Empordaguia

Many people reach that moment in their lives in which they think about taking a ninety degree turn. Some seek more important roles, others strive for economic improvement, and yet others simply seek to do what they really like and to enhance the quality of their lives. Arnaud Villaret belongs to this last group, and he has left his studios in Toulouse and Paris to settle in a small cove near Begur.

Radical change

So here he is with his wife and a baby he wants to raise in our region. I was tired of frantic work schedules, he explains, of always being in a hurry and feeling stressed out every day. I think there are more important things in life, and you reach a moment in which you have to decide; otherwise you will be sorry later on. He walked the talk, closed his doors in France, and now set up shop in Catalonia, in the industrial quarter of Palafrugell. Here he exhibits his furniture and exclusive decorative objects in a large show room, in which he will also periodically show works by different artists. I enjoy my work, but I want to do it in peace. I am tired of too much travel, to the USA, to Japan… the jobs I have undertaken have taken me to the four corners of the world. I can truthfully say that nowhere did I find the peace and quiet that I now enjoy in Begur. He got to know this countryside some years ago on holidays; he fell in love with it, rented a house, bought a piece of land, and built himself a home. At first, he only used it for holidays, but now his second residence has become his first, the home he wants Carles, his baby, to learn how to walk in.

Exclusive furniture and objects

Arnaud Villaret’s designs are made from quality wood from Revel, in the Midi-Pyrénées, the cradle of furniture. The particularity of Arnaud furniture is the wood is cut into sheets vertical, so the veins lie differently. Combined with the high quality of the oak, this gives the furniture a special touch. His designs are convincing and solid, yet also light, modern, and above all, warm when in wood; others are in stainless steel and glass. I design many pieces specially for the interiors I decorate, made to measure for a specific place. A table for a private home is not the same as one for a hotel or restaurant. Every place needs to be studied, then the design follows” Arnaud has worked as interior architect designing hotels, restaurants, and private homes. He wants to continue doing this, because he enjoys it, but at a lesser pace, with enough time to create his projects and designs.

A careful selection

Everything in his shop has been selected with care: Laguiole knives, high-class cutlery including models by the most prestigious designers (Arnaud himself is working on such a design), famous French cocks, decorative objects, and furniture, as well as pieces of art. To sum up, he shows all he likes himself. Arnaud also likes to paint, and he doesn’t dismiss the idea of showing his own works..// FOTOS ANDREA FERRÉS