With the addition of a striking mez zanine floor, calm neutral decor and minimalist furniture, an apar tment in a former shoe factor y near the French capital has been transformed into a st ylish yet practical home and workspace
LIVING AREA
A cool blue sofa, geometric rug, brass lighting and a printed, dramatic historical landscape make this space soft and enveloping. Sofa and cushions, La Redoute. Eclipse floor lamp, Dutchbone. For a similar rug, try Cox & Cox. For a similar wallhanging, try Etsy
LIVING AREA
A bespoke window seat doubles as a set of cleverly concealed storage cupboards. Cassina coffee table, Roche Bobois. Boro chair, Gong. Striped seat cushions, Jamini
EXTERIOR
The building’s generous grid of windows means natural light pours into Zoe’s apartment
after studying graphic design in Paris, Zoe Fidji left her home city to live and work in New York, where she became an assistant to a well-known fashion photographer. A few years later she embarked on a solo career, working mainly for brands in the beauty and fashion industries, before eventually moving back to Paris in 2013.
So when she began her search for a home, Zoe decided that she wanted something reminiscent of her life in the States and set about looking for a loft apartment with an industrial feel. Her priorities were to have a practical live/work space for her and her dog Mochi in a building with real character, situated in the suburbs of Paris but not too far out from the city centre.
‘I looked at just three apartments,’ remembers Zoe, ‘but as soon as I saw this beautiful ex-industrial building, I was seduced by the decorative brick and stone of the exterior and immediately wanted to buy it. However, I just lost out on the sale. Fortunately though, the couple who had bought it then sold it on to me. It was such a stroke of luck. Inside, the high ceilings and symmetrical grid of windows give me the New York vibe I love, while the clever layout really convinced me that this was the place for me.’
Thanks to those generous windows, natural light pours into the open-plan space, which is divided into separate zones; the kitchen, living area, dining space and office. Directly behind the kitchen is a wooden cube that contains a bathroom and an upstairs bedroom – it just needed re-painting to freshen it up.
But Zoe had bigger plans for the layout. To increase the floorspace and make more of a feature of the apartment’s lofty ceilings, she designed the black metal framework that supports a striking new mezzanine level – now home to a library and a suspended walkway.
HOME PROFILE
WHO LIVES HERE Zoe Fidji, a photographer and graphic designer, and her dog Mochi, a
