Napoleon Bonaparte reportedly stated that he simply found the crown of France in the gutter and picked it up … I wonder whether he also found his honed aesthetic sensibilities and appreciation for classical beauty in the same gutter. Possibly to recognise the crown of France abandoned in a gutter you need to possess an exceptionally good eye. Napoleon, despite his megalomania and war mongering did in fact display an admirable liberal spirit and inimitable good taste.
The French Empire style referenced the ancient Roman republic and was intended to idealise Napoleon’s leadership and the French state. It is formal, assertive and sumptuous. It adheres to classical ideals of form, beauty and harmony and is just as resonant in our modern world as it was in early 19th century France.
One of the loveliest functioning period Empire interiors that I have visited is the Brasserie Deux Garçons on the Cours Mirabeau in Aix en Provence.
This unassuming brasserie is nestled amongst the usual pharmacies, shoe shops and gaudy modern takeaway joints. Miraculously the period Empire boiseries and mirrored glass walls of this divine interior remain intact. You sit in the bustling cafe surrounded by crisp white table cloths and the delicate green gold sheen of the painted and gilt walls. Corinthian capitals and caryatids populate your peripheral vision and your steaming demitasse of black coffee feels like a dark and esoteric potion that has mysteriously transported you back in time - two hundred years disappear with every sip. The waiters are suitably surly according the respect this establishment deserves and you feel privileged to be dining amid such uncommon beauty. The dream is cruelly interrupted however, by a visit to the bathrooms which are disappointingly but inevitably modern and once I attempted an exploration of the bar upstairs which looked like it had been renovated by a couple of cyber decorators suggesting all things futuristic with sparkly finishes and plastic wood. Their modern vision felt more like a tawdry 1980’s late night dive masquerading as avant-garde and should not exist in the same hemisphere as Les Deux Garçons, let alone right above and attached to it. To this day it is one of the things I wish I had never seen. Hopefully Les Deux Garçons downstairs has an iron clad restraining order on any well intentioned, modernising decorators and it will remain blissfully intact for decades to come.
I suspect that much of Napoleon’s success came from introducing some formality and order to a bewildered and chaotic post revolutionary France. His Napoleonic code still influences the French legal system and those further afield even today. The flux and demands of modern life often leave us feeling overwhelmed and there is something very reassuring about walking into a formal interior where the decor feels beautiful, confident yet tranquil and the abiding classical elegance of centuries surrounds you. You draw a breath, the mind settles and you are able to navigate your day.

This 19th century French Empire buffet is an exquisite example of the Empire style, mahogany with a deep emerald marble top, columns and ormolu mounts. Swans were the favoured motif of the Empress Josephine and here they are crafted into elegant handles. The interior of the buffet is fully lined in a green taffeta.
The gorgeous pair of armchairs are Italian Empire, late 19th century with original paint, ormolu mounts and are unexpectedly comfortable.
The Empire sconces date from the mid 20th century, carved wood and gilded metal - they are more Hollywood glamour than period Empire, a decorative and stylish accent.
The portrait of a gentleman dates from the early 19th century and is Empire period.