apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I love the low beam ceiling, cottage feel of your home. I miss that cozy element in our North American designs...
The tile in the kitchen is gorgeous, and your view is splendid. May I come visit? (:

That son of yours... single, by chance?

What's an apartment like that cost?

1) please, a paris apartment therapy with reports of goings on would be wonderful.
2) joan's apartment is so charming, it's perfect. thanks for letting me visit.

I'm jealous.

I don't know if I like this idea of AT:Europe. I'm weeping with longing at my very American desk job...

Ahhh Paris...J'adore...

Joan - thanks for inviting us into your lovely home. I agree that it's charming, perfect and I'm jealous, too!

Fantastic! I feel like as long as there are ladies like Joan, women willing to take a chance and do something new, no matter what stage of life they are in, all is okay with the world. I know a few of them personally and they never cease to be inspirations.

The apartment is also rather inspirational as well :)

You really know how to hurt a guy midweek, don't you?

Joan, what an wonderful apartment and an exceptional place to live.

Viva, AT Paris!

joan!
you are an inspiration to all and what a sweetheart for
a son. ;)

I've just finished buying an apartment in Paris; I think it's a little better than NYC, but not by much. Again, location is critical - you'll pay a lot more in the 6th than you will in the 16th.

As a guideline, a good quality property in the Marais goes for about 10,000 Euros a square meter (once you've added in the various fees you have to pay to various people during the bewildering process); the rate for properties in the 7th would be a little less, the 11th even less and the 18th much less.

It looks like a lovely renovation indeed - Joan's lucky to have a beautiful apartment, and a son to make it beautiful!

Kristin, did he use anything special for stripping the beams? I need to do that in my studio, and I'm dreading the stripping process because the beams have so much texture. And did he seal them once he'd finished? I was going to strip the beams, and then white wash them.

Kristin, love this post and your writing style. Joan, you are blessed. Joan's son, you surprised her with the keys to this place? I have a couple of daughters you might like to meet.

Pretty please, adopt me?

Joan,
C'est incroyable et tres jolie! Add me to the list be adopted.
I'll keep the dream alive to move to Paris until I'm 70 years young.

My God, this is FANTASTIC! I love the place, I love Joan, I LOVE Joan's son, and best of all we have Kristen, who came up with this piece. The tiles in the kitchen, the low ceiling (high ceilings are not always better!), the bathroom floor, the monastic (in a good way) simplicity of the furnishings--no wonder Joan feels so free.

vraiment beau, ça donne de bonnes idées pour la retraite ! :)

I love that little book nook in the bedroom! And that floor tile in the bathroom, gorgeous!

I love this story. Thank you: AT, Joan and Joan's son.

Wow! I'm from Chicago and I've always wondered how difficult it must be to carry out a renovation in NYC. But to carry out a renovation in downtown Paris? It honestly blows my mind. To me, this would be a dream come true. I'm really looking forward to this AT Europe addition. Thanks for the tour.

Joan must be a great mama to raise such a lovely, generous son.

Palousian is quite right, "monastic" is a perfect word for the spare elegance of this place. I also enjoy the way hard and soft are played with - friendly, lumpy white couch is contrasted with an austere round table and chairs. The tile floor balanced by the wavy beams in the ceiling.

this is wonderful! yes, again, the AT: Europe would be awesome. these posts are like mini-vacations! (great writer, too!)

Fantastic! The beams are wonderful. I really like the kitchen. The tiles are gorgeous too, the wood countertop, perfect. Very true words, it's never too late. Another cliche, but true, change is good! I wish her all the best.

Brilliant, Joan, lucky you!!!

And I love the idea of an AT:Europe...

I'd like to be added to the list of adoptees and admirers. I can only hope that I will be so fortunate to have such a family and such a life at 70. Congratulations, Joan!

There have been a few people from countries outside of Europe wanting to contribute. Perhaps an AT:World?

Joan, how lucky you are to have such a beautiful apartment and such a wonderful son. I'll add you to my list of Apartment Therapy mothers to admire. I have Lori 2's mother, who is an amazing carpenter/builder, and now you, starting a new life abroad!

I was never a big Seinfeld fan, but wasn't the mark of success in one episode buying your parents a Cadillac? I think this beats a Caddy. :)

Je voudrai marier votre fils.

