After a three-year renovation, this Parisian townhouse is ready for the decoration of life to begin says architect Federico Masotto
LIVING ROOM
‘We wanted a couch that would embrace all of the space and give it a rhythm with its singular elements repeated,’ says Federico.
DINING ROOM
‘We gave the artist the freedom to design the table and it feels like the pulsing heart of the house – it really works,’ says Federico.
The download
Federico Masotto, who revamped this home for the owner – awoman who used to work in fashion until she recently left for new adventures. This house was one of them. She lives alone and has an adult son.
A Parisian townhouse built in 1927 in Montmartre for, it is believed, a ballerina, by the Belgian architect Pierre Fouque. The house is set over five floors and has a landmark art-deco facade, as well as a kitchen, dining room, living room, TV room, office, laundry, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
KITCHEN
The client wanted an industrial look, but it needed to complement the neighbouring spaces – ‘so I separated the elements – the lower part in stainless steel, the upper in Richlite [a solid paper composite],’ says Federico.
It was not an auspicious start. After various aborted attempts by other architects, the Italian-born, Paris-based Federico Masotto and his new client agreed to a month-long trial. ‘The house is difficult,’ he explains. ‘It’s complicated. It has some high ceilings, but the rooms are not very big – sometimes you can feel quite uncomfortable.’ What’s more, he adds, it was dark and disjointed and, as an early example of a residential concrete infrastructure, required major structural work. He finally walked away three years later, his role complete.
Federico’s starting point was the townhouse’s beautiful, listed art-deco brick facade and arches. The interior, however, lacked that same detail, explains Federico, a protege of the French ‘starchitect’ Jean Nouvel. ‘Once we’d removed all the old materials, we had to reinvent the interiors.’ The plan was to ‘continue t
