3 questions for Paul Emilieu, designer, interior designer, scenographer and founder of the Emilieu studio
The luxury hotel industry has a very strong imagination,” observes Paul Emilieu, designer, interior designer and scenographer.
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You are involved in the exhibition, “Do not disturb, a tribute to privacy”, in the Exclusive Collection area at EquipHotel 2026. What inspired your scenography?
Paul Emilieu: I started with a “Nomadic Embassy” that I had created for the Les Nouveaux Ensembliers trade show, held in November 2025 at Le Mobilier National. I transformed this project, designed for travelling and adapting to other contexts, into a hotel room. It features a canopy, multifunctional and modular furniture, a desk on metal and wooden trestles, adorned with patinated aluminium leaf gilding and hand-painted thistle motifs by Pierre-Yves Morel, hanging textiles that partition the space like a tent, and reused wooden trunks covered in faux marble for maximum lightness, with leaf gilding. The idea was to create contrast by embellishing industrial design or enhancing outdated pieces with Art Deco ornaments.
What kind of partners did you approach to create this bedroom?
Paul Emilieu: For the hanging textiles, I chose Pierre Frey – an Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (living heritage company). Codimat (Carpet Society) will supply the carpets for the flooring. I also worked with the international centre for research on glass and the visual arts (Cirva), the designer Marius Perrraud, the metalworker Samuel Rousseau, and the With-by studio for engineering to transform a Maglite torch into a wall light.
In your opinion, how will the luxury hotel industry express its unique characteristics in 2026?
Paul Emilieu: The luxury hotel industry has a very strong imagination. It also reflects a certain way of living, pushing everything to the extreme, particularly in terms of services. Added to this is a mix of uses. Nowadays, people no longer come to hotels just to sleep, they also come to work, meet people, party and more.
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