Right. I'm french and I live in Paris. I'm happy to let all the americans pay insane money for all these creepy apartments. After living in a place like this for 6 years, you cannot imagine how much you crave for modernity and comfort. It's all the jazz when you just need a place to crash and sleep, but when you get a family, a place like this is a nightmare, no offense meant to the original owner.
As for prices, a place like this probably runs about 300K euros, maybe a bit less.

Dear Jaze,

Joan's ceiling beams were covered with heavy paint. So he first sanded them with a power-sander. There was so much dust flying out the open windows that the fire department came by, thinking the apartment was in flames! He then stripped the excess by hand, using that scary toxic stripping glop, a blade and a pocket knife. He didn't seal them.

He says that if your beams have paint on them, you will find that by stripping them, the inevitable paint traces in the veins of the wood will give them a lightly white-washed appearance. If your beams are not painted, but stained, then you can try using steel wool, but you won't be able to completely remove the stain, which seeps into the wood. In that case, if you are planning to white-wash them anyway, you may just want to lightly sand and paint right over them without stripping.

Hope this helps.

OMG! - absolutely GORGEOUS!!!

(This is a good reason to have kids!!)

Oh, my! Paris...and please, those floor tiles? gorgeous. thanks for this post !

I love the atmosphere of the appartment, and the kitchen which is really beautiful. But i could not live in it with so few and small windows, there is not enough natural light! And i guess i would get claustrophobic with the low ceilings although they make the apartment feel cozy.

And i agree about the prizes with Loki (further up in the comments )..

Magnifique! As if living in Paris in and of itself isn't wonderful enough -- to have such a simple, lovely home! Enjoy!

LOL! And I just noticed that my bank is down the block! Ever need an apartment sitter???

Oh my god that bathroom floor tile! The beams! Joan you lucky girl...

It was like a little country cottage until you look out the window!

I love the teeny, squareish kitchen nook and the laundry sink (and lovely faucet) in the bath.

Love the tiles. I guess my complaint is lack of lighting. Just seems very dark and dreary inside your apartment. I like ample light in my place to brighten it up and even having sunshine beaming through my apartment. I guess that's just my preference.

Otherwise, Joan you have a nice apartment and wishing I could experience living in Paris :).

It´s a lovely place, congratulations!

Loki quoth: Right. I'm french and I live in Paris. I'm happy to let all the americans pay insane money for all these creepy apartments. After living in a place like this for 6 years, you cannot imagine how much you crave for modernity and comfort.

Yes, I can. When we moved from San Francisco to Phoenix, I referred to it as "rejoining America" -- a double sink in the kitchen! a dishwasher! a way to park the car in the same zip code! quiet at 4 a.m.!

Joan's apartment is lovely, though, at I hope I'm feeling energetic enough to do something like that in my 70s.

Wende - I agree. I moved from the East Coast to Phoenix this summer. And as much as I like small and quaint I like having a full size washer and dryer much more.

Joan's apartment looks very homey and is well decorated, but those wooden beams would make me feel claustrophobic. I need light and space!

Thanks, Kristin!

If you see dense clouds of dust flying out of a top floor window at the corner of rue des Rosiers and rue Malher in the next couple of weeks, remember this post before you call the fire dept!

I have been thinking "whitewash", but perhaps the effect I'm looking for is just the stripped beams themselves. I've seen a few renovations where the beams look almost "pickled"; perhaps that's the effect of the stripped beams.

At the moment, my beams are dark brown, and I'd rather have less contrast between the roof and the beams. This is the sort of effect I'm going for, a house in Antwerp decorated by Alex van de Walle:

http://www.villas-decoration.com/article.php?lan=en&code=7106

Oops! It's a house in Brussels, which I should have remember, seeing as I first saw it in the Taschen book BRUSSELS STYLE...

This is so charming! This is totally how I'm going to retire! Thanks for the inspiration.

Oh, and I lived in much more cramped conditions when I lived in NYC and had 4 housemates. My room was literally a closet. So I think I can handle a Paris garret all to myself.

Love your place, thanks for the visit and I love you son, I wish mine had the imagination to get me something like this for my Birthday/Christmas/Mothers day/just because.

this is a reason to have children

Everything about this post is great. Thanks so much for sharing!

oh my goodness, what a lucky lady:)

what an incredible home

oh how i love this place! it has just the right amount of cottage and city with a touch of whimsy. i'm moved by this story and so excited for you, Joan...congratulations!

Swoon.