Paris Houzz Tour: A Touch of London for a Grand French Villa
This classic home was given an update with contemporary decor, glass walls and inspiration from across the channel
Having returned to France after 14 years in the United Kingdom, this family searched for something similar to the home they had loved and left behind in London. They were charmed by a 2,640-square-foot (245-square-metre), two-story hôtel particulier – a grand townhouse with a garden, built in early-twentieth-century style – located on a sheltered dead-end street in the quiet 16th arrondissement of Paris.
The property had been maintained well, so no major work was required. However, its classical style wasn’t quite what the buyers, who are contemporary art aficionados, wanted. Having discovered Miriam Gassmann’s work on Houzz, they asked her to bring the building up to date in record time. After just two months of work, the family were able to move into a home completely made over with modern British flair.
The property had been maintained well, so no major work was required. However, its classical style wasn’t quite what the buyers, who are contemporary art aficionados, wanted. Having discovered Miriam Gassmann’s work on Houzz, they asked her to bring the building up to date in record time. After just two months of work, the family were able to move into a home completely made over with modern British flair.
The owners went for a black-and-white tile, which creates a smooth transition from the white door to the black wood floor in the rest of the house. It is reminiscent of stately homes in London, though it does not go so far as the classic checkerboard. Gassman instead opted for this trendy and timeless Art-Deco-inspired fish-scale pattern.
Cement tiles: Mosaic del Sur
Cement tiles: Mosaic del Sur
The entry and dining room had previously been completely divided, resulting in cramped and dark spaces. Gassman opened them up with a custom-made half-glass wall. There is now more room to breathe, and the space looks much larger.
The style of the dining room was also updated. Contemporary elements like metal frames and graphic pendant lights are a lively touch that balance out its classic coffered ceilings and wainscotting. A love seat recalls English-style bay windows and offers a view of the garden.
Pendant lights: Les Acrobates de Gras, DCW; wall lights: Gras 304, DCW; paint on steel frame of the glass wall: Pitch Black No. 256, Farrow & Ball
The style of the dining room was also updated. Contemporary elements like metal frames and graphic pendant lights are a lively touch that balance out its classic coffered ceilings and wainscotting. A love seat recalls English-style bay windows and offers a view of the garden.
Pendant lights: Les Acrobates de Gras, DCW; wall lights: Gras 304, DCW; paint on steel frame of the glass wall: Pitch Black No. 256, Farrow & Ball
Gassmann further opened the dining room by removing the double door that had separated it from the living room.
The previous owners had painted the wood floor black, and the current owners loved it. “We painted the wainscotting deep grey to link the dining room to the living room,” Gassmann says. “This is echoed by a bookcase of the same colour. The grey also emphasises these architectural elements and creates a smooth transition from the black floor to the off-white beams.”
Paint on moldings, door frames, and accordion shutters: i24 by Ressource
The previous owners had painted the wood floor black, and the current owners loved it. “We painted the wainscotting deep grey to link the dining room to the living room,” Gassmann says. “This is echoed by a bookcase of the same colour. The grey also emphasises these architectural elements and creates a smooth transition from the black floor to the off-white beams.”
Paint on moldings, door frames, and accordion shutters: i24 by Ressource
The kitchen, on the other side of the entryway, was also opened up, but Gassmann opted to keep it partitioned from the entryway.
“We wanted to contain the flow at the entrance in a well-defined passage,” Gassmann says. “It would have been very unpleasant to have someone pass behind you while you are eating. Moreover, the owners wanted a relatively closed-off kitchen, to minimize disturbances.”
“We wanted to contain the flow at the entrance in a well-defined passage,” Gassmann says. “It would have been very unpleasant to have someone pass behind you while you are eating. Moreover, the owners wanted a relatively closed-off kitchen, to minimize disturbances.”
As can be seen here, the custom-made glass walls divide space without blocking light or sight lines, and place the kitchen and dining room in dialogue with one another.
The previous owners had recently renovated the kitchen, going for stainless steel cabinets and Zimbabwe black granite countertops. Gassmann’s clients loved it.
This space had been dark and north-facing. The interior designer went for an element of surprise: “We had to change the background, repainting it in a dark hue like this almost blackish-blue,” she says.
The floor is self-levelling concrete, a resistant material with a contemporary look: “It must be done carefully by an expert, because you first have to apply a primer, then several layers of concrete, which need to be sanded each time, and finally finished with a protective varnish,” Gassmann says. “It costs approximately 160 euros (about $187) per square meter, which is the same price as beautiful tile.”
Paint on the walls: Blue C17 by Resource; self-leveling concrete floor: Mercadier; wall lamps: Gras 304 by DCW
This space had been dark and north-facing. The interior designer went for an element of surprise: “We had to change the background, repainting it in a dark hue like this almost blackish-blue,” she says.
The floor is self-levelling concrete, a resistant material with a contemporary look: “It must be done carefully by an expert, because you first have to apply a primer, then several layers of concrete, which need to be sanded each time, and finally finished with a protective varnish,” Gassmann says. “It costs approximately 160 euros (about $187) per square meter, which is the same price as beautiful tile.”
Paint on the walls: Blue C17 by Resource; self-leveling concrete floor: Mercadier; wall lamps: Gras 304 by DCW
The entryway and now the dining room open up into the vast living room, which is the centrepiece of this beautiful family home. Its most striking feature is a cathedral ceiling that soars up more than 23 feet (7 metres).
The large wall of the living room has been renovated, painted and adapted to magnify its height and transform it into a conversation piece. “There used to be a bookcase at the bottom and another one on at the top, but they were not related to each other and didn’t fit into the interior with their polished pine look. I redesigned this whole wall on both levels, including the mezzanine,” Gassmann says.
