Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Clever, Beautiful Design Maximises a Tricky Space
This bright two-storey loft apartment features ingenious storage, a living room winter garden and a few daring twists
The Parisian couple who own this new apartment moved in after their children flew the nest. To make sure they’d end up with exactly the home they wanted, they contacted an interior designer before starting on their property hunt. They’d had a bad experience in the past, so finding the right professional was a sensitive issue.
Having seen their project photos and read reviews by previous clients on Houzz, the owners decided to work with Atelier Daaa. “They liked our style, our décor sensibilities and the fact that we put an emphasis on nature in many of our projects,” says interior designer Richard Guilbault. The result is a bright and airy space that’s just perfect for its owners.
Having seen their project photos and read reviews by previous clients on Houzz, the owners decided to work with Atelier Daaa. “They liked our style, our décor sensibilities and the fact that we put an emphasis on nature in many of our projects,” says interior designer Richard Guilbault. The result is a bright and airy space that’s just perfect for its owners.
The apartment spans the sixth floor and attic of a 19th century building. With its two-storey layout and double-height living room, it already had the loft look – a feature the interior designers wanted to enhance.
“One of our main ideas for the work was to maximise the brightness in all the rooms by tearing down partitions, especially on the upper floor. We renovated everything and emphasised the décor, but we didn’t actually move any of the rooms,” Guilbault says.
The entrance to the apartment is actually on the fifth floor, at the bottom of the stairs pictured here. It also has a cupboard. To give the home a contemporary base, the team painted the walls white, and went for pale oak flooring and a black steel railing.
“One of our main ideas for the work was to maximise the brightness in all the rooms by tearing down partitions, especially on the upper floor. We renovated everything and emphasised the décor, but we didn’t actually move any of the rooms,” Guilbault says.
The entrance to the apartment is actually on the fifth floor, at the bottom of the stairs pictured here. It also has a cupboard. To give the home a contemporary base, the team painted the walls white, and went for pale oak flooring and a black steel railing.
At the top of the stairs, a small hallway leads to the tiny kitchen, which overlooks the building’s courtyard. “You can see the beautiful courtyard on the north side and also have a view over the roof of the Centre Pompidou [a cultural centre that includes a public library, the National Museum of Modern Art, and a music and an acoustics research centre],” Guilbault says.
An area above the stairs conceals a hot water tank and a washing machine.
An area above the stairs conceals a hot water tank and a washing machine.
“We created this partitioned utility space on metal joints we installed above the stairwell. Its door is made of folded sheet metal, which has holes to provide ventilation while still looking good,” Guilbault says.
White cabinets and a quartz worktop from Silestone make the kitchen brighter. The owners chose a good-quality kitchen, and asked an acquaintance to install it. “A touch of aubergine and pale oak shelves lend the room some character,” Guilbault says.
The dining room is situated in an intimate space just behind the staircase to the second floor. It’s partially open to the living room.
“We enhanced this cocoon effect by placing the furniture in the centre and lowering the pendant lights over the table. To add some fun and colour to the secluded room, we dug into the owners’ painting collection – they are great art lovers – and, with their help, selected this lovely risqué nude,” Guilbault says. The owners’ sense of humour and willingness to be daring were driving forces in this project.
“We enhanced this cocoon effect by placing the furniture in the centre and lowering the pendant lights over the table. To add some fun and colour to the secluded room, we dug into the owners’ painting collection – they are great art lovers – and, with their help, selected this lovely risqué nude,” Guilbault says. The owners’ sense of humour and willingness to be daring were driving forces in this project.
The oak table’s metal base adds a welcome industrial feel. The gridded metal chairs were chosen to match this aesthetic.
Tempted to make more of your interior? Read reviews of interior designers in your area.
Tempted to make more of your interior? Read reviews of interior designers in your area.
There is another utility cupboard towards the living room. “Here, a 60 x 60cm column drain presented a basic constraint,” Guilbault says. “We used it to attach a second structure of the same size, which houses all the video and sound devices, namely the router and the amp that controls a 5.1 surround system by Bose.
“For the sake of design, we played with positive and negative spaces and installed an openwork door, which is also convenient for ventilating the appliances,” he adds.
The door of this cupboard is also made of painted sheet steel with holes. A 45° fold on the side makes for an easy grip, and is a better fit for the design scheme than a handle.
“For the sake of design, we played with positive and negative spaces and installed an openwork door, which is also convenient for ventilating the appliances,” he adds.
The door of this cupboard is also made of painted sheet steel with holes. A 45° fold on the side makes for an easy grip, and is a better fit for the design scheme than a handle.
The living room is long and narrow, and divided into two sections by the staircase to the second floor, which sits at its centre. “As the room wasn’t wide, we couldn’t design it like a typical living room,” Guilbault says. “What’s more, there was a structural barrier [one of the building’s beams] under the windows along the entire length of the room, which meant we couldn’t put a traditional sofa there.
“We turned things over in our heads and decided to create two areas: a warm and cosy indoor living room around the fireplace, then another area designed like an ‘outdoor’ living room,” he says.
“We turned things over in our heads and decided to create two areas: a warm and cosy indoor living room around the fireplace, then another area designed like an ‘outdoor’ living room,” he says.
The interior designers took advantage of the beautiful double-height ceiling on both sides of the room. On one side stands a built-in bookcase that reaches to the second storey.
To let this corner breathe and to highlight it as part of the décor, they abandoned the easy but space-consuming solution of placing a TV stand there and went for a lighter option instead: the Serif TV, designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Samsung in 2015.
To let this corner breathe and to highlight it as part of the décor, they abandoned the easy but space-consuming solution of placing a TV stand there and went for a lighter option instead: the Serif TV, designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Samsung in 2015.
