Houzz Tour: A Touch of London for a Grand Parisian Home
This classic townhouse gets updated with contemporary decor, glass walls and inspiration from across the English Channel
Returning to France after 14 years in the United Kingdom, this family searched for something similar to the home it had loved and left behind in London. The couple and their two children were charmed by a two-story hôtel particulier — a grand townhouse with a garden, built in early 1900s style — on a sheltered dead-end street in a quiet part 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 interior designer 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 was 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 interior designer 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 was 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. Gassmann instead opted for this trendy and timeless Art Deco-inspired fish-scale pattern.
Cement tile: Mosaic del Sur; browse cement tile
Cement tile: Mosaic del Sur; browse cement tile
The entry and the dining room had previously been completely divided, resulting in cramped and dark spaces. Gassmann 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 balance the room’s classic coffered ceilings and wainscoting. A love seat recalls English-style bay windows and offers a view of the garden.
Lights: Les Acrobates de Gras (dining room pendants) and Gras 304 (sconces): DCW Éditions; paint on steel frame of the glass wall: Pitch Black, Farrow & Ball
The style of the dining room was also updated. Contemporary elements like metal frames and graphic pendant lights balance the room’s classic coffered ceilings and wainscoting. A love seat recalls English-style bay windows and offers a view of the garden.
Lights: Les Acrobates de Gras (dining room pendants) and Gras 304 (sconces): DCW Éditions; paint on steel frame of the glass wall: Pitch Black, 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 wainscoting deep gray to link the dining room to the living room,” Gassmann says. “This is echoed by a bookcase of the same color. The gray also emphasizes 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, Ressource
The previous owners had painted the wood floor black, and the current owners loved it. “We painted the wainscoting deep gray to link the dining room to the living room,” Gassmann says. “This is echoed by a bookcase of the same color. The gray also emphasizes 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, 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,” she 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,” she 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.”
The custom-made glass walls divide space without blocking light or sightlines, and they place the kitchen and the dining room in dialogue with each other.
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-leveling 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 [$190] per square meter, which is the same price as beautiful tile.”
Paint on the walls: C17, Ressource; concrete floor: Mercadier; sconces: Gras 304, DCW Éditions
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-leveling 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 [$190] per square meter, which is the same price as beautiful tile.”
Paint on the walls: C17, Ressource; concrete floor: Mercadier; sconces: Gras 304, DCW Éditions
The entryway and the dining room open up into the vast living room, which is the centerpiece of this beautiful family home. Its most striking feature is a cathedral ceiling that soars more than 23 feet.
The large wall of the living room was 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 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 on the bookcase: i24, Ressource
“There used to be a bookcase at the bottom and another one 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 on the bookcase: i24, Ressource
The fireplace was already there, but it was painted black on the inside for emphasis. The huge mirror overhead accentuates the room’s vertical tendencies.
The light fixture was custom-made by hanging several IC suspension lights by Flos at different heights, taking full advantage of the sloped ceiling.
The light fixture was custom-made by hanging several IC suspension lights by Flos at different heights, taking full advantage of the sloped ceiling.
The rest of the living room was repainted white. It will eventually serve as the backdrop for 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 [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.”
MDF woodwork under the windows hides the radiators while 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 [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.”
MDF woodwork under the windows hides the radiators while 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 equipment to view from below.
The new low wall serves as a support for a very long worktop that is used by the whole family.
The new low wall serves as a support for a very long worktop that is used 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 charcoal-colored paint on the headboard and the sconces.
Paint: IT04, Ressource
The immaculate bathroom is complemented by a pinkish-beige touch on the door and the shelves. The same color appears in the walk-in closet, which connects the master bedroom and the bathroom.
The big house 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 trees on it. The central pillar and the underside of the staircase were painted black to create contrast.
Wallpaper: Woods, Cole & Son; browse nature-inspired wallpaper
Wallpaper: Woods, Cole & Son; browse nature-inspired wallpaper
The railing is an extension of this touch of black, here contrasting the soft beige carpet that covers the original orange flooring.
The thick viscose carpet brings softness, warmth and comfort to this level.
The bathroom was completely redesigned with a new industrial-style shower surrounded by a custom-welded iron frame made by a locksmith.
10 Reasons to Go for Black-Framed Shower Doors
The bathroom was completely redesigned with a new industrial-style shower surrounded by a custom-welded iron frame made by a locksmith.
10 Reasons to Go for Black-Framed Shower Doors
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 and a gray headboard give the room an industrial tone.
Pendant light: Etch, Tom Dixon; paint: SL09, Ressource
Pendant light: Etch, Tom Dixon; paint: SL09, 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 colors 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
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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
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four
Location: Auteuil, in the 16th Arrondissement of Paris
Size: About 2,640 square feet (245 square meters)
Designer: Miriam Gassmann
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-paneled 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 different views into and through the home.
Pendant lights: Hatton 2 and Hatton 3, Original BTC