A Run-Down Paris Rental with a Nearly Unusable Kitchen Is Totally Gorgeous Now
Author Anna Kloots has been renting an incredibly enchanting 800-square-foot, two-bedroom Parisian home for three years. “My apartment is in the heart of the Marais in Paris, and oozes natural Parisienne charm with its parquet floors, wrap-around balcony, and marble fireplace,” Anna begins.
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But it was a bit hard to see all that charm at first. “When I began renting, it needed a lot of work, but it’s so hard to find an apartment as an expat that I volunteered to do it! I also knew it would endear the place to me and it certainly did! I spent over a year renovating and decorating, antiquing, and DIY-ing and when it was done it was like giving birth!”
Anna describes the apartment before moving in as “empty and pretty run-down. The salon had a random blue wall and big black electric heaters that didn’t fit. The walls had no moldings, the doors were flat, and the hardware was ugly, big, cheap nickel handles. But the ceilings, French doors, and floors were so beautiful — I knew it had potential!”
Anna explains in France it’s common for an “unfurnished rental” to mean there are no kitchen cabinets or appliances. “My apartment had no oven, fridge, washing machine, etc. There were kitchen cabinets, but they were totally broken and the sink wasn’t usable at all. If I wanted to rent it, I knew a total kitchen renovation was mandatory! I had to do this at mostly my own expense, so that meant creating my dream kitchen on a tight budget.”
“An apartment in Paris was always my absolute dream. I moved here after a divorce, and I had spent the last decade living in my ex-husband’s magic-themed studio in New York City, full of his antique collectibles,” Anna admits.
“When I moved here, I decided my apartment had to become a complete reflection of who I was in this new chapter of my life. Every single choice is intentional, and the apartment is filled with things that spoke to me at the flea markets here mixed with meaningful things from my family back home and my many travels around the world (83 countries!)”
Resources
LIVING ROOM
- Couch — Anthropologie
- Chairs — Bold Monkey
- Art — Self-Made
- Chandelier — Vintage 17th Century
KITCHEN
- Cabinetry — IKEA
- Dishes — Vintage
- Oven — lofra
BEDROOM
- Bed, Wardrobe, Mirror, and Chandelier — Vintage
- Painting — Vintage one of my mom as a kid that I found in our basement in Ohio
Thanks, Anna!
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
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