La Villa Verte - Michele Koh Morollo

The ‘Lotus green’ living room displays a mix of pieces, mostly of Caumont’s design. From left, Khai Dinh armchair, black Litbanc daybed,
Alexandra tray and grey Anna table. A vintage floor lamp and a collection of photographs, including originals taken by Henri CartierBresson, and vintage posters on the wall complete the mix
La Villa Verte
Text / Michele Koh Morollo
Images / Nguyen Hai Dong, Sarah Nguyen
HOME / Ho Chi Minh City
A small collection of objets trouves and a Charles carved brass candleholder
sit on a grey Anna table. To the side is a Josephine armchair, both by Caumont
H
o Chi Minh City has a rich French heritage, so
it’s no surprise that French Count and designer
Bruno de Caumont recently set up shop — and
home — here.
scooter-ridden main thoroughfares, and Caumont says that
living there is like stepping back in time.
The design concept was inspired by the verdant green colour
of a lotus flower that someone had offered him when he
first visited the house, as well as by the historical period in
which the house was built.
A descendant of Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the French
architect who designed the Petit Trianon in Versailles,
made famous by Marie Antoinette, and the Place de la
Concorde in Paris, Caumont originally planned to be an
international lawyer. However, he was waylaid by his love
for period furniture, which led him to set up a stall selling
French antiques at Paris’s Marché Paul Bert flea market,
then to become a much-lauded interior designer and later
furniture maker.
Caumont believes that only designers with nothing to say use
white as their colour scheme. Known for a bright and bold
palette, he painted most of the interior walls lotus leaf green,
then chose complementing shades of green, blue, orange,
yellow and pink — the colour of the lotus flower — for other
wall sections. A more neutral grey was used as a fil rouge for
the doors, window frames, railing and wood sections.
‘In Paris, you can’t just be an interior designer. You need two
titles to get people’s attention. You have to be an interior
and fashion designer, an interior designer and artist or an
interior and furniture designer,’ he says.
‘I looked up interior design pictures from Saigon in the 1950s.
I observed that there was a lot of space in the middle of the
rooms, so I worked with this idea. Ten years ago, my interiors
were much more crowded — you practically had to walk
between pieces of furniture. I wanted to create something
purer and less cluttered with my home here,’ he says.
Vietnam was the key to Caumont’s second string. Realising
that he couldn’t work at a flea market for the rest of his
life, he journeyed to Vietnam in 2006, the country his
grandfather once lived in, to set up a factory for his own
lacquer furniture.
Almost all the furniture pieces in La Villa Verte are from
Caumont’s latest collection Annam, which consists of 25
Asian-inspired lacquer furniture pieces. The purple chair
in the second-floor office and the red vase pedestals in
the dining room were influenced by the antique styles of
Vietnam. Caumont has also recently begun designing and
manufacturing hand-tufted wool rugs, and a cheery circular
orange and purple piece inspired by French Polynesian
tattoo patterns makes a striking visual statement against
the black and white tiled floor of the living room.
Caumont explains that silk was used in traditional lacquermaking in Vietnam from almost 2,000 years ago, as it is
extremely malleable, preventing the lacquer from cracking
when the wood expands and contracts with age and lack of
humidity. These days, it is often omitted to cut costs, but
not at Caumont’s factory.
‘First we apply two layers of silk, then ten layers of lacquer,
and the lacquering is done by hand. We then apply metal
ornaments, beads or castings. The wood we use is mostly
acacia and beech wood,’ says Caumont.
‘Good interior design involves strategic application of
colour. You shouldn’t be able to see the signature of the
designer when you step into the space, but get surrounded
by the atmosphere. You also need to know the personality
of the owner and their lifestyle. For instance, there is not
much point creating an elaborate kitchen for people who
don’t like to cook. It is also crucial that the architectural
spirit of the building is first respected, then enhanced.’ On
these criteria, La Villa Verte is a triumph.
To be closer to the factory, Caumont moved to Ho Chi
Minh in 2011 and rented a three-storey 1950s house, which
he recently decorated and named La Villa Verte. Located
at the end of a private alleyway in Tan Dinh district 1, La
Villa Verte is a tranquil respite from the noise of the city’s
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In the candy-pink dining room, a red Thalos stool and Thalos bench sit either side of a blue Thalos dining
table. To the right, two Annam pedestals proudly display locally sourced ceramic vases. On the walls are
wrought iron sconces, also designed by Caumont. Looking out to a small courtyard a Khai Dinh armchair
sits next to a ceramic elephant stool
The kitchen’s black and white tiled floor was inspired by Chanel. On the shelves sits
a collection of blue and white china purchased at local markets and on the bench is
a lacquered tray by Caumont. Baskets are from Mekong Creations, an organisation
that provides employment for women in poor villages along the Mekong
An antique vase purchased in a local market
sits on a red Annam pedestal. On the walls are
drawings of Vietnamese women in traditional
clothing, purchased in the historical town of Hue
A Caumont-designed Soleil mirror in black finish hangs above a console table purchased from an antique shop in Ho Chi Minh City
In the sitting room, a purple Peto drawer console sits against the back wall, flanked by antique oil lamps found in a local
market. On the wall is a piece by local artist Nguyen Than Truc. To the left sits a Boetie bench, and to the right an Ahuit
coffee table. Both sit atop Sunteeth, a purple and orange hand tufted wool rug from Caumont’s new collection. The
chandelier is from the 1930s and was found in Brussels
In the ‘blue’ guest bedroom, an Arach bench sits to the left. The bed linen is by Catherine Denoual Maison, another
French designer residing in Ho Chi Minh City. Bedside lamps are by Caumont, and the artwork, a landscape of Hanoi, is
by Vietnamese artist Ha Manh Thang
On the opposite side of the room is an Iris love seat and purple Anna side table.
The lacquered tray on top of the footstool is another Caumont creation
In the Master bedroom, an Annam pedestal works as a side table. The bed linen is also by Catherine Denoual Maison
An antique piece sourced locally serves as a tie stand
Another guest bedroom is painted a cheery yellow and has mosquito netting draped from the ceiling. To the left, a purple Annam chair sits
below a large oval mirror, another Caumont design. Bedding by Catherine Denoual Maison
The blue and white tiled bathroom was inspired by Andrée Putman, and features a blue Annam nesting table
Looking up the stairwell with original 1950s railing. The lantern is
by Caumont and the vintage framed photos were sourced locally
A small vignette in the master bedroom: a purple Annam armchair with a Catherine Denoual Maison
cushion sits below a collection of art and an elaborately framed mirror found in a local market
In the study, a purple Annam dining table serves as a desk
In the ‘Lotus green’ ground floor courtyard is an outdoor setting with a Bambou tea table, all by Caumont.
The Chinese lanterns were found in a local market