Eileen Grey’s Cote d’Azur summer retreat

Villa E-1027, by Irish-born and French based designer and architect Eileen Gray is a modernist icon that has been forgotten for a long time, but is open to the public after restorations since 2015. The modernist house was built to be a romantic summer retreat for Grey and her partner Jean Badovici, from 1926 until 1929 along the Côte d’Azur, in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The wall painting in the living room was done by Le Corbusier, the famous architect who stayed in the house with Badovici, by then Eileen Gray’s ex-partner. Since Grey and Le Corbusier had fundamentally different ideas about architecture, it is perhaps not surprising that Grey was infuriated by Le Corbusier’s addition to the house, which she considered outright vandalism.

Photo by Mary Goudin

Photo by Mary Goudin

Photo by Mary Goudin

Photo by Paul Raftery

Photo by Paul Raftery

Photo by Manuel Bougot

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