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Wherein Mathieu reinterprets the spirit of a place 67 m² Paris, France Retro-contemporary Two-bedroom Mathieu Tran nguyen

This Home Tour is from Sloft Edition 04

On the third floor of a 1970s building, we find an apartment that’s an oasis of quiet just steps away from the bustling Place de la Bastille and the Marché d’Aligre. “Central, lively, vibrant: it’s a walkable micro-neighborhood! It’s quiet, yet there’s always something to do,” explain the new owners. Impressed by his work, they turned to interior designer Mathieu Tran Nguyen to bring new life to the place: “not only is he a friend, he’s also passionate about the 1970s, and a great connoisseur of the era.” Likewise, Mathieu thinks they are “the perfect clients!”

“During the first visit, I was stricken by the entrance hallway, with its travertine tile floor, brown terracotta wall cladding and large bronze mirrors. It inspired the apartment’s new atmosphere.” The flat was still in its original state, having had only one owner, and had all the characteristics of its time, including a highly partitioned floor plan that nevertheless retained a clever way of optimizing space. Yet, the layout had to be changed, from floor to ceiling: “only two things were worth keeping: the large bay windows and their ingenious handles, and the exterior awning. In fact, not all apartments have one of those. Architects at the time only installed them where the sun shines strong, probably because it was cheaper that way. So having one on our balcony was a good sign!”

"The 1970s were a very creative era. It ushered in a certain freedom of architectural experimentation. We wanted to recreate this philosophy in the flat, and respect the original intent while imagining a very modern project so as not to become cliché,” explains Mathieu. “A balance that required a subtle, ingenious touch, a ‘reinterpretation of styles’ that involved great attention to materials, textures and proportions.” In the constant pursuit of balance, Mathieu also tried to “create open spaces, to make it all more streamlined, but that didn’t mean taking down all the partition walls”. Without watering down the apartment’s singular spirit, Mathieu managed to create a remarkable living environment, imbued with both past and present elements.