caulaincourt apartment

What does it mean to renovate a Parisian apartment when the history of its place is written into floors, doors, and walls?  The apartment is located in a traditional Parisian building in Montmartre. Here, the character of the neighbourhood is not only visible in streets and facades, but also inside its houses. Parts of the district were built above former quarries, where subtle movements in the ground still reveal themselves through sloping doors, uneven floors, and shifted building elements. Rather than correcting these traces completely, the renovation understands them as part of the apartment’s identity. The project transforms two formerly separate flats into a contemporary home for a young family — clear, light-filled, and precise, while preserving the quiet irregularity of the existing structure.

What kind of spatial order can emerge from two apartments joined into one?  The building follows a typical Montmartre layout, with one apartment facing the street and another facing the courtyard. By combining both units, the new apartment remains divided into two distinct parts, held together by a connecting corridor. This existing division becomes the basis for the design. A calm night area with bedrooms and bathrooms is set apart from an open day area with kitchen, living room, library, workspace, and a continuous balcony. With light entering from three sides, the apartment gains a generous atmosphere within the limits of the existing plan. The interventions in the layout are precise and functional. New openings, passages, and built-in elements create as much storage as possible. Wardrobes become thresholds, rooms are entered through cabinetry, and circulation becomes part of a furnished spatial sequence.

What makes a family apartment open, elegant, and practical at the same time?  In the day area, the kitchen becomes the connecting element between entrance and living room. It organises the open plan and brings cooking, eating, working, and living into one continuous sequence. The library adds a quieter moment within this open part of the apartment. The night area follows a more private logic. Bedrooms and bathrooms form a calm retreat for everyday family life, complemented by a generous family bathroom. Natural and lasting materials define the renovation: new plaster mouldings, wood veneer, natural stone, glass blocks, and mosaic tiles. Together, they connect classical Parisian qualities with a contemporary interior language, creating a warm and bright atmosphere that does not overwrite the existing apartment, but carefully continues it.