The Salon in the Forgotten Parisian Hôtel Particulier
A Winter Window Display in Malmö, Inspired by Parisian Interiors
Some spaces stay with you.
Over the past three decades, Shane and Mikkel have returned to Paris time and time again, wandering slowly through the City of Light, tracing the quiet poetry of its grand apartments, museum-like salons, and layered decorative homes. These are the rooms where time seems to pause, where objects gather like memories, and where beauty is built not from perfection, but from atmosphere.
This winter, that spirit became the heart of our BON TON goods window display: a salon imagined inside a forgotten Parisian hôtel particulier, the kind you might stumble upon behind a heavy carriage door in the Marais or Saint-Germain. A room dressed in history, softened by textiles, and lit by gold.
Not a showroom, but a story.
A Parisian Room, Built in Layers
When we design a window, we are never simply styling products. We are building a world. We think about the feeling a passerby should have when they stop outside the glass.
A little curiosity.
A little longing.
A sense that something is happening inside.
For this display, we wanted the atmosphere of a private Parisian salon: warm, romantic, slightly theatrical, and deeply decorative. A place where a single object can feel like it has lived several lives.
The foundation of the room begins, as it often does in Paris, with the walls.
Jean-Baptiste Réveillon Wallpaper: Flowers and Swans
The walls are dressed in Jean-Baptiste Réveillon “Flowers and Swans” wallpaper, beautifully manufactured by Tapetorama. This pattern is historically rooted, romantic without being precious, and instantly transportive.
Réveillon’s designs have long been associated with French decorative arts, and this particular motif feels like something you might find in a preserved upstairs room: swans in a garden, floral garlands, and that unmistakable sense of 18th-century whimsy that still feels surprisingly modern.
In the window, the wallpaper does more than decorate. It sets the tone for everything that follows.
It gives the room its language.
A Cabinet Like a Stage
An aged wooden storage cabinet anchors the salon, adding depth and weight. We love pieces like this because they create contrast: the richness of worn wood against gilding, ceramics, linen, and glass.
This cabinet becomes the stage for the objects that make the room glow.
And in a Parisian salon, there is always something theatrical.
Cherub Candelabras: Light, Gold, and Drama
Nothing says “salon” quite like gilded light.
The cabinet is crowned with cherub candelabras, lavish and sculptural, bringing that unmistakable old-world French drama. These pieces feel like something you might find in an inherited apartment, or in the corner of a grand dining room that hasn’t been redecorated since 1890.
They also create the most flattering kind of light: warm, reflective, and golden.
In the winter months, we crave that.
Dutch Tulip Towers: Sculptural Florals
Rising beside the candelabras are Dutch tulip towers, those extraordinary tiered vessels designed for abundant floral arrangements. They are sculptural even when empty, and when filled, they become almost architectural.
Tulip towers are one of those objects that feel both historic and wildly current. They speak to the Dutch Golden Age, but they also feel perfectly at home in a modern interior, especially when styled with restraint.
In this window, they add height, rhythm, and the suggestion of a salon in use: a room ready for guests, flowers freshly arranged, the table set for conversation.
Trudon’s Egg Diffuser: A Modern Object with Old-World Presence
In the center of the composition sits one of our favorite modern objects: the Trudon Egg Diffuser.
It is quiet and sculptural, like a classical object that somehow slipped into the present. The egg shape feels symbolic, timeless, and slightly surreal, which makes it the perfect piece for a salon that exists somewhere between memory and imagination.
And of course, it does what Trudon always does: it fills the room with scent.
A window display is visual, yes, but atmosphere is multisensory. Scent is one of the most powerful ways to create emotion, even if only subtly. Trudon’s fragrances linger, like a signature.
The Gilded Mirror: Depth, Reflection, and Illusion
No salon is complete without a mirror.
A gilded mirror adds depth and reflection, multiplying light and making the window feel larger than it is. Mirrors are one of the oldest tricks in the Parisian interior playbook, but they never stop working.
They create illusion.
They double candlelight.
They turn a small space into a room.
And in a window, they do something even better: they invite the viewer into the scene.
Antoinette Poisson Linens: Domino Papers in Textile Form
If the walls establish the room’s history, the textiles bring softness and intimacy.
The linen textiles in the display are created by Antoinette Poisson, the remarkable duo known for reviving the art of domino papers. Their work is a celebration of French decorative tradition, made by hand with a deep respect for historic technique.
In the window, these linens bring artisan detail into the composition. They soften the formality of the gilded pieces, adding that lived-in, collected feeling that makes a room feel real.
A salon is never just furniture. It is fabric, pattern, texture, and time.
Why We Create Windows Like This
At BON TON goods, we believe the objects you live with matter. Not because they are expensive, but because they shape the way your home feels, and therefore how your life feels.
A candle becomes a ritual.
A wallpaper becomes a mood.
A vase becomes an invitation to notice the season.
This is why we build these windows: to remind ourselves (and anyone who passes by) that daily life can be beautiful, and that beauty is something you can choose.
Even in Malmö, even in winter.
Shop the Salon, or Visit in Person
This window display is available to experience in person at our shop in Malmö, where the atmosphere shifts throughout the year, always inspired by the places we love and the objects we collect.
And if you are not nearby, you can explore the pieces online in our webshop.
A Parisian salon may be imagined, but the objects are real.
And they are waiting for their next home.