‘I find the bed rather dear when you consider that what cost forty louis in 1790 costs eighty in 1795… you can start with the bedroom if it’s free; I want it to be extremely simple.’ These were the instructions Josephine de Beauharnais gave to her household steward for the decoration of a little house she rented in October 1795 on Rue Chantereine in Paris, now known as Rue de la Victoire.
The 32-year-old Martinique-born beauty, already a widow and mother of two, had little money, but she was committed to making the most of her modest abode. Her bedroom, a small drawing room, and a parlour-cum-dining room were decorated with a few simple and elegant pieces. However, several rooms remained unfurnished, and the cupboards were filled with lots of unmatching crockery.
Life took an unexpected turn for Josephine when, in the very same October, she met a rising military leader from Corsica named Napoleon Bonaparte. Despite being six years younger than her, Napoleon was instantly captivated by Josephine’s charm. He proposed to her in January 1796, less than three months after they first met, and they married on March 9th (their wedding certificate was tweaked to make them look roughly the same age). Just two days after the wedding, Napoleon left Paris to take command of the French Army in Italy. This campaign played a crucial role in his career, greatly contributing to his rise in prominence. Many more campaigns were to follow in the subsequent years, and with them, eventually, an Imperial Crown.
Josephine’s recently gained fortune and status enabled her to pursue more ambitious decorating projects. In April 1799, she purchased a seventeenth-century manor house at Malmaison, west of Paris, as a country retreat. The Bonapartes had visited the bucolic site the previous year, but Napoleon thought the price was far too high for the unassuming building, which was also in poor condition. Despite this, Josephine capitalised on his absence (Napoleon was having a hard time fighting the British in Egypt) and bought the property for a remarkable sum of 325,000 francs. She immediately set about transforming Malmaison into the unofficial headquarters of Bonaparte’s regime and the showcase of the new Empire Style.
After the sombre austerity of the Revolution period (1789–1799), a new interest in luxury and opulence emerged with Napoleon’s rise to power. Designs drew heavily on martial inspiration, incorporating motifs such as laurel wreaths, eagles, and armours to reflect Napoleon’s military successes and his fascination with ancient Rome’s glorious past. The undisputed muse of this new aesthetic was Josephine, whose effortless taste was admired by contemporaries, even rivals of her powerful husband.
At Malmaison, Josephine artfully softened the masculinity of the regime’s official style with the help of Charles Percier and his rumoured lover Pierre-Francois-Leonard Fontaine. The task they faced was not an easy one. The decoration had to be executed within the ten-day intervals between each visit of the couple. To achieve this feat, the duo devised the most ingenious and time-effective solutions: painted stucco to resemble marble, retractable panels to expand the size of the rooms, stencilled decorative patterns on the walls, mahogany postiche columns connected by mirrors to conceal the flues from the kitchen in the basement. The most innovative design choice was to drape several rooms with cascades of plain or striped fabrics, giving them the appearance of tents. The inspiration came from Napoleon’s camp tents, which featured luxurious foldable furniture that could be transported from one site to another in specially-made cases.
On the first floor, Napoleon’s bedroom is draped with a white-on-white striped Indian muslin that gives the space a light and bright feel. An elegant lit de repos, a kind of daybed with no headboard, overlooks the room from a pedestal like a general on the battlefield. Several seats upholstered in a creamy tone of yellow cashmere with contrasting black trimmings ensured comfort for Napoleon, Josephine, and the few fortunate guests who had the privilege to visit their living quarters.
Bedrooms were semi-private reception spaces used for entertaining at Malmaison, where the couple lived in an informal and unconventionally bourgeois manner. In 1803, a stunned English visitor named James Forbes noted that ‘in defiance of the French custom of different apartments and separate beds, the First Consul and his lady repose under the same canopy.’
Still, can a tented bedroom keep your husband at home and away from his ambitions? The answer is sadly no.
Often away to fight foreign powers that eventually defeated him, and increasingly pressed by the urge to generate an heir, which Josephine couldn’t provide, Napoleon asked her for a divorce in December 1809, even if heartbroken. Josephine was allowed to keep her Imperial title and was granted a generous settlement of two million francs per year plus the ownership of Malmaison as ‘a testimony to our satisfaction and affection.’ However, she could not join court life nor enter Paris.
Isolated in her Malmaison dominion, Josephine devoted herself to the pursuit of beauty. She extended the property’s grounds and expanded her art collection, which included numerous Greek vases and sculptures by Canova.
After the divorce, Josephine enlisted Louis-Martin Berthault to create a new bedroom for her. By far the most extravagant space in the chateau, it resembles an opulent Ottoman tent, departing from her typical sober palette. A red cloth with gold trimmings is draped around the circular space, while a gilded bed flanked by swans stands proudly under a white canopy.
Josephine’s bedroom proclaimed to visitors that she had not relinquished her Imperial status and influence. After his return from Elba, Napoleon sojourned at Malmaison for some days before going into exile on the remote island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean. His last words were: ‘France, the army, head of the army, Josephine.’ She had certainly left an indelible mark on his life.
If a white tented bedroom doesn’t keep your husband at home, then make a new statement one!
Fancy the Malmaison look? Tented rooms are a fantastic way to make a big space feel cozy or a small one more whimsy. Moreover, they’re perfect for concealing flaws and making a room feel welcoming.
Veere Greeney fully embraces the style below, transforming a spare room in a London pied-à-terre into a contemporary rendition of Napoleon’s tented bedroom. Upholstered in Montauk Stripe by Le Gracieux, the diminutive space is elevated to Josephine’s level of chic. Repoussé brass lamps from Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, a star lantern by Charles Edwards, and Angela Wickstead bedding complete the look.
In the fairy-tale cottage below, Emma Ainscough crafts a tented atmosphere in a bedroom by draping the ceiling and adding a bespoke arch to create a cozy bed nook. The space is adorned with ‘Folies Bergère’ wallpaper by Howe in blue ribbon, paired with a custom headboard and cushions. Wall lights and a star pendant by Vaughan enhance the room’s enchanting ambiance.
Why not create a tented dining room? In her grand Victorian country house, Henri Fitzwilliam Hay incorporates a noise-reducing, tented apex roof with a striped Ralph Lauren fabric, extending the same pattern to the walls. This cohesive design creates a sophisticated and elegant atmosphere.
Turn a small entrance hall into a statement space. Benedict Foley played with the tented room aesthetic to create a spectacular first impression at WOW!House this year. Collaborating with Zoffany, he enveloped the space in luxurious layers of ‘French Marble’ wallcovering, ‘Wool Satin,’ and ‘Long Gallery’ brocade.
Not sure about getting the full look? Why not drape playful fabric to create a tented-like bed canopy? The timeless Le Manach ‘Mikado’ fabric adds a touch of fun to a French half-tester bed in a bedroom at Clare Mosley and her husband Mark Bicknell’s Georgian house.
For a particularly dramatic look, take a cue from the legendary interior designer Tessa Kennedy, who created uniformity in the small and tall entrance hall of her flat (below) by tenting the ceiling with terracotta voile embroidered with velvet, originally a dress fabric, and covering the walls in striped taffeta. She used belts from Turkestan and Afghanistan as borders, adding a unique touch to the design.
