Built-Ins Saved This Hip 540-Square-Foot Paris Apartment
The oil used on the partition’s plywood makes it water resistant and gives it a slightly warm brown color while the aluminum elements serve to protect parts of the partition as well as lighten it visually. A resistant anodized aluminum was chosen for its elegant tint and satin-like aspects that catch the light. Elsewhere in the apartment, because of the living room’s south facing windows, a white plywood table was employed instead of an aluminum surface to avoid high surface temperatures. A second box was preserved from the old layout and integrates the toilet.
White is a common theme, with various shades of it found throughout the apartment. The matte white of the ceiling hides the irregularities of the original concrete. The walls are a semi-gloss white velvet that has the advantage of not reflecting too much light. The bright white floors were painted with a low maintenance, industrial-leaning paint that was first designed for parking lots. The tone contrasts with the period wood and metal frames of the windows that were preserved. “They are very elegant and quite slim. With their fixed windows under the shades, lifted to let the light in, they work very well visually.”
The architect confides that he and his partner spent more than a little time choosing the furniture and lighting. “The principle of the boxes is inspired by the idea of prefabricated elements after World War II,” he says. “We had a lot of fun because it is a design moment we are passionate about.” From a bedframe that is assumed to be midcentury and an Antony chair by Jean Prouvé, the furniture then pays homage to the emerging 1970s (with a Brigadier sofa by Cini Boeri found at Drouot) and the 1980s (with a Tavolo Con Ruote table by Gae Aulenti). The Alvar Aalto stools date back to the 1930s. The lighting fixtures, from a Lampe de Marseille by Le Corbusier to Charlotte Perriand’s swinging shutter sconces and Maija Liisa Komulainen’s Fuga wall sconces, are all connected to use more functional wall switches. As for the apartment’s artworks, they are by artist friends and were chosen to highlight the sober and pure architecture. For example, Pauline-Rose Dumas’s Éclats, above the sofa, reinterprets the perfect geometry of the space while the eye bounces from the library to the textile work, and then out the windows, navigating from one geometry to the next.
