Colour-drenching is the term du jour in European interiors. Yet monotone schemes only truly come alive when texture is introduced liberally. This is where the magic happens at Muse, a new French bistro that opened last autumn and then reopened after the devastating fires that consumed many of its neighbours in Pacific Palisades.

Testing the waters after a period of salvage and mourning, the restaurant is finally able to showcase its rich rose-tinted neutrals, introduced to banquettes and feature walls with a ribbed corduroy effect. The 35-seat dining room was designed by Marc Ange Design Studio, a practice based in Paris and Los Angeles that favours curved lines and tactile finishes.

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Photography: Pablo Enriquez

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Apart from the salvaged parquet floor, Ange hardly incorporates a straight line in the scheme, from the ovular reception desk with its smoothly finished walnut body. Tables, seating, milky-glass sconces and matching chandeliers all curve to welcome the diner. The continuous curved lines of the walls make it impossible to know where the ceiling begins. The four-seat wood bar has the same reeded effect as the feature walls, its ripples enhanced by recessed lighting.

True to its fashionable location near Santa Monica’s Ocean Front Walk, the restaurant has a 12-seat private room. The French-Italian à la carte menu caters to all areas with roast baby chicken, Provençal rack of lamb, roasted vegetables and risottos.

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