The original fireplace was in working condition, but covered in bricks and ceramic tiles. The team covered it in plaster moulding instead, to give it a more discreet, contemporary look. “We played with the black and white contrast, which we based on Art Deco style,” Guilbault says.
The cosy second sitting area was designed to look like an outdoor spot. “The concept behind this living room design was to transpose the idea of a greenhouse into the interior,” Guilbault says.
“We were inspired by the south-facing dormer windows that overlook the Saint-Jacques Tower,” he adds. “We also worked the colours and vertical aspects of the space to make it feel as if you’re really outdoors.”
Wallpaper, Ananbô. Suspended armchair; bench, both La Redoute. Cushions by BHV (Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville).
“We were inspired by the south-facing dormer windows that overlook the Saint-Jacques Tower,” he adds. “We also worked the colours and vertical aspects of the space to make it feel as if you’re really outdoors.”
Wallpaper, Ananbô. Suspended armchair; bench, both La Redoute. Cushions by BHV (Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville).
A wide step under the windows hides one of the building’s structural beams. The designers fitted this with two adjoining banquettes, which make the room look wider.
“We split them into two, 2 x 1m modules. One is for the fireplace side and the other is on the green lounge side. These serve as two extra beds when the owners have people over,” Guilbault says.
“We split them into two, 2 x 1m modules. One is for the fireplace side and the other is on the green lounge side. These serve as two extra beds when the owners have people over,” Guilbault says.
The two banquettes were custom-made by upholsterer Patricia Barbot. In between, a coffee table offers a tidy place to stow laptops or tablets, or put down a book when taking a break from reading. There is storage underneath.
This “outdoor” living room plays on the current trend of bringing nature into the heart of urban homes. It’s become the owners’ favourite reading corner.
The original plan for greening this corner was more radical. “Originally, we had imagined a 3m-tall tree on this side of the living room, to emphasise the ceiling height,” Guilbault says.
However, as it was difficult to bring large items up the small stairwell and into the tiny lift, they found other tricks to pull the eye upwards: plants hanging on macramé planters, a hanging chair and wallpaper with a tropical theme.
The original plan for greening this corner was more radical. “Originally, we had imagined a 3m-tall tree on this side of the living room, to emphasise the ceiling height,” Guilbault says.
However, as it was difficult to bring large items up the small stairwell and into the tiny lift, they found other tricks to pull the eye upwards: plants hanging on macramé planters, a hanging chair and wallpaper with a tropical theme.
The light-coloured greenery and macramé create the perfect atmosphere, halfway between Scandinavian and bohemian.
Shop indoor pots and planters on Houzz.
Shop indoor pots and planters on Houzz.
The central staircase provides additional casual seating when the owners have guests over.
The staircase has changed a lot since the owners’ first visit. “It had been covered with brown laminate, which we took off,” Guilbault says. “The concrete underneath looked as if it had seen better days, so we had it completely re-covered with a new layer of concrete that we then varnished for protection.”
The second floor hosts the master bedroom, dressing room and landing, which the designers transformed into an office corner “to give it a function”.
“We enjoyed transforming part of the mezzanine handrail into a 50cm-wide desk. We placed it at the right height for sitting behind (75cm), which, from below, looks better than seeing a standard-height railing of 110cm,” Guilbault says. As a bonus, the office faces the skylight, so the owners can look out as they work.
Just behind the desk is the couple’s walk-in wardrobe, which ends with a chair on the landing.
The bedroom is next to the walk-in wardrobe.
To the left of the bed is the completely redesigned bathroom. “This was the crux of the apartment renovation. The room had been completely partitioned, which made it gloomy and darkened the living room below,” Guilbault says. “We proposed this daring layout to let light through, and the owners trusted us and agreed with us completely.
“The idea for this space was to create a ‘greenhouse within a greenhouse’,” he explains, “making it possible to take a shower while enjoying the view of nature, as if you were outside.”
“The idea for this space was to create a ‘greenhouse within a greenhouse’,” he explains, “making it possible to take a shower while enjoying the view of nature, as if you were outside.”
The bathroom really breaks the rules with its two glass walls, which leave the shower visible from both the living room and the bedroom. “It didn’t bother the owners, who live here alone and like the smiles this arrangement brings to their guests’ faces,” Guilbault says.
The interior designers made the glass partitions with an industrial-style frame and alternating clear glass and panes with printed 3D patterns, to play on the contrast between transparency and opacity. These panes open to both sides for ventilation.
The renovation was a rewarding experience for both the owners and the designers: they even became friends over the course of this project.
“They relied on us fully and everything went as well as possible,” Guilbault says. “For our part, we thank them for giving us our first opportunity to design a loft and for going along with our unusual suggestions.”
Tell us…
What do you think of this apartment and the clever use of space? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
“They relied on us fully and everything went as well as possible,” Guilbault says. “For our part, we thank them for giving us our first opportunity to design a loft and for going along with our unusual suggestions.”
Tell us…
What do you think of this apartment and the clever use of space? Share your thoughts in the Comments section.
Who lives here? A couple in their fifties
Location Central Paris, France
Size About 810 square feet (75 square meters): 50 sq m on the sixth floor and 25 sq m on the seventh
Project duration Four months; completed in January 2018
Budget €130,000 euros (about £117,523)
Interior designers Richard Guilbault, Julien Ensarguet and Pierre Petit of Atelier Daaa
Photos by Bertrand Fompeyrine
This experience really shows how good rapport between designer and client can make or break a project. “We instantly had good chemistry with the owners, who trusted us on the choice of apartment,” Guilbault says.
“We visited several properties and indicated our preference for this two-level loft, which faces the Saint-Jacques Tower in the heart of Paris,” he says. “We knew right away that it was the ideal place to create the cosy green nest the couple wanted.”