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Apartment Place de la Madeleine in Paris
Sitting on the top two floors by Paris’s Place de la Madeleine, this 1,500 square foot (140 square meters) residence was created by unifying 12 maids’ rooms on two levels. Designed and owned by architect Michael Herrman, the result is a three bedroom duplex apartment that both preserves the character of the 200 year-old building in which it is located, yet is a uniquely loft-style space in the heart of Paris, France. The apartment is based upon the concept of a museum: the original limestone walls and oak beams have been excavated and displayed with archaeological precision. The addition of a glass floor and walls allows each room to retain a powerful sense of openness, to be visually connected with one another and with the views of the sky and rooftops of Paris.
In one corner of the apartment there is a courtyard terrace, surrounded by five-meter tall glass walls. The terrace appears to be an interior room, containing an antique marble fireplace, mirror, and chandelier against the backdrop of the living “wallpaper” of a seven-meter tall vertical garden that rises up through the two levels of the apartment. The courtyard was conceived as a large glass display case containing a traditional salon of a mid-19th century Parisian apartment. In contrast, the interior fireplace, stair, and other details are contemporary. Inside and outside are strongly contrasted through their design while at the same time the edge between the two is blurred by the vertical garden that continues inside and the floor tiles which appear to pass through the glass and continue outside.
The apartment takes on a surreal feeling through this blurring of the edge between the interior and exterior, as well as the multiple layers of transparent and reflective glass surfaces. All of the elements in the apartment are functional, whether inside or outside, including the exterior fireplace. The use of glass is carried through the design, and includes the glass cabinets in the kitchen, and glass tiles, counters, and fixtures throughout the apartment. The three bedrooms are located on both levels at the opposite end of the apartment, served by private bathrooms, and organized around a separate courtyard.
Photos: Courtesy of Ateliers Michael Herrman and Filippo Bamberghi/Dwell Magazine
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Historic building transformed into lavish Paris pad
Great attention to detail went into renovating this historic residence in Paris, France. Francis D’Haene, a Belgian-born, New York City-based architect and designer, of D’Apostrophe Design, was charged with the task of transforming an old building owned by the French government into a royal residence. He worked closely with the clients to select all of the furniture, lighting and artwork, the likes of which include chairs by Fernando and Humberto Campana, a pendant by the Bouroullec Brothers, an Andy Warhol silk screen and a pair of Cindy Sherman photos. Typical of his work, D’Haene seamlessly blended art and design to create a palatial duplex apartment for the couple, their son and family dog.
Photos: Courtesy of Eric Laignel
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Duplex apartment renovation in Paris
A dream apartment in Paris, France, architects Isabelle and her partner Matthew from design studio L’Atelier d’Archi, met the challenge to transform the top floor of a building into a cozy house, with lots of bright ideas and dark colors. They gutted the small 753 square foot apartment and redistributed the spaces. They wish to expand gradually when neighboring apartments become available. Everything was custom made in the apartment, kitchen shelving, fireplace, stairs, and shelving in the lounge, the buffet under the stairs and the stair railing. The couple works hand in hand with artisans fulfills their unique desires. The architects infused dark colors in their design, they wanted to enhance their small space and felt that the darker tones would create warmth. Large windows illuminate the spaces with light throughout as well as skylights in the upstairs and glass panels in the floor.
Photos: Louise Desrosiers
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Exceptional white on white loft in Paris
This unique loft called, “Abstraction Active” has been designed by the French architectural firm, Smoothcore Architects in Paris, France. The loft illustrates active design as well as abstract architecture, centered on a unique winding staircase with built-in bookshelves to address the owner’s love and vast collection of books and magazines. There is also an entire wall comprised of a built-in bookshelf in the main living area chalk full of books! The dining room and kitchen is separated by a divider wall of shelves encased with thin glass doors that takes the place of a buffet to store dishes for entertaining. The apartment is dressed with white on white, with a few furnishings in a chocolate hue to add some color to the space. The bathroom is all white except for a royal blue divider wall. The staircase leads to a rooftop deck with gardens and sitting areas.
Photos: Cécile Septet
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The Front and Back Apartment in Paris
This unique residence we are bringing to you today is situated in Paris, France, entitled the “Front and back†apartment by architecture studio h2o architectes. The dwelling was designed for a young Parisian advertising executive who is also an avid collector of comic strips. He desired to live in a fresh environment that is both serene and sparkling, opposite of his previous living conditions that was cold, dilapidated and with nonsensical design arrangements throughout. The original apartment consisted of six rooms that was squeezed into just 645 square feet (60 square meters), with the entry space alone being only 5 square meters and had seven different doors!
From the architects, “the new design offers a continuous wide open space which expands, becomes more complex or dense depending on orientations and uses. These variances are defined by the variable geometries and the usable thickness of the casework and walls. A study on sculpting these depths allowed creating a variety of cavities, niches and alcoves. The sculpted shapes vary in size and colors to adapt to multiple functions in different locations. They can harbor either the vast collection of comic strips or a bar, a bathroom, a closet, and so on.†Via
Visit the website of h2o architectes here.
