Before / After A designer ups the game for a Parisian two roomed apartment

We are pleased to present to you the work of an interior designer with a bold use of colour: Marie Lacote. Without hesitation discover one of her creations, a small two roomed apartment, situated in the 7th district of Paris.

Surface area: 463 sq. ft.
Renovation duration: 9 months
Architect: Marie Lacote @TheVelvetJungle

Originally a studio apartment with one big room for eating, sleeping and hanging out in

After Marie Lacote’s renovation, this 463 sq. ft. studio has become a charming two roomed apartment with a real bedroom

What are the advantages of this apartment?

Well first of all, the location is undeniable. It’s one of the chicest neighbourhoods in Paris, with so many wonderful sightseeing spots around it. It’s also a great mix : the neighbourhood is lively but the street is quiet and so is the building. So it’s a nice little haven from the city.
Secondly, the shower. I am speaking from experience here, the shower is so big and wonderful, for this kind of apartment size you don’t usually get this much luxury in the bathroom ! So it’s a very big plus for me.

In the spirit of the rest of the apartment, the corridor to the bathroom was in good condition but somewhat outdated, just waiting to be spruced up…

…which Marie Lacote did with her bold use of colour, using this Farrow and Ball Indian yellow

These cupboards were originally ear-marked to disappear during the renovations, but they were finally transformed into a large dressing-room

Once created, the dressing-room turned out to be very practical for future occupants

I also made sure to incorporate a lot of closet space to accommodate every type of renter. Since everything else is provided I wanted to make sure people could bring every piece of clothing they own and still have leftover room for luggage and anything else they need to store.
But what I like most, is that we managed to fit a lot without it feeling too crowded. We have a full dining area for up to four people, a full living room space too, and a small desk area in the main space alone.
There is a lot of closet space but I kept the bedroom clear of any storage so you have this zen space containing only a bed, to make the room appear even bigger. And while the apartment isn’t very big in square footage, it feels much roomier with this new layout.

The owners of this studio intended on renting it out

Now renovated, it has become a colourful two roomed apartment with a retro touch, ready to be rented

The kitchen, though not very functional, had a splash back that was in a perfect condition

The retained vintage yellow wall tiles give a certain cachet to the kitchen

How can an entryway be made stylish?

Now the entryway to the apartment is an inviting space, where the herring bone parquet replaces the fitted carpet

What problems did you come up against?

The renovation went pretty smoothly to be honest, the apartment was in very good shape overall because it hadn’t been used daily for years, so it was just a matter of bringing everything up to code and adding a few modern features. Most of these things won’t be obvious from the pictures actually, because the bulk of the work we did was change the bay windows, create a false ceiling for the electricity, replace the plumbing, etc. We did hit a big rough patch while removing the carpeting to put in wood floors. It was so well glued-on that nothing worked to pry it out, including specialised machines ! So I felt very bad for the poor guys who worked on ripping out tiny bits of old carpets for hours on end !
Other than that it was all pretty superficial changes. We just added a wall to create the bedroom, installed more functional Ikea cabinets in the kitchen, re-arranged the bathroom layout and painted and wallpapered everything over ! I’m very thankful we had such a good base to work with, we avoided a lot of the usual headaches…

In this studio apartment the bathroom was spacious

After renovating the old bathroom, the bathtub made way for a walk-in shower

The walls were originally covered with pink tiles

A total metamorphosis of the whole bathroom!

Which room did you most enjoy decorating?

Hands down, the bathroom. I was more and more in love with that room every step of the way, and it was the clearest vision I had from the start, out of all the rooms. I never changed anything from my initial ideas (back from last november) and it came out absolutely perfectly ! While it was being put together I would just pop my head in ever 30 minutes and smile at the blue tiles or the counters, or faucets. I just love every inch of that space. It’s so rare to get a bathroom this bold or this big in a small Paris apartment.
Of course, now I look at my own bathroom and I’m extremely jealous, but you know, that’s a good thing… !

How did you define the colour scheme?

The color palette actually kind of imposed itself to me rather than the other way around. Early on I decided to keep the vintage yellow backsplash in the kitchen because it was in pristine condition and it did have some potential vintage flair. While it wasn’t exactly to its advantage with the wood cabinets of the old kitchen, I did find it pretty and destroying a perfectly preserved tile just to replace it with something maybe more modern or more neutral felt very wrong to me. But it meant keeping a very big splash of yellow in the apartment, since the door was going to be made of glass, therefore making the tile apparent from the living room.
So I thought if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em ! I started looking for yellow paints that would appeal to me visually and I happened upon the most beautiful shade of Farrow & Ball paint ever. So that was what sold me, once I saw that paint color, I wanted it everywhere around the apartment !

