Photography by Hervé Goluza, courtesy of Camille Hermand Architectures.
Retaining the grand character of a 3,700-square-foot, 19th-century apartment in the upscale Eighth Arrondissement of Paris, while at the same time bringing it up to code and into the 21st century.
The owners, a young family, desired contemporary basics such as a family lounge space, bedrooms for kids, and a kitchen made for cooking, without sacrificing the period details—high ceilings, decorative moldings, and an original parquet wood floor—that sold them on the apartment in the first place.
In the grand entrance hall, the lower walls and doors are painted in RAL Granite Grey, while the upper walls are covered in Midsummer Night wallpaper from Italian company Wall & Decò.
Just opposite, Hermand installed a built-in banquette with drawers for storage.
In the formal living room just off the entrance hall sits a Gentry sofa by Patricia Urquiola in bold blue and an Aim Suspension Light by the Bouroullec Brothers for Flos.
A reading room off the entrance hall has a cane armchair from La Redoute and a Cone Wall Lamp from London lighting brand Areti.
In the family room, Hermand designed a full-height bookcase lacquered in Farrow & Ball Strong White.
The gray sofa is from Muuto’s Rest series and lighting is from Danish brand House Doctor.
The kitchen is entirely new: It features a white lacquered island with Tolix counter stools and engineered stone countertops from Silestone.
The kitchen cabinets are laminated wood.
The terrazzo backsplash is flanked by shallow shelving painted in the same RAL gray as in the main entry hall, also used an accent wall in the living room.
The master bedroom is painted in T0.30.20 from Dutch paint brand Sikkens, and the bed is Poppi from French brand Caravane.
In one of the children’s bedrooms, the architect built the clothes closet into the wall and clad it in Paris print wallpaper from Oh My Wall.
The kids’ bathroom is covered in blue Cubo Grigio tile from Mutina, another Patricia Urquiola design.