Paint for the bookcase: i24 by Ressource
Paint for the bookcase: i24 by Ressource
The fireplace was already there, but it was painted black on the inside for emphasis. A huge mirror was placed overhead to accentuate the room’s vertical tendencies.
The light fixture was custom-made by hanging several Flos pendant lights at different heights, taking full advantage of the sloped ceiling.
Chandelier: IC S1 and IC S2 pendant lights by Flos
The light fixture was custom-made by hanging several Flos pendant lights at different heights, taking full advantage of the sloped ceiling.
Chandelier: IC S1 and IC S2 pendant lights by Flos
The rest of the living room was repainted white. It will eventually serve as the backdrop to the family’s artwork collection.
“It was not as big a renovation as I’m used to, the kind in which I have to rewrite it on a blank page. However, it was necessary to repaint at least 245 square meters [about 2,640 square feet],” Gassmann says. “People in my profession are used to multiplying the area by 3.5 to figure out how much paint will be needed, but here, given the ceiling height in the living room, it was necessary to multiply at least by four. That’s about 1,000 square meters [about 10,800 square feet] of walls to repaint,” Gassmann says.
MDF woodwork under the windows hides the radiators while also serving as small seats with a bird’s eye view of the garden.
“It was not as big a renovation as I’m used to, the kind in which I have to rewrite it on a blank page. However, it was necessary to repaint at least 245 square meters [about 2,640 square feet],” Gassmann says. “People in my profession are used to multiplying the area by 3.5 to figure out how much paint will be needed, but here, given the ceiling height in the living room, it was necessary to multiply at least by four. That’s about 1,000 square meters [about 10,800 square feet] of walls to repaint,” Gassmann says.
MDF woodwork under the windows hides the radiators while also serving as small seats with a bird’s eye view of the garden.
“The staircase handrail was extended all along the mezzanine. In order to make it brighter, we replaced it with a brick parapet on the upper floor, and transformed it into a strong graphic element along the staircase by painting it black to create a sharp contrast with the massive white wall,” Gassmann says.
Since the mezzanine is used as an office, the original open handrail exposed the cables, printer and other unsightly office equipment to view from below.
The new parapet serves as a support for a very long top that is used as a workspace by the whole family.
The new parapet serves as a support for a very long top that is used as a workspace by the whole family.
The second floor is the parents’ area. The master bedroom boasts a balcony that overlooks the greenery on the north side of the dead-end road. The window’s small panes and the whitewashed wood floor add a romantic touch that counteracts the industrial tone of the anthracite paint on the headboard and wall lamps.
Paint: Cargo iT04 by Ressource
The immaculate bathroom was complemented with a pinkish-beige touch on the door and shelves. We find the same color in the walk-in closet, which connects the master bedroom and bathroom.
One peculiar feature of this big house is that it has many staircases. There are two doors in the entryway past the kitchen. The first opens to a secret staircase that leads directly to the teenagers’ bedrooms on the third floor. The staircase behind the second door goes down to the garden level, which houses a guest room and a laundry room.
The staircase leading to the boys’ floor was all white. To add a little personality, the designers chose to cover it in a wallpaper with birch trunks on it. The central pillar and the underside of the staircase were painted black to create contrast.
Wallpaper: Woods by Cole & Son
Wallpaper: Woods by Cole & Son
The parapet is an extension of this touch of black, here contrasting against the soft beige carpet that covers the original orange flooring.
The floor on this level was completely covered with thick viscose carpet to bring softness, warmth and comfort to the space.
The bathroom was completely redesigned, with a new industrial-style shower surrounded by a custom-welded iron frame made by a locksmith.
The bathroom was completely redesigned, with a new industrial-style shower surrounded by a custom-welded iron frame made by a locksmith.
The bedroom of the youngest son was repainted white and brightened with mirrors placed into the sides of the dormer window. A designer pendant light in openwork metal, coupled with a grey headboard give the room an industrial tone.
Pendant light: Etche by Tom Dixon; paint: Tea from China by Ressource
Pendant light: Etche by Tom Dixon; paint: Tea from China by Ressource
The vinyl flooring of the bathroom echoes the fish-scale pattern of the tile in the entryway. The wall is painted in Graphite, one of the colours of the linoleum floor. “The advantage with my supplier, Studio Beauregard, is that it has paint that matches its cement tiles and vinyls,” Gassmann says.
Gassmann’s takeaway from this grand project? “When the charm of a place is as important as it was in this house, you shouldn’t do too much,” she says. “Removing walls and painting it in the familiar hues of the great English bourgeois houses allowed us to create the contemporary envelope the owners requested.”
Sink stand: Graphite 90, Studio Beauregard; vinyl floor: Studio Beauregard
Gassmann’s takeaway from this grand project? “When the charm of a place is as important as it was in this house, you shouldn’t do too much,” she says. “Removing walls and painting it in the familiar hues of the great English bourgeois houses allowed us to create the contemporary envelope the owners requested.”
Sink stand: Graphite 90, Studio Beauregard; vinyl floor: Studio Beauregard
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A family with two children
Location: Auteuil, 16th arrondissement of Paris, France
Size: About 2,640 square feet (245 square meters)
Interior designer: Miriam Gassmann
Duration of work: 2 months, completed in July 2017
The aim was to keep the property’s classic charm while propelling the interior into modernity. The entryway is a beautiful synthesis of these style influences. The glass-panelled front door had previously opened into a long hallway leading to two entirely partitioned-off rooms: the kitchen on the left and the dining room on the right. The owners wanted to convert it into a distinguished-looking entrance that would be flooded with light and offer a number of different views into and through the home.
Pendant lights: Hatton 2 and 3, Original BTC