Shopper’s Diary: Peonies in Paris, for Flowers and Coffee

Recently opened in the 10th arrondissement of Paris is Peonies, a shop that advertises, simply, “coffee and flowers.” What better companions?

Designed by French architect Eloise Bosredon, Peonies serves both wildflower bouquets and coffee roasted locally by Coutume (for more, see Design Sleuth: Plumen Lightbulbs at Cafe Coutume on Remodelista). Here’s a look inside the shop.

Photography via Peonies.

Above: The café is tiled in green (with matching grout) to contrast with pale pink tables and chairs. The flower shop is tucked in one corner.

Above: Freshly picked wildflowers in enamel pails mingle with hanging houseplants and small paper-wrapped bouquets. Peonies’ owner Clémentine Lévy sources the blooms from the Rungis market, then arranges the flowers herself in a basement workshop underneath the shop. (Lévy named the cafe for her favorite flower.)

Above: A vignette on a built-in shelf: vintage-style vases, homemade jams, and a French garden book. A similar version of the ceramic cactus is available via Lina Cofan for Hay.

Above: When it comes to bouquets, Lévy told interiors blog The Socialite Family, “I wanted to offer something a bit different. Here, you won’t find any rose, or maybe some roses from a garden, but the idea is that there won’t be any classic flowers such as orchids. I make bouquets of wildflowers or of flowers from gardens. Ninety percent of the flowers I use come from France.” Here, small daisies and pale purple chrysanthemums form loose, romantic bouquets.

Above: The cafe serves coffee, organic teas, and fresh pastries. Green is everywhere; on a serving cart, small repurposed bottles of water are filled with sprigs of mint.

Above: Buckets of freshly picked blooms and greens sit by a farm sink, ready to be gathered into casual floral arrangements.

Above: A stylized peony on the cafe’s front window hints at the flower shop inside.

For more of our favorite green coffee shops, see our posts:

• The Greenest Coffee Shop in the World?
• Shopper’s Diary: Caffé Spina in Greenpoint.
• Shopper’s Diary: No. 6 Depot Roasters in the Berkshires.