Name: Pascale
Location: Paris, France
Size: 516 sq/ft
Years lived in: 5
When Pascale moved into her 5th-floor one-bedroom walk-up in the 18th arrondissement, the first thing she did was paint the walls of white -- except the deep red walls of the corridor and living room from the previous tenants. "I just love that color," says Pascale, who was a renter before she bought the place recently.
Pascale's apartment is a charming, nonchalant jumble of second-hand furniture from the street (the naked mannequin) and Paris brocantes, including a number of pint-sized chairs that she's been collecting in anticipation of welcoming a soon-to-be adopted daughter from Haiti. But she says the brocante isn't really her thing. "My mother loves it!" she says with a laugh, giving her mother credit for the vintage tables, rug and furniture. The chandelier and 50s chairs in the living room were left to her by her grandfather. She recovered them in colorful modern mismatched fabrics from the Marché Saint-Pierre-Dreyfus, the legendary fabric market nearby at 2 rue Charles Nodier.
Pascale also inherited an avocado green 70s sink in the bathroom that she plans to replace as soon as possible. And she said that while she loves the deep red corridor color, her dream would be to break down the wall that separates the kitchen from the living room to make it easier to talk to her guests when she entertains. "We call that a cuisine américaine," she says with a smile, referring to the trendy French term for an open-plan kitchen. She's lucky to have a narrow balcony that stretches the length of the apartment. You have to step outside to appreciate the view of the Eiffel Tower.
- Kristin Hohenadel blogging from rue Vieille du Temple, Paris, France. If you have an idea for a European house tour, please write kristinh @ apartmenttherapy . com
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
Those string lights are adorable! Anyone know where I can get something similar in the US?
view Q's profile
Merci pour le tour de votre joli appartement.
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
Charming!
view Henrietta the Terrible's profile
I love the fabrics used on the chairs. Very cute!
view suzy8track's profile
I'm hyperventilating. The sense of proportion, the choice of patterns that all harmonize, the effortless casual elegance that is clearly a real person's home embodies all that I love about France and the French. I am thrilled to see a beautifully decorated home that doesn't look "designed." THAT, to me, is the epitome of home decor. Thank you!
view rinconia's profile
lovely! is it easy to convert a parasol into a light fixture? i worry about fires... any tips?
view k in ditmas's profile
I love this place and I want more to go on. These shots are mostly vignettes. What does the seating look like, the bedroom. This demands more detail. It is such a great apartment.
view Lady J's profile
Makes me want to move to Paris....
view Texas's profile
I have to know -- what color is that RED on the wall? Love it!
view technogamy's profile
Very unpretentious but chic.
view HZ's profile
Q- Target has tons of different string lights in their garden section.
Pascale- I would definely keep the avocado bathroom sink. I think you could make it work.
view d/b girl's profile
Q: urban outfitters usually carries the lights too.
Pascale: I always look at the slideshows before I read any notes, and when I saw your sink, I thought "wow, even that avocado sink works!" Your apartment is lovely.
view mjr's profile
Le sigh. I love the unfussy, boho style of so many French apartments. Very lovely.
view teensleuth's profile
Oh, please don't get rid of that avocado-green bathroom sink. It makes the room.
view LisaG's profile
i love that even in Paris they order IKEA!
view Oneformybaby's profile
Am I correct in assuming there is no sofa? If so, it is so wonderful and inspiring to see, speaking as someone who has no space for one!
view arcticlapland's profile
Effortlessly charming! Thank you for posting.
view junklover's profile
Another vote for the sink. It's surprising and bold. Love it.
view Lady J's profile
I am looking for a similar small, wooden writing desk like in the first picture. Anyone know where I could find one? thanks!
view KevinB's profile
I really like the chandelier in this space and I like the fact that you did not feel compelled to dutifully put a dining table under it.
view lightspeed's profile
Judging by the previous comments I guess I'm alone in this but I don't find the apartment appealing. A few of the chairs and pieces of furniture are charming but overall it feels messy and uncomfortable. If this same apartment were in Chicago would everyone still gush about it? I'm not so sure...
view monroe's profile
the sink is my favorite part!
view laurenwinslow's profile
Absolutely love the gorgeous red doors to the apartment. I like all of the colorful fabrics used on the furnishings and the Red hallway!!
Karen
view Alkemie's profile
It looks very Anthropologie-esque!
view designsnob's profile
...you wouldn't find an apartment in Chicago with such great bones -- the windows, ceiling height, flooring, proportions of the space... It is the great bones that allow everything to work, and feel chic
view monika1's profile
Yeah, this place has great bones, but it's not just that. The person who lives there has a life. Books! Music! A child arriving from Haiti! Wow.
designsnob said, "very Anthropologie-esque!" I'd say Anthropologie is very Pascale-esque.
All the best to you, Pascale!
view Henrietta the Terrible's profile
Monroe: I hear what you're saying; I wondered the same thing. I like it, but I don't feel as overwhelmingly in love with it as many of the commenters. I do think some parts are very charming - I really like the parasol light, for example.
view theseboots's profile
(Very) Well lived-in! Love the little chairs..
Bhavna
view AnIndianSummer's profile
Gorgeous-really has that much coveted Carrie Bradshaw style walk through wardrobe thing going on- I love it!
view jess p's profile