Minimalism has no soul, says designer and Renaissance man Juan Pablo Molyneux

Do you like contemporary design? “What I don’t like is design that is bland or ‘grey’. It is soul destroying; like a plague of mediocrity. I studied architecture when I was very young but for many years after that I continued to study art history and landscape. I admire the Renaissance man as someone with a wide, global idea of life. When you put it all together you find you have a deeper perspective.”

Your 16th-century home in Paris is a tribute to your expertise in art and design. Is it frustrating working with clients who lack the same understanding? “No. The wonderful thing is that someone who has created wealth is usually brilliant and so they learn very quickly. They also have to deal with power so it is actually very easy to work with them. I see what we do as helping to upgrade other people’s lives: you go through a door and deal with us, then go out the other door with something better.”

What do you think of the popular minimalist Scandi look? “Minimalism is easy; you don’t need a cultural background or to explain it but when you get into some­thing more complex, with historical refer­ences, you have to be able to defend it. To do that you need a certain knowledge. Some­thing contemporary looks international, but how do you know whether it is Russian or Italian? It has no soul.

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“In the 18th century a person like me was called an ‘assemblier’ – that is what we do, we assemble interiors. It is a beautiful descrip­tion because it reflects how we bring an intelligent approach and passion.”

You seem fascinated with traditional Chinese design. Why? “The French have always had a close relationship with the Chinese. I see it as an interaction of cultures. People came to France hundreds of years ago with Chinese silk and wallpaper and people tried to repro­duce it. I am fascinated by those influences but throughout my career, I have always followed a truly bespoke, historical approach. I simply enjoy fabricating things.

A Hong Kong architect continues his love affair with minimalism

“In my own home, for instance, I have 16th-century Portuguese panels while at the Hôtel Claude Passart [in Paris], I restored the formal vestibule with six-metre-high walls entirely covered by thousands of hand-painted cobalt-blue ceramic tiles that depict scenes of historical vanished chateaux of Ile-de-France, Saint-Cloud, Marly and Liancourt.”