Welcome to the fifth instalment of Wallpaper's video series, The Stuff That Surrounds You. Watch as we're invited into the intriguing and idiosyncratic homes of creatives and makers (including, so far, Veronica Ditting, Yasmin Sewell, Glenn Sestig and Michael Anastassiades), catching a glimpse of their interior lives via the objects with which they surround themselves, all of which tell a story.
Erwan Bouroullec, known for his innovative, minimalist approach to furniture, interiors and industrial design, is based in Paris. But when he needs to create, he retreats to his remote estate in the Burgundy countryside. ‘I’ve been living in Paris for 35 years, but I kind of needed another place in the countryside,’ he says. ‘I needed space to work, to experiment, to try things out.’
Erwan Bouroullec at home in a still from The Stuff That Surrounds You
What he and his wife (and their dog, Patapouf) discovered was an abandoned farm building, steeped in history. Rather than erase what was there, they chose to ‘layer’ their life onto it, working with LVA Architects to preserve and respect its original elements. Much of the house’s existing features and materials were retained, with a few contemporary interventions added on. ‘The best interior you could ever have is [one where you’ve done] as little as possible,’ says Bouroullec. ‘Keep every tiny sign of the past. Add what you need to add, but don’t remove anything else.’
Part sanctuary, part laboratory, the space he has created – known as La Grange – is a hive of design experimentation. Tractors, tools, woodwork, even the grass – everything becomes a ‘toy’ to explore, manipulate and learn from, says the designer. ‘When I’m here, I’m building quickly, roughly, but always looking for truth in the roughness,’ he reflects. ‘It’s grounded, necessary and playful.’
For Bouroullec, who has worked with major brands such as Vitra, Magis and Alessi – and in creative collaboration with his brother Ronan until 2023 – design is more than inspiration, it’s ‘incredibly mandatory for everyday life’. He believes spaces should offer as much stimulation as possible; sterility, in his view, is ‘harmful to your body’.
At La Grange, he surrounds himself with objects that become small ‘treasures’, inviting interaction, curiosity and wonder. These include pieces sourced from around the globe – a minimal, colourful, geometric paper box discovered in Korea, flea-market finds, and design icons like the oversized, crumpled-paper ‘Maap’ lamp he designed for Flos, as well as objects made in his own workshop, such as a wooden stool, alongside his own paintings.
Bouroullec and the ‘Mynt’ chair, which he developed with Vitra
‘I love contrast,’ says Bouroullec. ‘Minimal with something dirty, geometry with natural imperfection. It creates tension, it creates life.’ This sensibility runs through his work, which spans furniture to coding experiments. Take, for example, the ‘Mynt’ chair, which he developed with Vitra (and which he discussed with Wallpaper* when the design was released last year), which resides at La Grange. It blurs the line between a domestic and a task chair. ‘I tried to design it like a bike,’ Bouroullec explains. ‘If your body is in a bad position, your brain won’t feel at ease. Objects become beautiful when the user shapes them through interaction.’
Elsewhere in the designer's studio are new projects such as the Samsung Music Studio 5, developed in collaboration with the tech company – a wireless speaker conceived as a soft, circular form, intended to feel like furniture rather than a piece of machinery (announced at CES 2026, it’s not yet for sale in the UK).
A visit to La Grange makes evident that, whether crafting a high-tech speaker or reimagining a centuries-old fisherman’s tool, Bouroullec holds fast to a single belief: that design is a fluid, living and ever-evolving practice.
A film by Divided by One for Wallpaper*
Director: Nick Ballón
Director of photography: Jorge Luis Dieguéz
Sound recordist: Alban Lejeune
Editor: Todd MacDonald
Music and sound design: Joe Zeitlin
Colourist: Paul Willis
Producer: Clara Perrotte
Wallpaper* head of video: Sebastian Jordahn