“For me, there is no definition between the door to my home and the one to my gallery,” says Frédéric Lazare, who fills his 1,800 square foot loft in Los Angeles and 3,300 square foot store on La Brea Boulevard equally with passion and commitment towards great design, be it a 1810’s steel safe or a mohair-covered slipper chair. The constant flow of pieces between spaces sets a fluid stage that highlights Lazare’s attraction to minimalism no matter which location. “I love the forties,” says Lazare, “it is a style that doesn’t go out of style.”

Long before he opened Bourgeois Bohème with his partners Dale Skorcz and Tim Norr, Lazare was cultivating his eye in the flea markets of Paris where he spent most of his adult life before moving to Los Angeles with a impressive web of French dealers and a devoted American clientele under his belt. “I grew up dreaming of California,” says Lazare, “ and I knew that the people in LA are not bound to traditional design. They have a playful style here. So I wanted to bring the best of Paris to them.”

Upon arriving, he bought the ideal place in which to explore a design esthetic where an 17th century armoire can hold court with an industrial chandelier. “The playful mix is the only way to make a house you own,” says Lazare. When he opened Bourgeois Bohème in 2002 (in homage to “bobos,” or those who live life off the beaten path), his inventory focused more on 18th century provincial furnishings, yet it has since sharpened its focus on imported industrial pieces from France. “They make a great statements,” says Lazare, “and they are now finally coming back to vogue.” Indeed the residential “soft lofts” which have proliferated downtown Los Angeles with their vast gallery-style white walls and floor-to-ceiling windows are the ideal backdrop to display the streamlined, study pieces Lazare loves to not only share with his house guests, but his clients. “I love the heaviness and simplicity of these pieces,” says Lazare. “This style really matches the spirit of loft living.”

It also inspired Lazare to launch his very own furniture line, Bourgeois Bohème Atelier, which pays tribute to the French designers he so admires, such as the Giacometti brothers, Pierre Chareau and Jean Charles Moreux. “I combine the lines and motifs of these classics and then adapt them to the standards of today’s living,” says Lazare. To best illuminate his pieces, Lazare offers an exclusive lighting line of chandeliers, sconces, and floor and table lamps that positively glow with creativity and functionality. “We are always trying to blend European sensibility with modernism,” says Lazare. He is particularly excited by his recent unique creation of plaster chandeliers with hand blown glass cylinder shades.

“Showcasing pieces no one else has,” says Lazare,” that is the recipe for success.” Other ingredients include his commitment to traveling between Paris and Los Angeles to keep bringing back the vintage designs for the ardent fans of the store: “When I can no longer find those things, then I will stop.”