Small Home: VM36 Apartment

Can you share the moment when you knew this apartment had to be yours?

Entering the flat, directly, there was a ray of sun in the window. It felt like home immediately, even if it seemed like the flat hadn't been cleaned in 50 years! I was also thrilled by the challenge of bringing sophistication to a flat that was literally abandoned.

What made this apartment ripe for transformation?

Everything was dirty, cheap, it looked like an abandoned puppy that needed to be saved: mission accomplished.

What inspired the design?

Obviously, the year of construction of the building and its hall downstairs where there is pink marble, wood, stainless steel details. It felt important to get the inspiration from those elements, in order to create a space that could have existed during the 70s.

What speaks to you about the seventies?

Materials, music, cinema, advertisement, clothes. It's probably a myth for our generations as we did not grow up during the seventies, but, I don't know, people seemed happier and more open minded maybe. The seventies aesthetic is really something that brings a lot of joy in my daily life.

What 70s song or band describes your house best?

Dancing Queen – Abba of course, because I'm a dancing queen obviously. This place is made to host our friends and family, everything is easy here, and once you put the coffee tables aside, you have a dance floor.

Do you think the 70s is underrated as far as its design contributions go?

When you think of getting a flat in Paris you directly think of Haussmannian spaces. These are of course fantastic, but we have to keep in mind that each period of time has its masterpieces. The seventies was an era where designers were really prolific and where architecture was more open to playing with light, outdoors and easy, open plans. Seventies buildings may not be loved by everyone, but we can learn a lot from the way they have been designed.

Which seventies icons (alive or dead) would you like to entertain in your home and what would you do with them?

I would probably invite Jacques Demy, Catherine Deneuve and watch a movie with them while drinking a good whisky, smoking cigarettes (I don't smoke [laughs]). I'm a big fan of Jacques Demy's movies, and Catherine Deneuve is a living goddess, so it's an easy choice.

Stainless steel and dark moody timber echo and repeat throughout the apartment. How important are finishes in driving home a look?

Finishes are everything. It enhances the quality of a project and drives the eye. Finishes are like pieces of jewellery on a great outfit, they must be eye-catching, bringing the extra je ne sais quoi that makes the finished product unique and personalised.

What are the other hallmarks of seventies interior design?

The colour palette: brown wood, shiny mustard, orange carpet, greige walls and floors.

How long have you been longing to have seventies swimming pool style tiles in your home?

Tiled walls are my true passion in life (among others). I wanted to balance the matte paint of the walls, and use a different material that made a round wall doable to integrate my desk to the space next to the dining area. Also, I needed to balance the uniform concrete floor and painted walls with a small dimension. Kit-kat ceramic tiles were the perfect match.

Why were you drawn to designing your bedroom and bathroom to "feel like a hotel"?

We are citizens of the world, and one thing about travelling is the way you feel when you discover your hotel room after a long walk in the city. They're designed to be homey, cosy and to give you the best experience while escaping daily life. I guess these holiday memories and feelings were what I wanted to feel every evening when coming home.

Was the bathroom always destined to be a "blue dream"?

This bathroom is a small space so it really needed a strong design. I was inspired by an old bathroom from the French-Belgian movie L'Économie du Couple (After Love) from movie director Joachim Lafosse. It's absolutely not the same exact colour or even the same tiles, but it was more about an atmosphere. I also renovated my seaside house when I bought the apartment, and the kitchen was tiled with a 10x10 clear yellow tiling system. I also visited la Villa Cavrois, located in Croix, next to Lille, by French-Belgian Architect Robert Mallet-Stevens, which is a true masterpiece, at the same time… Inspiration from everywhere!

The rounded edges and curves… the door handles… These details are so special. Do the finer details like these feature in your designs very early or do you work on the big picture first?

I have a list of 'crushes' that I keep in my phone. Ideas can come from everywhere: movies, photos, trips... When I'm designing an apartment, I look for appropriate features, of course, depending on the space, light and atmosphere, but when one of my crushes fits, I'm the happiest architect on earth!

Your home is full of pieces from your favourite designers. Tell us about them…

Where to start… Though some are new, these are mostly pieces that have been following us in our lives. The green Togo sofa by Michel Ducaroy edited by Ligne Roset, brings this special touch of seventies in the décor; green being my favourite colour when used by touches. I'm also keen on the USM Haller furniture, first ordered by the Rothschild and Co bank in 1969 as office furniture. The design is super sober, evolving if you need it to and the colour palette is amazing. To end with: my Toio lamp from Flos, which was a birthday gift for my thirties (a few years ago [laughs]). It was designed by the Castiglioni brothers in the sixties and has become an icon since.

What have you learned from living in your own design?

I have learnt that when a design fits the way of life you have, everything is simple on a daily basis. This should reflect who you are, how you live, how you move. This is the reason why it's so important to ask clients about their lives, habits, needs before designing their home to make it really personalised and easy to live in.

What's your favourite part of your home?

Honestly, my blue dream bathroom for the atmosphere and peace it brings after a long day in the city.

How does the design of your home help you live the life you want to live?

Once you have an easy, well organised, functional home, you have space in your mind for other subjects. That allows you to think clearly with an increased energy without it being cannibalised by daily matters. Clear body: clear mind, of course. But clear home: clear mind also works!