood and

stainless steel that would wind through

the center of the house. As a funny nod

to their stunning ocean views, visiting

friends and family liken the stairs to a

whale’s backbone. But that’s not the

only place where Peggy’s influence is

felt: The designer could hardly wait for

the building to be completed so that

she could get down to business.

For Peggy, the home is more than

just a place to unwind; it is also the

stateside headquarters for her Paris-

based design firm, a place to showcase

her talents. So the interiors are outfit-

ted to impress: A spare palette ensures

that the power of the architecture and

the views isn’t overlooked, but touches

of wood and deep black, as well as some

strategic pops of red, add warmth to the

spaces. Peggy knew just when to go to

extremes, but also when to pull back.

“The architecture and the views are

the main points of the house, so I did

not want to emphasize color,” she says.

At the same time, her love of a certain

crimson hue is made obvious once more

outside, where it lines the roof, pool,

and balconies and bisects the home’s

gray-white facade.

As much as the residence is a three-

dimensional design portfolio, it’s also a

lot more than that: It’s a home that was

created for the love of family—both as

a way for the Dupuises to be closer to

Peggy’s California-based relatives and

as a place to welcome visitors from

France. A chalkboard wall in the family

room invites guests to leave their mark

on the house, even while the majestic

views leave a mark on them. “It helps

us remember everyone who was here

and all the fun times we had together,”

muses Peggy, eyeing the nearly full wall.

“Pretty soon I’ll have to take a picture,

clean it up, and start over.” After all,

there’ll be no shortage of eager house-

guests. “They feel good as soon as they

get here,” she says. “And I do, too.”

For more information, see Sources, page 106.

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Peggy descends the stairs

she designed. Opposite,

from top: The chrome

lounger is from Tacchini.

The round bed in the master

echoes the home’s curves;

the wallpaper is from Elitis.