Juliette Byrne is an award-winning luxury interior designer on the Côte d'Azur. Juliette is registered with the British Institute of Interior Design, and Country & Town House names her among Britain's leading designers. She founded her Chelsea studio in 1988, and it now designs villas and apartments along the French Riviera between Monaco and Saint-Tropez. On the coast it has recently completed a contemporary villa at Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, replanned and furnished over 18 months, an apartment in an 18th-century building overlooking Cannes harbour, and a project in Saint-Tropez.

Juliette takes every brief herself and leads the design, supported by six designers. If the client has already appointed an architect and builder on the coast, the studio works alongside them, and if not, it recommends firms it knows. The design, the buying and the installation remain the studio's responsibility. The first meeting is complimentary, and no project is too small to discuss.

Villa, Cap-Ferrat

Pied a Terre, Cannes

Where the studio works on the Côte d'Azur, from Monaco to Saint-Tropez

At the eastern end, Monaco is almost entirely apartments in residences and follows the Principality's own building rules, not France's. Heading west, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Èze and the Cap Ferrat peninsula have Belle Époque villas from the coast's first winter seasons alongside contemporary houses built around the view. Nice, listed by UNESCO in 2021 as the winter resort town of the Riviera, has apartments along the Promenade des Anglais, grand residences in Cimiez and 1920s villas on Mont Boron. Across the Baie des Anges, Cap d'Antibes is mostly contemporary villas with pools, next to the old town of Antibes and Juan-les-Pins.

Cannes has Belle Époque apartments along the Croisette and villas on the hills of La Californie, and a short drive inland, Mougins, Valbonne and Saint-Paul-de-Vence have the mas and bastides of Provence. Beyond the Estérel, Saint-Tropez, Ramatuelle and Gassin are village houses, bastides and estates on the peninsula, and the studio has recently finished a project in Saint-Tropez. Most homes in this part of the South of France are second homes, full for a few weeks at a time and closed for long stretches in between, and their services, finishes and layout are planned with that in mind. Projects further afield, including the award-winning villa in Dresden, are on the International page.

A villa on Cap Ferrat, redesigned over 18 months

Before anything could be designed, the contemporary villa on Cap Ferrat needed its fabric putting right. It had been neglected for some time, and the first months went on replacing the windows and French doors and rewiring the whole house for new AV. Only then did the plan change. The kitchen now opens through the dining room onto the dining terrace, with Taj Mahal stone for the worktops and bar, and in the main reception, which faces the sea across the garden, a full-height Italian travertine fireplace anchors the room. Downstairs, each of the four bedrooms has a new en suite bathroom, and what was the garage is now a media room and gym. The house was handed over furnished. The Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat page goes through the villa room by room.

Permits and the copropriété on the Côte d'Azur, and Monaco's own rules

In France, work inside a house needs no permit. Replacing windows, altering the façade or roof, adding a pool or extending the house requires either a déclaration préalable, which the mairie decides within a month, or a permis de construire, which takes two months for a house. Both take a month longer in a protected setting, such as the centre of Nice or near a listed building, and a permis for a house of more than 150 square metres must be drawn up by an architect. A permit is valid for three years once granted, and neighbours have two months from the notice going up to object. Villas on the shore fall within the 100-metre coastal strip of the Loi Littoral, where only limited extensions are allowed, which in practice means working within the existing footprint.

Apartment owners also answer to the copropriété. Work on the common parts, which include the façade, windows, shutters and shared pipework, has to be agreed by the syndic and voted through at the general assembly of co-owners, and the building's règlement limits when noisy work can take place. Monaco has its own system: changes to the layout, structure or exterior need authorisation from the Principality, decided within 45 days, a Monaco-registered architect signs the file, and only a Monegasque firm may carry out the building work, as the Monaco page explains. Whichever system applies, the studio and the architect allow for the approval in the programme before the design is fixed.

How an interior designer on the Côte d'Azur operates from London

Every project starts with a visit. Juliette meets the client at the property, takes the brief and sees how the house is used. The design is then worked up in Chelsea: the plan, where it needs to change, elevations and joinery drawings, kitchens, bathrooms and lighting, and a specification for every fabric, finish and piece of furniture. The client approves each item and its price before anything is ordered, and the drawings go out to contractors as one tender package. As an architecte d'intérieur, the studio designs the layout and the furnishing together.

During the build the contractor runs the site. The studio visits for site meetings at the key stages and follows progress on video calls between visits. Owners who spend most of the year elsewhere tend to hand the studio more of the decisions, inside the brief they signed off at the outset. At the end the studio buys every item, ships it to the coast and installs it, including the linen in the cupboards. The interior architecture and design service page has the three stages in detail.

