Before opening his first restaurant in Paris, chef Simon Horwitz spent months sourcing tables from Burgundy, light fixtures from Germany and custom-crafted clay plates from Peru. Working alongside Paris-based interior designer Aude Gros-Rosanvallon (who has her own firm, Holocene), the chef opened Elmer a year and a half ago. There, dark metal stools sit under light wood tabletops, creating just the right contrast against the white handmade plates, accented with brushstrokes of pale purple, orange and blue. For lighting, the chef wanted a soft, yellow spotlight shining down on each plate, so diners could not only see their food, but could also photograph it without requiring extra lighting.