Interior Designers React to the Devastating News of the Notre Dame Fire

Hadley Keller
Updated
Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

From House Beautiful

On Monday afternoon, the world watched in horror as one of history's most iconic buildings caught fire. Notre Dame, the 800-year-old Gothic cathedral on Paris's Île de la Cité, burned for nearly 8 hours, while the city's police department worked to tamp the flames. Despite sustaining catastrophic damages-the structure's roof caved in after its spire tumbled-French president Emmanuel Macron vowed that the country would rebuild its grand dame.

Having existed for more than 8 centuries, the cathedral has seen its fair share of damage and change. Variations in style led to numerous alterations between the 16th and 18th centuries, and by the early 19th century it had fallen into disrepair; Napoleon Bonaparte spearheaded a restoration effort, which lasted 25 years. The structure sustained even more damage during World War II. Throughout history, it has survived, a monument not only to the Catholic faith, but to history, art, and architecture. It should come as little surprise, then, that Notre Dame is beloved by many in the design world; today, several of the world's top designers and architects paid tribute to the structure.

Unimaginable. The beauty, majesty, pageantry destroyed. Heartbreaking 😢 But my memories of dozens of visits over the years will live on in my heart 🇫🇷

A post shared by Jamie Drake (@designerjamiedrake) on Apr 15, 2019 at 5:05pm PDT

Anytime I am ever in Paris I look for #NotreDame just to have it in my sights. I’ll grab a pic good or bad even if from a speeding Uber. I look for it the same way I lookup for the Empire State Building when walking in NY. I’m heartbroken for lovers of architecture, art, history and most of all the people of Paris. 💔

A post shared by J O E L U C A S (@joeyluke) on Apr 15, 2019 at 1:08pm PDT

heart breaking

A post shared by Kelly Behun (@kellybehunstudio) on Apr 15, 2019 at 1:47pm PDT

Worst news in a really long time.

A post shared by Rafael de Cárdenas (@rafcardy) on Apr 15, 2019 at 2:32pm PDT

No words 💔 For over 850 years, this beautiful masterpiece has stood tall in the heart of Paris, France and as a corner stone in its history 💔 February 2010

A post shared by ↞Thörn Alexander Needlepoint↠ (@thornalexanderstyle) on Apr 15, 2019 at 4:03pm PDT

#themoonforthemisbegottin #longdaysjourneyintonight #nortedamecathedral

A post shared by LeeFMindel (@leemindel) on Apr 15, 2019 at 4:54pm PDT

💔

A post shared by Schuyler Samperton (@schuylersamperton) on Apr 15, 2019 at 2:13pm PDT

I was the kid obsessed with castles and cathedrals when I was younger. Arches and flying buttresses, stacked stone, posts and lintels. ✨ ...Could not get enough stories of how they were built, the amazing way the structure worked, the grand gesture of what people could make with their hands and hearts. ✨ Heartbreaking to be so close to the loss of such a beauty today. 💔

A post shared by The Office of Charles de Lisle (@charlesdelisleoffice) on Apr 15, 2019 at 12:20pm PDT

Such a devastating loss. Now more than ever, buildings like this can inspire in us, all that is beautiful, poetic and optimistic about the world and who we can be on this planet... it’s gutting to see such a majestic testament to that possibility, gone in an instant.

A post shared by Tim Campbell (@studiotimcampbell) on Apr 15, 2019 at 11:36am PDT

Our hearts are heavy and hopeful that this treasure can be saved.

A post shared by Studio Libeskind (@daniellibeskind) on Apr 15, 2019 at 3:27pm PDT

😢

A post shared by Lilly Bunn, Inc (@lillybunninc) on Apr 15, 2019 at 11:23am PDT

Notre Dame à tous

A post shared by India Mahdavi (@indiamahdavi) on Apr 15, 2019 at 12:33pm PDT

This city and this cathedral will always have a special place in my heart. Having been humbled by the sheer beauty and wonder, I drew this in my sketchbook shortly after visiting Notre Dame as a high school sophomore in 2007. Though I am thankful that I have visited multiple times, this is far beyond that, beyond me and my personal time with the space. Notre Dame is an icon, a beacon of hope for so many. It has served as an interwoven visual and aural motive in people's lives for centuries. The significance of this loss for humanity is incomprehensible.

A post shared by Adam Ford (The Happy Tudor) (@azford) on Apr 15, 2019 at 4:20pm PDT

May all our collective city love shoot from NY to Paris!

A post shared by Alexa Hampton (@alexahamptoninc) on Apr 15, 2019 at 3:47pm PDT

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