An 18th-century apartment in Cannes, and work along the coast

Above Cannes harbour, the studio renovated a one-bedroom pied-à-terre in an 18th-century Classical building. The work took 18 months, with the Monaco contractor Chartwell Group. Its coffered ceilings were restored, the main rooms gained new panelling and cornices, and the old parquet was sanded and given a soft grey stain under a scheme of white, brass and copper. The Cannes page covers the apartment in full. The studio has also recently finished a project in Saint-Tropez, and takes on work anywhere on the coast between there and Monaco. For the region's design traditions, read the studio's guide to Provence and Côte d'Azur interior design styles.

What interior design on the Côte d'Azur costs

What a Riviera project costs depends on the property, its size and condition; on the specification and how much is made to order; and on whether a permit, an architect or a vote of the copropriété is involved. Juliette talks this through at the first meeting, and the studio then prepares a tailored fee proposal. After the client has chosen the furniture and finishes, every item is costed and documented with complete transparency, and fees are only discussed once the client wishes to proceed.

Small projects are welcome: a single room or a studio apartment gets the same attention as a whole villa, and many clients ask the studio back years after handover.

How long a French Riviera renovation takes

The programme is set at the start. On the coast it depends on the permit, and the extra month in a protected area, on the copropriété's general assembly if a vote is needed, on the contractor's availability and on lead times for made-to-order joinery and furniture. Both recent French projects ran to 18 months, the Cap Ferrat villa with its new windows and full rewire, and the Cannes renovation. Furnishing alone takes far less time, and the studio's six designers mean a new project can normally start soon after it is agreed.

Award-winning interior design, from Chelsea to the Côte d'Azur

Juliette is one of The Telegraph's top twenty interior designers in Britain and appears in House & Garden's Top 100. The studio's work has been published in Mansion Global, Tatler Asia, Marie Claire Maison Arabia and Knight Frank, and is collected on the Press page.

Its awards include two from design et al for the restoration of an 18th-century villa in Dresden: the International Design & Architecture Award in 2024 and the Elite Residential Property Award in 2025. Four London projects have won at the UK Property Awards, a townhouse in Chelsea, a townhouse in Belgravia, the Boutique Hotel, Mayfair and the Penthouse, Mayfair, and a new-build development in Chelsea was recognised at the International Property Awards. In the French Alps, the studio designed a family chalet at Chamonix, below Mont Blanc.

Frequently asked questions

Which parts of the Côte d'Azur does the studio cover?

All of it, from Monaco to Saint-Tropez. The studio has finished projects in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Cannes and Saint-Tropez, works with Monaco-based contractors for projects in Monaco, and travels to Nice, Antibes, Beaulieu, Villefranche, Mougins and the villages inland in the same way.

Is a London interior designer practical for a home on the French Riviera?

Yes. Juliette visits the property to take the brief, the design is drawn up in Chelsea, and a local architect and contractor look after the permit and the building work. Members of the team travel out for a site meeting at each stage and again for the installation, with video calls in between. Both the Cap Ferrat villa and the Cannes pied-à-terre were managed like this.

Do we need a French architect to renovate a villa on the Côte d'Azur?

Only if the work needs a permis de construire and the house is over 150 square metres; a déclaration préalable never requires one. In practice, the studio works with an architect on the coast whenever the exterior or the structure is changing, and they prepare the drawings and the application together.

How long does planning permission take on the Côte d'Azur?

The mairie decides a déclaration préalable within a month and a permis de construire for a house within two, with an extra month if the property is in a protected setting such as central Nice or near a listed building. Neighbours can then object for two months, and the permit lasts three years. Work that only changes the interior needs no permission.

Can you design a house we only use in the summer?

That is the usual brief on the coast. The house is planned for long absences: lighting, AV and air conditioning can be controlled remotely, and the finishes are chosen for a home that is shut for months. While the work is under way, the studio makes more of the decisions itself, within the brief the owners have approved.

Is the Côte d'Azur the same as the French Riviera?

Yes. French Riviera is the English name for the same stretch of Mediterranean coast, which runs from the Italian border past Monaco, Nice and Cannes towards Saint-Tropez. The studio uses both names on this site.

How much does an interior designer cost on the Côte d'Azur?

There is no fixed figure, because furnishing an apartment in Nice and remodelling a villa on the Cap are very different jobs. Juliette goes through costs at the first meeting, which is free, and a fee proposal follows. Each item is priced and approved by the client before it is bought.

Do you deliver and install the furniture in France?

Yes. The studio orders everything itself, and its own team installs it at the property, lighting, rugs and soft furnishings included. When the owners arrive, the house is finished.

Where is the studio and how do we start?

Juliette's studio is in the Chelsea Design Quarter, 535 King's Road, London. The first step is a complimentary consultation: email office@juliettebyrne.com or press Contact Us below.

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Interior Designer on the Côte d'Azur

Recent Côte d'Azur interior design projects