The kitchen wall tiles were the starting point for the apartment’s colour scheme

A harmonious association of powder blue and vintage yellow stretching the full length of the kitchen

The blue tones came the same way, from the bathroom tiles. I saw them very early on and knew I wanted this exact color, so I just played with it around the apartment, mixing in different shades but never right next to each other so they all seem to match. Obviously yellow and blue are very complimentary so that was an easy mix. Finding kitchen cabinets and the wallpaper in the bedroom in those shades though, was the icing on the cake ! It’s a very interesting mix when you’re in the apartment because there’s obviously a lot of color but it’s also very relaxing, they have that vintage tint to them that makes them very soothing. They’re both kind of a half-tone, which I really love.

Any funny stories to tell us?

Well this apartment is very special to me for personal reasons. It belonged to my grandfather when he worked in Paris in the 80’s and he kept it as a family pied-à-terre when he moved away. It’s always had a lot of potential but it was functional enough that it never warranted a big renovation, until last year when he asked his daughters (my mother and aunt) to take the reins and remodel it to put it up as a rental. Luckily I’d gotten my interior decorating degree not too long before so he asked me to spear-head the project. So I got to share the process with the whole family along the way and they even pitched in for some of the work along with me, painting, sanding, and putting together some of the details. I like to do a lot of the finishing touches myself when I can, so it was great to have all those helping hands, people who had used the old apartment for their stays in Paris for years and years and got to see the big transformation (and even enjoy it for a couple of days before we rented it out!). Sadly my grandfather passed away a few weeks before he was scheduled to come and see the place finished for himself but we all agree he would have been as proud of the result as we are, and I’m very happy I got to create a beautiful apartment with him as an inspiration.

What is your favourite item in this apartment?

That is a tough one ! Since this was a very personal project for me, I put in a lot of time and thought into everything, but if I had to choose, I do have a huge weakness for the chandelier in the dining area. It’s so opulent and classic, while still being modern somehow, it just really took my breath away. I actually saw it in the U.S a couple of years ago from a very big vendor but there was no way to ship it to France. I started looking at other pieces but nothing felt as right as this one. Four months later, I saw it on Westwing, there was one available for 24h. I must’ve looked at the site at exactly the right moment, it was complete serendipity !
Of course this is just one, but there is so much I love : the bedroom wallpaper, the bathroom and kitchen floors, the media console, the stool in the shower… Everything basically !

In this renovated apartment, an eclectic mix of styles coexists harmoniously

The little wooden stool is favourite of the young designer from Velvet Jungle Interiors

What were your sources of inspiration?

I get inspiration from absolutely everything : travel, fashion, art, music, movies, and other designers of course… And I do believe that the space influences the design a lot too, you have to bend to it to some degree to make it feel organic.
For this space, I had carte blanche – which is very rare – and a gift for designers. I wanted to take into account both the neighbourhood’s rich history, and luxury too to some degree, but also make it feel contemporary for 2018. So it’s a little retro but not in a way that’s too “in your face”. I did choose materials that had a very rich feel, like a classic chevron pattern for the floors, marble, gold and velvet accents for warmth. I’m not a big fan of “neutrals” in general – I’m all about color – so for this space, it was about finding a way to make it colorful, but with a palette that would suit a lot of people, since it was going to be a rental space with a lot of turnover. And hopefully, I succeeded !

The old studio is now a two roomed apartment which has a bedroom that is separated by a glazed partition from the living room

A metal console table with a drawer: Maison du Monde / Cotton hangings in black and white: Habitat / Beni Ouarain, Berber rug: Les Losanges

Shelves with art deco style brass brackets in the bathroom

Vintage décor in the living-dining room with fine finishes and attractive textures

The Mosaic Del Sur cement floor tiles in the kitchen can be admired when looking from the living and office space

Cement tiles on the floor: Popham design. Marble effect wall tiles: Leroy Merlin

Bedside table: AM.PM / Wallpaper and paint: Farrow and Ball / Pendant lights: NV Gallery

Sideboard with rope doors: Westwing

Where can we see your work?

The apartment has been featured in a few decorating websites around the world so far, which has been really unexpected and wonderful, so I’m still basking in the aftermath a little bit !
But aside from that I’ve been working for a U.S. e-design company for over a year now (Havenly), and as of January I’ll start taking on my own clients as well, as “Velvet Jungle Interiors”.
So I’ll be working on real life projects here in Paris, while simultaneously helping design homes in the U.S., U.K., and hopefully other places around the world soon. So it’s a very exciting new year for me !
If you’re interested in my work you can check out my website www.velvetjungleinteriors.com (available in French and English) or follow me on Instagram @thevelvetjungle!

Dining Table: Maisons du Monde / Chairs: Tikamoon

Chandelier: Westwing / A colourful and chic décor by Marie Lacote

Furnished one-bedroom apartment available for renting

Marie Lacote’s favourite places in the neighbourhood

Well for walking around, obviously, you’re right near the Seine, so a nice jog or walk over there is always a treat. Go grab a delicious walking-around ice cream Rue Cler, (it’s the prettiest little paved street). The neighbourhood has some really good restaurants that I can personally highly recommend.