Robert Couturier

Robert Couturier moved to New York City and quickly established himself as an architect and interior designer immensely skilled at executing grand-scale designs with a certain globe-trotting appeal. A graduate of the prestigious École Camondo in Paris, Couturier’s name has become synonymous with continental and international style, winning him commissions in the U.S., Europe, Russia, and South America—including Cuixmala, a spectacular retreat in Mexico that was originally originally a private residence for Sir James Goldsmith and his family. 

Couturier visits the past to bring his timeless approach to the present. As he likes to say himself, recalling the rich interiors in which he spent his childhood and youth, “It is to both grander and greater ends that one invents when one can start with one’s own past.”

Couturier has been featured in Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, and Conde Nast Traveler; and was included in Architectural Digest’s prestigious annual list of the best decorators and architectural firms in the world. Check out the latest projects from @RCouturier on Creatively here.

What is the first creative project you remember?

I came home in the middle of the night (totally stoned) and single-handedly changed the entire layout of the living room in my grandmother’s house in Paris.

Describe your aesthetic in three words.

Balance, original, and variety.

What was the most fulfilling collaboration you’ve worked on?

I am not sure there is one single job that is more fulfilling than the others. There are so many different ways of being fulfilled, from aesthetically to intellectually to emotionally; you can have one or the other but not all of them at once.

What’s one creative project that taught you something fundamental about yourself?

Again, there is no lightning strike from a single creative project––it happens little by little, one job after the other, one small lesson after another small lesson. I also think the lessons we learn have more to do with human relationships than creativity. I learned early on about listening to people—that aesthetics come after emotions, that acceptance is key, and that modest humility is beneficial.

Do you think creativity is something you’re born with, or something you’re taught?

Yes, I do believe creativity is something you’re born with. But curiosity is a part of our DNA. How you tame creativity and adapt it to the circumstances of each job and each client can be learned. However, you have to want to be taught and you have to want to learn.

What’s the last dream you had?

I seldom dream about design … I can’t really remember and yet I know I dream a lot!

One hundred years from now, what do you hope people write about your work?

Honestly? I really don’t care about what people would write about me. I would actually prefer they didn’t and I don’t think they should. The work that we do is essentially temporary; it is born out of a moment in time and uniquely a private reflection of a person’s tastes and desires. What would there be to write about without context?

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