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The use of the word ”unconventional” in real estate ads too often sounds like a warning. But in this case, there was no need for caution: first and foremost, it was the inverted proportions of this two-bedroom urban apartment (the upper floor is larger than the lower level) that made it “unique.” A renovation added a clever blend of authenticity and boldness to the space’s strong character.
When its future owners visited it for the first time, the property had the particularity of being spread over two floors, following a number of interventions: “The roof had been breached, skylights installed, the staircase previously belonging to the common areas had become private, and a load-bearing wall had been opened up to make a duplex,” explains Quentin Leclère, who was in charge of the renovation with his two partners from Lume Architectes. “But the end result was an awkward patchwork of styles and influences. The work we had cut out for us consisted in harmonizing this jumble of successive interventions thanks to a delicate re-articulation of the spaces.”
The centerpiece of the apartment, offering both verticality and volume, the staircase is treated like a Swiss Army knife… and a work of art. “We chose to showcase it by setting it in a polymorphous piece of woodwork,” Quentin explains. By wrapping itself around the structure, this sort of XXL Rubik’s Cube offers a surprising depth of field between the lower and upper levels, but, above all, a multitude of functionalities: a bookcase on one side, a suspended desk sheltered from prying eyes on the other: “In the recesses along the way up, we’ve inserted three cupboards. We took every opportunity to maximize storage.”
On the upper level, which houses three rooms, the trio of architects were also keen to enhance the existing features. The original beams, left exposed, house walk-in closets that make the best of the sloping roof, and are even visible in the bathroom, where they form a bucolic duo with the earthenware tiles.
A small bedroom adjacent to the couple’s has recently been converted into a child’s room on the same floor, proving that it’s possible to dream big in a confined space.
