A real family home to live like in the provinces, far from the hustle and bustle, while still being in the heart of the capital. Olivier and Carole didn’t hesitate when they came across this millstone house from the beginning of the century, a stone’s throw from Parc Montsouris. It was just perfect for a large blended family. Delightfully old-fashioned with its small rooms and flowered papers, it still needed a complete overhaul. This allowed it to be slightly restructured to make it a place that is totally adapted to the new inhabitants.
Each floor is beautifully organised. The ground floor is the meeting place for the whole family: a beautiful entrance hall with its 1900 cement tiles and an invigorating red colour, a large living room with two deep velvet sofas and a reading corner near the library and the fireplace; a huge kitchen with a farm table and large shelves for displaying the dishes, not forgetting the scullery which overlooks the inner courtyard. The first floor is the children’s floor: two bedrooms for the girls with a spacious bathroom to share, a third bedroom with its toilet for Igor. The top floor under the roof is mainly the parents’, with a huge room that allows for the accumulation of books. The fan above the bed plays its role in keeping the heat down in summer. The dressing room and the bathroom are adjoining. Finally, there is a last room for Victor when he is passing through, which also provides shelter for occasional visitors. The owners wanted a house that was a bit out of time, with colours and an informal atmosphere. Above all, there was no pretension, but freshness and a joyful, playful spirit. We restructured the volumes, worked on our colours, dressed the ceilings with cornices, the walls with mouldings, gave a beautiful parquet floor to all the floors, changed the windows and radiators, organised the storage, added bookcases and desks. We completely reorganised and designed the kitchen and bathrooms to accentuate the country atmosphere of this house and let the beautiful light express itself fully in all the rooms.
