A Retractable Rainbow Screen Is the Star of this Paris Apartment

When designer Matali Crasset was tasked to breathe life into a Parisian apartment, she not only gave it some color, she actually gave it the full spectrum.

The 80-square-meter flat is aptly called “Le Rainbow et le Bosquet,” which means “The Rainbow and the Woods.” It’s not hard to see where it got its name from. The property features a conventional floor plan with an entryway, two bedrooms, and a living room with a kitchenette. Given free rein by the apartment’s owner, Crasset envisioned an open space flooded with natural light and arranged according to color—or colors, rather.

“Seems like I moved apartments by just changing the interiors,” said owner Michele Monory told Designboom.

The apartment is divided into two areas, namely, the rainbow and—you guessed it—the woods. The rainbow side gives a feeling of vast space with vibrant low-lying furnishings. It also has a curved blind structure that can be rotated to add color as well as transform the living room into a makeshift home office or guest room. And since Monory produces jewelry made by local artists, she also turns the space into a showroom when needed.

The woods area, meanwhile, is painted green to provide contrast, conjuring relaxing images of forests to balance out the liveliness of the rainbow.

“The project proves that clear choices can be made to fit new logic into a flat of conventional design,” wrote Crasset, adding: “Color is life.”