Letter From Paris: A Designing Man

A couple of weeks ago, I received a sweet and funny email from James Leland Day.  They always are.  He wanted to borrow one of our seven new café chairs.  All but two of the chairs weren’t new at all.  The Lone Wolf and I had nabbed them at the Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves before Easter.  Two chairs here, three chairs there.   One was blue and one green and three red-and-cream striped that I first thought I didn’t like and now adore.  L.W. hadn’t wanted the two new ones, which happened to be both brown (which L.W.  hates) and the cheapest of all at 15 euros for both, but our time was running out.  I thought we better grab them.  By the time they were painted, they were the most expensive.

 

James Leland Day (Photo by Beth Arnold)

M. Day is a stylist, and he wanted my chair for one of his shoots.  Oh la la!  My chair would be a star.  It was my new turquoisey green chair’s big break!

I met James at a party filled with charming people and delicious drinks and in a lovely 7^th Arrondissement apartment that suited both quite well.  The life of expatriates is by definition international.  Plenty of ex-pats move to countries where they choose to live, thinking they don’t want a lot of friends from home.  By making this move abroad, they feel they’ve pulled off the great escape and want to reach out culturally to the natives of their new universe. 

Artful Arrangement in James Leland Day's Apartment (Photo by Beth Arnold)

How long does this period last?  Naturally, it varies from person to person, but sooner or later, we’re drawn to those who come from a similar background and understand our roots.  It is pure comfort to feel understood.  If we want to complain or dish, we need ears that hear the same melodies or at least ones in the same tone as ours.  Which brings me back to James. 

 

Color, Pattern, and Objects in James Leland Day's Apartment (Photo by Beth Arnold)

 

M. Day has lived in Paris about 1½ years (in this incarnation) with his partner Gervais Pasquier, but also lived here for three years in a previous one.  A stylist extraordinaire, he styled my first big party in my new apartment, which happened to be Thanksgiving.  Are you hostesses out there listening?!

He has created fetching interiors in photo shoots for some of our favorite purveyors of clean modern style (with that little touch of comfy home) like Target and Ikea.  Real Simple was one of his best clients as was (sadly now) the defunct Gourmet.

An Intimate Tableaux in James Leland Day's Apartment (Photo by Beth Arnold)

 

James is a designing man in Paris now but his styling mission started 12 years ago in San Francisco, when he made a career change.  He admits that even as a child he’d always arranged the furniture (which is a very good sign).  He wanted things to look neat and orderly, and he was attracted to people who had beautiful homes.  Even as a young man, these are the people who seemed glamorous.  He had the lovely idea that one could live out his or her fantasies in his or her own home.  

James, what a marvelous idea!

A Modern and Lush Banquette in James Leland Day's Apartment (Photo by Beth Arnold)

 

Not long after James and I met, I’d bought an Ikea closet.  Part of its job was to divide my room into dressing room and bedroom.  The only problem was that I had a raw closet back that made my room ugly.  James and I made a beeline to the Marché Saint-Pierre, and he rooted out a toile de jouy that I sincerely love. 

Another Artful Arrangement in James Leland Day's Apartment (Photo by Beth Arnold)

 

Beth Arnold:  “What is the most fun about your work?”

 

James Leland Day:  “To go into a studio or home not pulled together, and with items you bring and are already there, to create a beautiful environment.  I can make something out of nothing, and I can see potential in any situation.

 

….“In the case of photo shoots, there is also something fun about creating this momentary vision, and then it goes away….Any place or home can be improved upon.  Imagination and motivation are what’s necessary—not necessarily money.”

 

Man, is that a breath of fresh air in this era when Wall Street has burned down the house and then partied.  James is perfect for combining 21^st Century chic yet mindful lifestyle!

Still Life by James (Photo by Beth Arnold)

 

This designing man’s Paris apartment was recently photographed for Elle Decoration/UK.  Watch for James Leland Day and his apartment in the September issue!

 

James is available for styling/decorating/events.  Contact James at:

His website: http://www.jameslelandday.com/

Telephone:  +33 (0) 6 48 17 92 71

                                                                          ---Beth Arnold in Paris