Taipei's Ecru Studio Is Bringing Its Art Deco-Inspired Interiors to Paris

A Taipei design studio with a passion for Art Deco, collectible design and spatial storytelling is preparing to make its Paris debut.

By Catherine Mo | June 1, 2026 | Category design

A new design studio is opening in Paris this year, but its story begins nearly 10,000 kilometres away in Taipei.

Founded by designer Jin Chen, Ecru Studio has quietly built a reputation for interiors that feel steeped in history yet unmistakably contemporary. Drawing from European movements including Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Mid-Century Modernism, the studio reinterprets these references through an Asian lens, creating spaces that balance ornament and restraint, craftsmanship and clarity.

As Ecru Studio prepares to establish its first Paris bureau, its growing portfolio offers an intriguing glimpse into the perspective it will bring to one of the world's design capitals.

Custom timber joinery, marble surfaces and soft lighting create an intimate dining setting where Art Deco references are interpreted through a contemporary lens.

From collectible design to interior architecture

The studio's origins can be traced back to 2012, when Chen founded D.A Gallery (Delicate Antique), a Taipei gallery specialising in collectible European furniture and decorative objects. Initially, clients approached him for styling advice and furniture curation, but these commissions soon expanded into complete interior projects.

By 2019, Ecru Studio had officially launched, focusing on interior architecture, custom furniture and spatial design. Today, its portfolio spans private residences, restaurants, cocktail bars, coffee shops, hospitality projects and boutique hotels.

Chen's unconventional path into design has shaped the studio's distinctive approach. Before entering the interiors world, he spent almost a decade working in the music industry as a composer, songwriter and producer. The influence remains evident in his work today, where rhythm, atmosphere and emotional resonance often guide spatial decisions as much as aesthetics.

Generous proportions, layered materials and carefully composed symmetry define this atmospheric dining room in Taipei.

A Milanese dream in Taipei

Perhaps nowhere is Ecru Studio's design language more apparent than at Etna, a cigar and cocktail bar located in Taipei's historic Zhongshan District.

Named after Sicily's Mount Etna, the project takes inspiration from the elegance of 1930s Milan and early Italian modernism. Spanning two levels and 170 square metres, the interior unfolds as a carefully orchestrated study in materiality.

Taiwanese green serpentine marble, limestone, smoked oak, parchment and onyx create a layered palette that feels rich without excess. Six monumental seven-metre-high columns finished in deep red marmorino plaster establish a powerful sense of rhythm throughout the space, transforming structural necessity into architectural theatre.

Art Deco influences appear throughout, from geometric stone flooring to vintage period chairs and custom-designed seating. Yet the atmosphere never feels nostalgic. Instead, the project demonstrates Ecru Studio's ability to borrow from history while creating something entirely contemporary.

Sculptural furnishings, earthy ceramics and warm timber pieces demonstrate Ecru Studio's focus on materiality and collected design.

Where Taiwanese street culture meets European bistro dining

A similar sensibility informs The Flow, a restaurant created for Draft Land, one of Asia's most celebrated draft cocktail groups.

Set within an 80-year-old building in Taipei's old town, the 200-square-metre restaurant explores the intersection between Taiwanese street food culture and the traditions of European wine bars and bistros.

At Etna, rich burl wood, geometric stone flooring and custom seating channel the glamour of 1930s Milan while remaining distinctly contemporary.

The ground floor embraces the energy and immediacy of casual Taiwanese dining, with seating arranged around a sculptural wave-like travertine counter. Pendant lights reinterpret traditional Taiwanese lanterns, while custom furniture references both Art Deco geometry and Brutalist forms.

Upstairs, the mood shifts. Curved banquettes, oak dining tables and Pierre Chareau wall sconces introduce a more formal European rhythm, creating a space that feels equally at home in Paris or Taipei.

It is this ability to navigate between cultures without falling into cliché that defines the studio's strongest work.

A curved banquette upholstered in powder blue velvet introduces softness and colour against the restaurant's architectural backdrop.

A boutique hotel rooted in place

The studio's first hospitality venture, VUDAS, is set to open in summer 2026 on Taiwan's southern coast.

Located near Baishawan Beach in Kenting, the 21-room boutique hotel takes its name from the Paiwan Indigenous word for "white sand". The project combines European decorative traditions with Taiwanese Indigenous references and Asian spatial sensibilities, creating what promises to be a richly layered hospitality experience.

Rather than treating culture as a decorative motif, Ecru Studio approaches local heritage as an integral part of the design narrative, allowing architecture, landscape and materiality to shape the guest experience.

Custom burl wood doors, floral drapery and geometric stone floors showcase Ecru Studio's talent for layering texture and historical references.

Paris is the next chapter

Now, Ecru Studio is preparing to expand beyond Taiwan.

Its first Paris project is the renovation of a private apartment beside the Jardin du Palais-Royal in the 1st arrondissement. Owned by the founder of emerging Chinese fashion label Shushu/Tong, the apartment will combine Eastern cultural references with European Art Deco influences and eventually serve as the studio's Paris headquarters.

A second residential project for a collector working in the contemporary art world is also underway.

For Chen, the move feels like a natural progression.

"We believe interiors should be emotionally resonant and culturally nuanced, carrying both historical depth and contemporary relevance," he says.

If the studio's work to date is any indication, Paris is about to gain a fresh perspective — one shaped not by imitation, but by a thoughtful dialogue between East and West.

Plaster walls, handcrafted furniture and sculptural objects create a calming retreat where simplicity feels considered rather than sparse.

Credits:

Interior design: Ecru Studio, (Instagram @ecru.studio)

Photos: Dean Hearne (Instagram @dean.hearne);

WGH Photo (Instagram @wgh_photo)

Production: Karine Monié (Instagram @karinemonie)