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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.

#smallapartment #architecture #interiordesign

Project Name: Appartement Haut Marais
Designer: https://www.concina.fr/

Produced by New Mac Video Agency
Creator: Colin Chee
Director: Nam Tran
Cinematographer: Matthieu Torres
Producer: Lindsay Barnard
Editor: Yasmin Bright
Music: Grow Slow Grow Deep By We Dream of Eden
Transcript
00:03The apartment building is in the home array which is in the center of Paris.
00:11The neighborhood is arty and trendy with many museums, stalls and restaurants.
00:20It is located on the second floor of the building. It is a duplex with view on the street.
00:30It has a beautiful double height of 4.2 meters.
00:40My name is Thomas Fournier and I'm the founder of Consina, an architecture and interior studio in Paris.
00:49This is my apartment. I have been living here for the past two years.
00:56Since 1722, the building had been restored many times.
01:01I wanted to bring back some of the elements of the building past to create a soulful place I would
01:07enjoy.
01:09A chic and warm atmosphere.
01:12When I first found the apartment, the exterior looks magnificent.
01:18But the interior did not do the heritage of the building any justice.
01:26When I first found the apartment, there was a living room, kitchen, mezzanine bedroom and a large bathroom.
01:34The staircase was a straight concrete staircase. I moved it next to the window.
01:39I modified the access to the bathroom in order to create the laundry closet.
01:47My design idea was to give elegance and charm to an apartment degraded by time and previous renovation.
01:56When you enter the apartment, you are greeted by a small entrance.
02:02The floor here is made of a solid oak barquette. On the left hand side are some storage hidden behind
02:11mirrors that reflect the surrounding place.
02:15The living area is divided into two spaces. A living room on one side and a dining room on the
02:25other.
02:26The living room is composed of a large navy blue velvet sofa with bespoke dead-art cushions integrated between two
02:34custom-made bookcases.
02:38A large frameless mirror screen sits against the wall. It reflects the space and echoes the kinetic work of Jesus
02:46Raffaello Sotto.
02:47The radiator is hidden behind a painted wooden cover that also serves as a display for beautiful decorative objects.
02:59The living area sits under the mezzanine so the ceiling in this area is lower. This gives the impression of
03:08a warm and cozy space.
03:11The dining area consists of a large Italian wood dining table. It can comfortably sit up to eight guests.
03:22Above the table is a vintage Murano glass chandelier and on the wall a collection of plates from the ceramist
03:31Morgan Pasqualini.
03:36The kitchen is compact but is fortunate to have a large window overlooking the street. The space has been optimized
03:45to have as much storage as possible.
03:50There is a full ice storage behind the door with a large hidden refrigerator and freezer.
03:57On the other side is a large marble worktop with sink and plates. There is plenty of storage as well
04:05as an oven and a small integrated dishwasher.
04:09The original staircase was placed at the end of the dining table. It was a straight concrete staircase and felt
04:17imposing so we choose an illical shaped staircase that dates back to the 1900s.
04:25The bedroom is accessed via the sparrows and is located in the mezzanine area above the living room.
04:34It does not have direct natural light and the ceiling is lower in this room at 2.10 meters.
04:42To combat this, we dressed the wardrobe with mirrors to make the space look larger than it is.
04:51The walls and ceiling are painted in a dark olive green.
04:57It is possible to isolate the room from the rest of the apartment with a system of sliding strutters.
05:06Before entering the bathroom, there is a hidden cupboard which has household storage such as a broom, iron board and
05:15my washing machine.
05:18The bathroom is my favorite room in the apartment.
05:22It is relatively large for a Parisian bathroom at 6.3 square meters and also has a nice window.
05:32For this room, I drew upon my Italian origins and use only materials from Italy.
05:38The Tuscan glass terracotta floor, the red marble and the hand painting ties in Tuscany which were used in the
05:46shower.
05:48The faucets are chrome to keep with the retro spirit.
05:54To design a small apartment, it is still essential to think of it above all as a normal apartment with
06:02living and reception areas.
06:05Clever use of mirrors and colors can give an impression of a larger volume.
06:11It is important to me that architects adapt so that the lack of space is not a disadvantage.
06:18If we can transform these inner city spaces into desirable living options,
06:24we may be able to make use of existing buildings and bring people back into the cities.
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