Paris Architect’s 14th Century Apartment Makeover- 50sqm/538sqft Located on the second floor of a 14th century historic mansion, first converted into apartments in 1722, Appartement Haut Marais is home to architect Thomas Fournier of Concina, who completely redesigned the apartment, restoring it to it’s former heritage glory. One of the major reconstructions to the apartment involved removing a straight concrete staircase leading to the mezzanine and replacing it with a spiral shaped wooden staircase from the 1900s. Other restoration work included reinstalling ceiling cornices and replacing the old laminate flooring with solid oak parquet. In the living room, Fournier built two custom bookshelves into the wall and creatively hid the radiator behind a painted wooden cover that also serves as a display shelf; a large frameless mirror screen against the wall reflects the surrounding space. The bedroom, located on the mezzanine behind a system of sliding shutters, has no direct natural light, something that was combated by covering the wardrobes with mirrors, making the space feel larger than it is. For the bathroom, Fournier drew on his Italian heritage with tuscan glazed terracotta flooring, red marble and the hand-painted Tuscan tiles.
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The apartment building is in Haut Marais,
which is in the center of Paris.
The neighborhood is arty and trendy
with many museums, stores and restaurant.
It is located on the second floor of the building.
It is a duplex with a view on the street.
It has a beautiful double
height of 4.2 meters.
My name is Thomas Fournier, andI'm the founder of Concina
and architecture and interior studio in Paris.
This is my apartment.
I have been living here for the past two years.
Since 1722
the building and been restored many times.
I wanted to bring back some of the elements of the building past
to create a soulful place I will enjoy.
A chic and warm atmosphere.
When I first found the apartment
the exterior looks magnificent.
But the interior did not do the
heritage of the building any justice.
When I first found the apartment, there was a living room,
kitchen, mezzanine bedroom, and a large bathroom.
the staircase was a straight, concrete staircase.
I moved it next to the window
and modifed the access to the bathroom
in order to create the laundry closet.
My design idea was to give elegance and charm to an apartment degraded by time
and previous renovations.
When you enter the apartment,
you are greeted by a small entrance.
The floor here is made of solid oak parquet.
On the left hand side are some storage
hidden behind mirrors that reflects the surrounding space.
The living area is divided
into two spaces, a living room on one side
and a dining room on the other.
The living room is composed of a large, navy blue velvet sofa,
with bespoke Dedar cushions integrated
between two custom made bookcases.
A large frameless mirror screen sits against a wall.
It reflects the space.
And echoes the kinetic work of Jesus Rafael Soto.
The radiator is hidden behind a painted wooden cover
that also serves as a display for beautiful
decorative objects.
The living area sits under the mezzanine.
So the ceiling in this area is lower.
This gives the impression of a warm and cozy space.
The dining area
consists of a large Italian wood dining table.
It can comfortably seat up to eight guests.
Above the table is a vintage Murano glass chandelier
and on the wall, a collection of plates from the ceramicist, Morgane Pasqualini
The kitchen is compact,
but is fortunate to have a large window overlooking the street.
The space has been optimized
to have as much storage as possible.
There is a full height storage behind the door
with a large hidden refrigerator and freezer.
On the other side is a large
marble worktop with sink and plates.
There is plenty of storage as well as an
oven and a small integrated dishwasher.
The original staircase
was placed at the end of the dining table.
It was a straight concrete staircase and felt imposing.
So we chose a helical shaped staircase
that dates back to the 1900s.
The bedroom is accessed via the spiral staircase
and is located in the mezzanine area above the living room.
It does not have direct natural light
and the ceiling is lower in this room at 2.10 meters.
To combat this, we dressed the wardrobe
with mirrors to make the space look larger than it is.
The walls and ceilings are
painted in a dark olive green.
It is possible
to isolate the room from the rest of the apartment
with a system of sliding shutters.
Before entering the bathroom
there is a hidden cupboard, which hides household storage such as a broom,
ironing board and my washing machine.
The bathroom is my favorite room in the apartment.
It is relatively large for a Parisian bathroom
at 6.3 square meters and also has a nice window.
For this room I drew upon my Italian origins
and used only materials from Italy,
the Tuscan glass terracotta floor, the red marble,
and the hand-painted tiles in Tuscany, which were used in the shower
The faucets are chrome to keep with the retro spirit.
To design a small
apartment, it is still essential to think of it
above all as a normal apartment with living and reception areas,
clever use of mirrors and colours
can give an impression of a larger volume.
It is important to me that architects adapt
so that the lack of space is not a disadvantage.
If we can transform this inner city
spaces into a desirable living option, we may be able to make use
of existing buildings and bring people back into the cities.
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