French Houzz: Former Parisian Office Space Reworked as Urban Sanctuary
Nestled in the heart of Paris's 7th district lay a tired office space bursting with potential
Having formerly been an office area, this space was totally renovated and revamped to create a new home in the French capital. The goal of the project was to build a home that was warm, functional and quintessentially Parisian. Zully and Ana Sibile from Nuts & Architects crafted an apartment that mixes vintage with high-street to create a space with character a style. There were various challenges along the way, “both the electricity and water supplies came from an outlet on the ground floor. An independent system was needed,” Zully explains, “and all of the rooms lined up one after the other. We needed each room to have its own atmosphere but also to be linked with one another.” The clever use of vintage accessories, hand-crafted items and trendy pieces from the high street form a space with coherence and character.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: Paris
Living area: 53.9 square metres
Houzz at a Glance
Location: Paris
Living area: 53.9 square metres
In the dining area, the crockery mixes Scandinavian-inspired pieces from European brands like Fly, Zara Home and Cristal d’Arc, and salvaged finds sourced at Saint-Ouen flea market. “The painting was picked up on the banks of the river Seine near the Pont-Neuf,” Zully says.
The designers chose to keep the space contemporary, with white cabinets, silver benchtops and sleek appliances on show. A miniature greenhouse from Ikea grows succulents and cacti, and yellow accents and down lighting add warmth.
Just above the table sits a pendant light discovered by Zully during one of her visits to Denmark. The table was unearthed at a junk shop in Chatou (a Parisian suburb) and the chairs come from The Conran Shop and Home 24.
The sitting room cleverly mixes pieces found at flea markets, bespoke items and high-street objects. The sofa-bed sits next to a coffee table that has been upcycled with second-hand brass legs and a varnished tray. Simple chairs are covered in sheepskin, creating comfortable seating with a Scandinavian vibe.
Some sofa-beds can be less attractive than a normal sofa, but that’s not the case here. Hand-crafted cushions made with fabrics from the Marché Saint-Pierre add interest, the complement the metallic wallpaper perfectly.
The Cole & Son wallpaper comes from the shop Les Peintures XVIIIieme in Paris.
The Cole & Son wallpaper comes from the shop Les Peintures XVIIIieme in Paris.
There is no nicer way to bring a sitting room to life than by displaying objects that you’ve collected over the years; some from family inheritance, others from thrift stores, and some found whilst travelling.
The bedroom is bold yet sophisticated. A richly-patterned Cole & Son wallpaper is partnered with Toile de Jouy bedlinen from Zara Home to add interest and depth. The fifties wall sconces bring a vintage feel to the room.
Bedside tables: La Redoute; bedside lamps: Fly
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Bedside tables: La Redoute; bedside lamps: Fly
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The dressing table is bespoke and adds a Baroque touch to the bedroom.
An interesting collection of items are displayed above the desk. Mirrors from London’s Camden market, old perfume bottles from the architects’ mother and baskets from Maison du Monde and Zara Home form an eclectic collection.
The paints used throughout the apartment are from the Farrow & Ball and Little Green collections.
The bathroom hardly needed any work at all, the duo just added a new storage cabinet and a glass shower wall.
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