You are reading

La Maison Bernard: A 1959 French Villa by Edith Schreiber-Aujame Restored by RREEL

SearchJoinLogin
Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

La Maison Bernard: A 1959 French Villa by Edith Schreiber-Aujame Restored by RREEL

SearchJoinLogin

Start typing to search...

Search
Advertisement
Architecture & InteriorsIssue — Architecture & Interiors

La Maison Bernard: A 1959 French Villa by Edith Schreiber-Aujame Restored by RREEL

by Published: April 11, 2025

When it comes to Parisian heritage restoration, architects Léa Cottreel and Rosalie Robert of RREEL are the latest studio du jour. With expertise in 19th and 20th century building construction (they both hold the DSA Architecture and Heritage from Énsa-PB in Paris), the restoration of the 1959 Maison Bernard from Edith Schreiber-Aujame was the perfect match for RREEL. Franco-American architect Edith Schreiber-Aujame was born in Poland but lived in France after studying under Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer and working under the the direction of Vladimir Bodiansky and Charlotte Perriand in the studio Le Corbusier in 1947. (She also was responsible, in part, for the details on Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse in Marseille.) The house, a villa located in Maisons-Laffitte, France, is characteristic of the villas of the 1950s, with an organic influence of Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand.

The clients, a young couple looking to start a family, wanted to paint and modify the bathroom and kitchen before moving in. They asked another architect who, after seeing the house, referred them to RREEL: “It was obvious that the property was no ordinary house,” says Rosalie.

Rather than beginning work straight away, Rosalie and Léa suggested a period of research into the house and its architect in the archives. As they dove into the research, they uncovered more and more about Schreiber-Aujame and her original concept for the villa. The house had been modified in the early 2000s with a terrace replaced by a bedroom and the fireplace replaced with a stove. The clients’ aim was to gradually restore the house to its original state phased over several years. RREEL begin by restoring the kitchen and opening it into the living room, as well as restoring the fireplace, bathroom, and staircase as well as the built-in furniture original to the house. Join us for a look around.

Photography by Mary Gaudin for RREEL.

the house is located in the forested region of maisons laffitte, a 30 minute tr 17
Above: The house is located in the forested region of Maisons-Laffitte, a 30 minute train ride northeast of Paris.
an exterior view of the \260 square meter concrete and glass building. 18
Above: An exterior view of the 260-square-meter concrete and glass building.
&#8\2\20;many of the details of the house are evocative of le corbusier& 19
Above: “Many of the details of the house are evocative of Le Corbusier’s Brutalist period: the sunbreakers, the cast concrete, and the cap suspended over the entrance,” the architects explain.
the architects restored the fireplace the living room. the marble floors, all o 20
Above: The architects restored the fireplace the living room. The marble floors, all original stonework, were intensively cleaned and polished.
the floor to ceiling curtain offering privacy to the main living area was alrea 21
Above: The floor-to-ceiling curtain offering privacy to the main living area was already in place in the interior.
&#8\2\20;the clients wanted an open kitchen. we suggested that they keep th 22
Above: “The clients wanted an open kitchen. We suggested that they keep the existing kitchen, but remove the doors and create an opening in the wooden cabinet. This passe-plat [serving hatch] can be opened to allow the dining room and kitchen to communicate, or can be closed to restore the original design,” says Rosalie. “It’s a compromise between contemporary living and heritage conservation.”
the colored tiles are from edith schreiber aujame&#8\2\17;s design. the whi 23
Above: The colored tiles are from Edith Schreiber-Aujame’s design. The white tiles are old Villeroy & Boch, no longer manufactured. The range is an Italian Lofra model and the range hood was fabricated custom by the architects, inspired by Schreiber-Aujame’s fireplace design. RREEL replaced the old faucet with a utilitarian model from RVB in Belgium.
&#8\2\20;we replaced the missing tiles and continued the worktops with winc 24
Above: “We replaced the missing tiles and continued the worktops with Winckelmans tiles,” says Rosalie.
the archives described &#8\2\20;an exotic wood&#8\2\2\1; as used in the 25
Above: The archives described “an exotic wood” as used in the cabinetry throughout the house. “When we did samples to try to imitate the material, we finally chose an oiled and stained oak.” In front of the original cabinets sits an Aalto Stool 60 in green lacquer.
rreel restored the staircase which consists of stone and concrete with metal an 26
Above: RREEL restored the staircase which consists of stone and concrete with metal and wood railings connecting three floors.
a detail of the staircase. 27
Above: A detail of the staircase.
the built in furniture in the bathroom, like all others, is original, as is the 28
Above: The built-in furniture in the bathroom, like all others, is original, as is the blue tile. The lamp is the Charlotte Perriand Pivotante À Poser Table Lamp in orange. The bathtub is a Villeroy & Boch O.Novo Bath and the bath taps are the TV15751 Triverde Thermostatic Faucet from Ondyna.
opposite the vanity is a mirror reflecting back into the bathroom shows a pair 29
Above: Opposite the vanity is a mirror reflecting back into the bathroom shows a pair of TV22051 Triverde Faucets. The colored storage bins are the same design used by Charlotte Perriand in her projects. “Edith Schreiber-Aujame and Charlotte Perriand were great friends, so we think that Perriand helped Schreiber in a kind of way.”
in the bedroom, the flooring is a rubber floor from artigo, installed by rreel. 30
Above: In the bedroom, the flooring is a rubber floor from Artigo, installed by RREEL. (They also utilized Artigo rubber floors in a Le Corbusier renovation; see our post (2).
the applique À volet pivotant wall lights by charlotte perriand were an ad 31
Above: The Applique À Volet Pivotant Wall Lights by Charlotte Perriand were an addition from RREEL.
the curtains seen here were installed by the clients; a salsa 4 fabric from cam 32
Above: The curtains seen here were installed by the clients; a Salsa 4 Fabric from Camengo.
a view from the rear looking into the living room. 33
Above: A view from the rear looking into the living room.
the brutalist concrete patio extends into the yard. 34
Above: The Brutalist concrete patio extends into the yard.
an archival photograph from fond aujame of the house dated \1959. 35
Above: An archival photograph from Fond Aujame of the house dated 1959.

