Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Parisian Flat That Blends Modern Style and Period Details
Careful renovation restored the period character of this Parisian flat while giving it a cool and contemporary edge
Designers and architects Daniel and Michel Bismut have enthusiastically restored this beautiful 250 sq m family apartment. It’s located in Paris, on the fifth floor of a beautiful Haussmann building, and the designers wanted to unearth some of the character of the flat. ‘There were several elements that are typical of Haussmann buildings, such as the cornices, that had not been showcased. We therefore worked to give new life to these old components. Then we looked to bring in our contemporary touch, while still preserving the identity of the place.’ The apartment is bathed in beautiful natural light, and Bismut & Bismut Architecture maximised the space with zones that flow together.
There’s plenty of white; on the walls, on the elements in wood and resin, and on the Petal coffee table in lacquered wood, wenge and metal. ‘We worked a lot on the volumes and the circulation of natural light,’ say the architects.
The kitchen was one of the main focal points of the restoration. ‘Originally, there was a small, badly placed kitchen, as is often the case in old apartments. So we decided to move the kitchen back to the centre of the apartment,’ they say. And because Daniel and Michel like to work with ‘the movement and animation of spaces’, they hijacked the sun-shade system and installed panels in large pivoting wing-like forms in the middle of the room. In white lacquered wood, these panels allow the kitchen and dining area to be separated or joined together as desired. The central island is composed of a surface in glossy white lacquered wood, resting on a base of black wenge, which matches the front of the other kitchen furniture.
The kitchen opens onto a beautiful dining area next to a pre-existing bow window. ‘When the shutters are open, you can see the living room from the dining area.’
The HTO2 table, from the Bismut collection, sits at the heart of the dining area. It is a chunky table, composed of a wooden top with a base in sanded and blackened wenge. To go with the table, the designers chose chairs by Charles Eames for Vitra and an Ochre light fitting of coconut fibres, which adds interest to the space.
As old apartments often do, this one includes numerous transitional spaces. The architects needed to create a function for the hallway. ‘We decided to treat this transition space as a whole separate room, metamorphosing the corridor into an agreeable little TV room,’ they say. The Puzzle coffee table from the Bismut collection, a pony leather chair from Charles Eames and a linen Ruckstuhl carpet decorate the room.
The old kitchen became another transitional space, in which Daniel and Michel Bismut installed a desk inside a cupboard, with a little Cherner chair. ‘Just closing the wooden doors makes it disappear, so that what is hidden behind them can neither be seen nor guessed at.’ The lighting adds interest.
Check out more on the Cherner chair
Check out more on the Cherner chair
The master bedroom is largely white and oak. ‘We wanted a really chunky block of wood at the foot of the bed, and we had this bench of oak made to measure,’ explain the architects.
The dressing room is in oak, matching the floorboards.
From the bedroom, the bathroom is accessible through a sliding wooden door. This opens first onto a pretty dressing-table, made to measure in wacapou wood. The stool has been mottled.
‘The bathroom is more minimalist, with the bath hidden, encircled in wood,’ explain the architects. The plumbing comes from Zuchetti and the flat sink is custom-made in stone to echo the flooring. ‘We also placed a big horizontal mirror on the wall to give the room a dynamic line,’ they add.
This corridor leads to one of the children’s bedrooms.
In this bedroom for a little boy, different spaces are distinguished through the use of two floor levels. In addition, a transparent glass wall isolates a small sink area. ‘We designed the bed so there would be a living space with a seat, under the bed that could also host a friend when required.’ The sleeping area is demarcated with a dark blue fitted carpet on the floor and a wardrobe made up of embossed panels in decorative sheet metal. ‘The desk is a sheet of Corian that reaches almost to the ceiling and the chair is from Vitra,’ they add.
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Browse 10 ways to create a sleep zone in a small space
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What do you like about this Parisian flat? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here A couple and their two young children
Location Paris, France
Size 250 sq m
That’s interesting The architects moved the kitchen to the heart of the apartment. ‘The kitchen was one of the focal points of this project,’ they say.
Elegance and sobriety define the apartment’s large sitting room. ‘We were dealing with a significant volume of space and we didn’t want sitting on the sofa to feel like drifting. We wanted to create a convivial space,’ say the architects. To achieve this, the duo of architect-designers banked on the idea ‘of a stack of sheets’. Rather than just opting for a carpet, they created a white structure covered in pliable resin. This raises and differentiates the spaces at the centre of the room, while contrasting with the classic oak floorboards.