La Villa Verte

French interior and furniture designer Bruno de Caumont’s second home in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City has a rich French heritage, so it’s no surprise that French Count and designer Bruno de Caumont recently set up shop — and home — here.

A descendant of Ange-Jacques Gabriel, the French architect who designed the Petit Trianon in Versailles, made famous by Marie Antoinette, and the Place de la Concorde in Paris, Caumont originally planned to be an international lawyer. However, he was waylaid by his love for period furniture, which led him to set up a stall selling French antiques at Paris’s Marché Paul Bert flea market, then to become a much-lauded interior designer and later furniture maker.