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Photos: Julien Attard
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A floating bedroom in a cleverly designed studio
A floating bedroom, what a novel idea! The house is staged as a floating island suspended from the ceiling, an amazing transformation of a former artist’s studio in Montrouge, in the suburbs of Paris. With an area of 538 square feet (50 meters square), every square inch has been efficiently designed by ECDM Architects. Via
From the architects: “the transformation of the former workshop of artist through 50 m2, characterized by a false double height on half of its surface, is above all strategic. In response to the request of the contracting authority to create a full house, the project proposes to evade this constraint by positioning in the center of the volume a suspended box that generates situations of use both comedy and disconcerting.â€
“The bedroom, connoted as the archetype of privacy, intimacy, becomes an object of curiosity by transgressing its symbolic value, appearing like an anomaly. Open and visible from the entry, it stands for huge inhabited furniture. Facing the dining room, it can be used as a “bumrest†or a bench.”
“Suspended right in the center of the apartment, leaving untouched the floor and the circulations around, it divides the space, reversing the perception of the atmosphere in the apartment by making private what is usually not: the living room. The suspended box is made of a metallic structure (section 40 x 40 mm) covered with wooden panels. The cube – as well as the floor, the walls and the ceiling, has been painted with a white polyurethane resin.â€
Photos: © Gaston Bergeret
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A charming attic with Bohemian flair
This charming attic under cover with a mixture of Bohemian and feminine flair is located in the center of Paris. The owner reformed this small attic, recovering characteristic structural elements such as the exposed brick wall and wooden ceiling beams, while transforming the spaces with varied pieces of antiques, ethnic furniture and accessories, and textiles with grace and personality. A small loft was added to the space which was a simple task with the double height ceilings and exposed beams. The flooring features oak wood except for the tiles in the hallway, kitchen and bathroom. The residence is divided into a living room, a kitchen with office, a bedroom and bathroom. All rooms share certain style resources that give the feeling of unity and balance. Decorative details, bright and bold colors, and original furnishings give their own style in spaces to recreate the vibrant trends of the 70′s and 80′s. Via
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Unique greenhouse-inspired home in Paris
Charles and Julie Carmignac purchased this 1,600 square-foot home is 2009 in the 14th Arrondissement on this city’s lower Left Bank of Paris. Mr. Carmignac is a member of the folk-rock band Moriarty. This incredible home was originally built in the 1800s as a haberdashery. After looking at numerous other houses, the couple decided this was their dream house, which they purchased from a costume designer for a mere $1.8 million.
The couple imagined their future children running around this unique home, through the garden patio planted with rose, laurels and hydrangeas. The flowering vines climb up the exterior of the building and cover many of the windows creating a tropical green wall that gives the illusion of being in the middle of a forest. The towering bank of windows on the ground floor allows expansive views out onto the garden patio, giving the living area a greenhouse feeling. The master bedroom is located on the third floor with a large skylight and another terrace that is also dotted with foliage.
The interiors feature faded ivory stucco walls and worn hardwood floors which the couple chose to preserve. They also purchased some of the original owner’s furniture, including a 1920s armoire from the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris and a 1930s desk. The house has a very functional layout with a spacious living area, open plan kitchen, office and guest bathroom on the ground floor, and two bedrooms and a bathroom on the top floor.
Ms. Carmignac is an actress and writer who typically works from home in a small room just off the kitchen, where there is a sloped glass ceiling that offers a clear view of the sky. “I love writing in this little room when the rain taps the glass,” she said. As for Mr. Carmignac, he has several work spaces, but his most favorite is the wood-paneled bathroom on the first floor. They had it decorated to model an old car on the Orient Express. He stores a notebook and pencil in this space for writing. It’s like a little office,” he explained, and it looks out onto the garden. “I can see the leaves through a porthole.” Via
The house sits on a quiet alley of Paris. It was built in the 1800s as a haberdashery.
The living room, with its towering wall of windows, looks out onto the front garden; at the rear is Ms. Carmignac’s office.
The cast-iron bookshelves are from the early 1900s and extend up to the mezzanine level.
The wood cabinets in the kitchen are remnants from the building’s days as a haberdashery. Near the ceiling is one of several portholes installed to allow cross ventilation.
The faucets on the kitchen sink were installed by a former owner, who purchased them at a flea market.
A photograph hangs in the dining room by the artist Lucien Pelen.
The wood-paneled bathroom was modeled after a passenger car on the old Orient Express. A porthole near the toilet offers a view of the garden.
The master bedroom opens to a terrace and has a skylight that spans the ceiling, covered with retractable straw shades.
The 1920s armoire in the second floor bathroom is originally from the Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris.
The guest bedroom on the second floor, recently painted in a light blue,used to be a storage room.
Photos: Andreas Meichsner
