Cléophée Poli is the Creative Director and Founder of Paris-based Cleo Interior Design.
Cléo was born in Paris and raised by her antiques and collectibles merchant father and her multidisciplinary artist mother. She grew up surrounded by art and vintage decor magazines. As a young child, she began to develop an eye for design.
She spent most of the last decade living overseas with her Australian partner. This time abroad in Malawi, Australia, and London inspired her and made her realize she could pursue a career in interior design.
With the arrival of their first child, Cléo returned to Paris. She stepped out of her luxury hospitality management career and has been carving a name for herself in the Paris interior design scene. We sat down with her to talk about interior design and music.
T: Where do you draw inspiration for your projects?
C: Generally, what inspires me the most is architecture and traveling. Growing up in a city like Paris has made me more attentive to the details of buildings, doors, finishes, and patterns, and I’m always looking around my surroundings for inspiration. Regarding projects, the biggest inspiration is our clients' stories, who they are, and what they want to achieve.
T: What do you do when your client’s aesthetic is different from what you find beautiful?
C: These are the projects that push my creative boundaries, which is what I find exciting about the job. It’s about seeing the client's aesthetics and putting our twist on it. It’s the creative push that I strive for.
T: When you are creating an ambiance in someone's home, what role do you think music plays in that?
C: We are all sensory beings, so what we see, touch, smell, and hear will affect how we live in the space. Music is a big part of most of our lives. I have to be mindful of our clients' environment, from subtle details like home scents to home audio systems. Tivoli Audio has been a great brand to turn to because I know the products look great, sound great, and will stand the test of time. As designers, it’s important to shop for brands that are beautiful but also have different styles to help us adapt to different project aesthetics.
T: Which Tivoli Audio Products do you tend to reach for?
C: Depending on the project, if we have more midcentury modern or minimalist aesthetics, we would go more with the Music System Home or the classic Model One BT. When we need something more colorful for eclectic décor, or accent colors, we would go with the PAL BT.
T: You are known for your interior design talent, but you’re also getting increased attention for your children’s art services. Can you tell us more about it?
C: We initially did this for a UK couple with an empty wall. Inspired by sensory play activities for babies, I suggested a unique art piece for their 14-month-old daughter. They loved the personal touch, and the positive response led us to turn this into a service. Initially exclusive to clients, our kids' artwork package now offers age-appropriate techniques, color suggestions (depending on the aesthetics of our clients' home), and finishes, all framed for a complete experience. We’ve expanded this concept into a Parisian experience for visitors to Paris. They can pre-book a session and come home with a one-of-a-kind personalized souvenir.
C: We have a project called the Art House. They are art collectors, and we are doing a full renovation of a two-story house; their lean towards deco and lighting is very much on the curated side. Which is what we strive for. We will be designing custom furniture for them and buying items from new up-and-coming furniture designers while blending them with vintage pieces and creating these rich layers of an exceptionally curated and personal home. Making it unique and very much representing them and their family, and we are having a lot of fun doing it.
For more info on Cleo and her services, head over to https://www.cleointeriordesign.com/ or find her on instagram @cleointeriordesign.