With our Editor in Chief currently in France on a trip to Maison Objet, our love affair with all things Paris is again in full swing. True to French form, this small but picturesque apartment, called the ‘Hubert’ home does a lot with less, combining a smart layout with unique materials to create a distinctive style.
Designed by local Parisian studio Septembre, the rooms of the apartment have been aligned to create visual and structural continuity with a simple form, while mirror and glass is used throughout the interior to enhance natural light and give the illusion of further space.
DESIGN Septembre Architecture | PHOTOGRAPHY David Foessel
Faced with an apartment just 60m2 in size, Septembre devised a design to capitalise on abundance of natural light while opening up the living areas for increased space and modernity. Simplifying the home’s layout, the renovation included removing some partitions and stripping back the colour palette and visual clutter to highlight individual elements.
This emphasis on materiality is best illustrated in the floor treatments, with each room in the home given its own specific treatment. Some of the treatments were retained from the original architecture, such as the ‘sol en casson’ broken-style tiles of the study, while others were altered, such as the newly-painted floorboards in the bedroom, or updated entirely. The result is visually striking while creating definition and space between the different areas of the home.
The historic windows and large mirror at the back of the apartment achieve a similar effect, creating the feeling of additional space while working to define each space in the apartment in its own style. In a small apartment, bathrooms often feel like the afterthought, given as little space and time as possible, but the glass doors, mosaic tiling and the mirror covering the end wall elevate this bathroom to a key feature of the home – and a secret weapon for creating space.
For the clients, a couple working in fashion, the apartment ticks all the prerequisites: well-proportioned, stylish, beautifully lit and with its own walk-in wardrobe (of course!). Working within space and layout restraints, Septembre have pulled off an abode that is effortless yet cool – that ever-evasive ‘je ne sais quoi’.
Greys bring a subtle modernity to the kitchen with poured concrete flooring, grey cabinetry and marble counter and splashback.
Made from different types of broken tiles, these ‘Sol en Casson’ tiles were one of the preserved elements from the original home, now adorning the floors in the study.
Mosaic tiles, steel frame doors and shelving and a mirror wall elevate this bathroom to a standout in small bathroom spaces.
