Design Tasting in Paris - NYTimes.com September seems to be interior design month in Paris. The festivities began on Sept. 7 with the opening of the fall 2012 Maison & Objet trade fair. Then, on Sept. 10, Paris Design Week started with more than 100 participating off-site exhibitions, galleries, presentations and independent designers displaying their latest wares. It's as if the City of Lights set out to prove that it's also the city of lighting - and seating, and bedding. But Paris has a long history of decorative arts, and nowhere was that more evident than at the opening of the 26th Biennale des Antiquaires yesterday at the Grand Palais. This year, Karl Lagerfeld was invited to "reimagine" its layout. Those who expected an extravaganza in the style of the shows that Lagerfeld stages for Chanel may have been disappointed. The designer's vision was comparatively sober, as if da Vinci and Baron Haussmann together had envisioned Paris as a sort of whitewashed ideal city, but in Biedermeier proportions. If that's an eclectic set of references, so were the wares on offer by over 150 participating galleries: paintings; fine china, like a Jing Dynasty boar's head terrine at Jorge Welsh; 18th-century ladies' revolvers; medieval armor; and exceptional antique furniture. One of the most stunning pieces was a 1680 desk made by Louis XIV's cabinetmaker, Pierre Gole, for sale for 1.2 million euros (about $1.5 million) at Didier Aaron & Cie. Makers of haute joaillerie, like Boucheron, Cartier, Chanel, Chaumet, Dior, Harry Winston, Piaget, and Van Cleef & Arpels, had a major presence as well, and pulled out all the sparkly stops. Bulgari, however, seemed to outshine the competition, judging by the numbers of people waiting in line to catch a glimpse of some of Elizabeth Taylor's most jaw-dropping gems at the company's booth. But there was also something for lovers of more contemporary fare (contemporary being a relative word in the presence of, say, ninth-century Russian religious icons). Galerie Downtown François Laffanour recreated a private Montmartre home that Charlotte Perriand decorated between 1959 and 1970, while Vallois mixed and matched some beautiful pieces by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann and Jean Michel Frank with more industrial-looking pieces by Eileen Gray. Even more contemporary were the pieces on display at Carpenter's Workshop, including new work by Wendell Castle, Ingrid Donat and some key pieces by that favorite of collectors, Marc Newson. And L&M Arts showed a collection of bronze and leather "boxes" - cabinets, really - made by the architect Peter Marino. The leather, apparently, is the same as that used to make Marino's famous get-ups. Those who wonder how all these seemingly disparate elements might come together in livable and workable interiors have only to head across the street to the auction house Artcurial to check out the exhibition "Voyages Imaginaires." Conceived in collaboration with LVMH and AD, the show allowed 13 designers to create "imaginary journeys through the arrangement of interiors." The list of participants - including François-Joseph Graf, Bruno Moisard, Vincent Darré, Thierry Lemaire and Jean-Louis Deniot - is a who's who of French decorating, and many of the rooms were stunning in their execution, like Joseph Dirand's "Maharaja's Bathroom." But perhaps the freshest impulses came from two non-French designers. Dimore Studio from Milan channeled La Dolce Vita in its vignette, complete with references to the Italian design icons Gio Ponti and Piero Portaluppi. And Rafael de Cárdenas, the only American in the group, presented a crypt-like fantasy inspired by "The Hunger," the 1983 vampire film starring Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie. Called "Derniers Jours" ("Last Days"), the 200-square-foot room was outfitted with a sultry daybed, faux marble walls, a large stone table and yards of Maharam velvet and Baccarat crystals. The gemstone-colored rugs by Inigo Elizalde and the slightly disturbing art by Melodie Mousset enhanced the room's dark, over-the-top look. Sometimes it takes an American to shake up that tastefulness that is nowhere more easily found than in Paris.