Uncovering lost heritage detailing and weaving in a warm, contemporary sensibility, Atelier MKD ready an existing Parisian home for its coming chapters through a highly crafted approach.
Located in the 16th in Paris, the inherited shell presented as a typical residence in the area that combined a historical connection yet lacked a more contemporary relevance. One of the critical manoeuvres was to ensure the feeling of ‘home’ was felt in every aspect – through the textural and embracing comfort of layering and in a sense of disconnect once inside.
Celebrating the home’s generous volumes was integral to setting the scene. Visual connections remain binding throughout with full-height drapery and a careful play of hierarchy created internally. This space features the Cassina 051 Capitol Complex office chair.
Like many homes of a certain era, having had many custodians over their lifespan, a number of alterations had been imparted onto the space, each making the home more customised to them than the last. A stripping of the existing was needed to bring a part of the new owners into the home. In doing so, and in removing additions over time, certain ornate elements were revealed, such as the curved archways, in the process.
Wanting to integrate these geometric gestures into the new home, softened openings inspired the new. In a fusing of the past and present, inserted joinery and innovative appliances and fixtures that enhance the home’s liveability are aligned along essential outer walls, freeing up the central spaces to allow free movement.
Through peeling back covered layers and years of added amendments over the years, a series of curved archways were discovered and became a muse for the home’s redesign.
Soft and subtle materiality ensures the incoming natural light buffers the transition between inside and out, further connecting the flow of the interior.
The living space features the Pierre Augustin Rose Duo Multilaque coffee table and Cassina 053 Capitol Complex chair.
In capturing Parisian style, the interior has a newly found confidence and ease that captures the culture of the place while integrating elements that allow for personal expression. Traditional and newly designed icons celebrate French and European design within the freshly expanded volumes. At the same time, in the restraint they are used, they become sculptures in their own right, dotted throughout the home.
In opening and allowing for flow, Henri Martin has a better connection beyond its location, to greater Paris. Uncovering the large openings to bring natural light and ventilation into the spaces, Atelier MKD have allowed the home to breathe, and through the mixing of more muted and natural materials, have created a lasting and enduring home.
The Galotti & Radice Bolle pendant
