What do US-based French designers stock up on during visits home? Tester-size cans of house paints from Ressource Peinture. Corinne Gilbert—whose Brooklyn apartment is featured in our new book—says Ressource offers "a range of gorgeous saturated colors that you can't find anywhere else." Unlike other paint lines that we love, such as Farrow & Ball and its cool English colors, Ressource specializes in joie de vivre shades: unabashedly rich, full-bodied, and sexy.
Above: Ressource offers several palettes from the recent past; The 1970s Colors shown here include Burnt Orange and Purple Ink. On trips home to Paris, Corinne Gilbert stocks up on the company's tester-size cans, which she uses back in New York for decorative painting.
Above L: Ressource is best known for its vibrant shades; shown here samples from the Subtles Patinas group. Above R: The company also offers a collection of 24 different "broken whites".
Above L: Ressource's Confluence Collection was created by architect designer Robert Gervais and consists of eight shades that he envisioned for his dream cabin situated "between sea and forest." Above R: Confluence colors in a rustic setting. For matte fans, the paints are available in three versions: Matte Powder, Classic Matte, and Matte Silky.
Above: Ressource has eight locations in France, two of them in Paris, at 62 rue de la Boétie, on the Right Bank, and 2-4 Avenue du Maine (shown here) on the Left Bank. It also has 120 distributors in Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. For details, go to Ressource.
Above: A group of 48 shades make up Ressource's 1950's Colors collection. Shades deemed relevant for today were selected from the first ready-to-use paints established by the British Standards Institute in 1955.
Above: Mismatched bistro chairs are unified by a bright yellow from Ressource. Image via Barnabe Cafe. See Ressource for more.
Easier to procure paints? Have a look at all the posts in our Paint & Palettes section. And if you're after a pop of color, check out the new Veronica Valencia Lighting Collection from Barn House Electric.