We’ve also profiled another historical renovation project by RREEL. See (2).

For more inspiring architecture in and around Paris, see our posts:

(Visited 1,126 times, 1,125 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.
Add to Collection
New Collection
Show Bookmarks

Explore Deeper Into These Areas

Previous Post

Object of Desire: Limited-Edition Furniture from Donald Judd + Yves Saint Laurent

April 11, 2025

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation (0)

Related Stories

Read all recent posts

join us on La Maison Bernard A 1959 French Villa by Edith SchreiberAujame Restored by RREEL portrait 6 36

This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No connected account.

Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account.

×
Join the Remodelista Family of Websites

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

Or Subscribe for Maximum Value!

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99
×
Sorry! As a registered member you get 10 free posts from our archive (posts more than a year old) every 30 days. You have reached your limit for this 30-day period. If you would like to access unlimited posts from the archive (ad free, too), become a subscriber today, and keep reading as many articles as you want.

Full Access Individual Subscription

Benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home sites
  • Ad-free browsing environment
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay just 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99


×
Sorry! You have reached your limit of three (3) free posts from our archive every 30 days. You can increase this to 10 posts by joining as a free Member, or read unlimited posts with no ads by becoming a paid Subscriber.

Subscribe to the Remodelista family of websites

For $5/month ($59.99 paid annually) you'll enjoy unlimited, ad-free access to Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home and all the benefits of Membership.



Subscriber benefits include:

  • Unlimited access to all three sites
  • Weekly access to subscriber-only content
  • Unrestricted access to 30,000+ archived posts
  • Receive the full-text daily newsletters
  • All features that Members have access to
  • Annual subscribers pay 50% off the monthly subscription price of $9.99

Become a Member at no charge

When you register as a free Member of the Remodelista family of websites (Remodelista, Gardenista, and The Organized Home), you gain access to all current posts plus 10 archived posts per month, our internal bookmarking tool, and the community bulletin board.

Member benefits include:

  • Access to all posts published in the past year
  • Access 10 archived posts (older than one year) per month on each site
  • Use of our internal bookmark tool, so you can save products, posts, and other pages for quick reference
  • Access to our community bulletin board so you can ask and answer design-related questions
  • Unlimited access to the Product Catalogs, Design Travel sources, and Architect & Designer Directory listings
  • Choose from our ten newsletters to keep up with the latest on the sites

Login to your account

Lost your password?

My Account

Your member profile is powered by memberstack