A Paris house untouched for 75 years, transformed into a bright, treasure-filled family home
The ceramicist and jewellery designer Alix Reynis had a very specific criterion for the home she wanted to find in Paris; it had to be a period property which needed some (but not a lot) of work, it had to have a garden, and crucially it needed to have space for her large family (the couple have four children). Such a thing is rare in Paris, where most people live in apartments, and so she waited patiently for the right place to come up.
It was a happy coincidence then when a friend switched careers to real estate and one of their first listings was a five bedroom, two bathroom house, with a large front garden and, thanks to its location in the very chic 5th Arrondissement, views of the Pantheon.
The house was built in the late 1800s and hadn’t been touched since the 1950s. 'I didn’t fall in love with it straight away. It was in a really bad state', says Alix. Some of the previous owner’s decorative choices were, to put it mildly, questionable (master bedroom-cum-sex dungeon, anyone?) but Alix could see that underneath the 'creepiness', it was what exactly what they had been looking for. ‘The decoration hadn’t ruined it, and all of the original architectural features were there'.
She snapped it up and quickly got to work. The immediate task at hand was to peel back the layers which had been built up over the years. 'I wanted it to feel very classic. Like it had never been touched or had a decorator in it,' says Alix.
The first work they undertook was to knock down unnecessary walls and doors dividing the hallway, dining room and kitchen on the ground floor. 'I think flow is really important when you have a big family'. The once convoluted space is now open and airy, with the kitchen and dining areas subtly defined by an elegant archway. Alix hopes one day to build a new kitchen in an extension, so didn’t invest hugely in this 'temporary' one. The floor here is a rather cunning concoction of her own making, using sealed cement with 'the cheapest possible' floor varnish. Its patina is the result of builders leaving cans of paint and oil on it. ‘I rather like the worn look. I think it adds to the room,' she remarks. Cabinets and cupboards are painted in ‘Pantalon’ by Farrow & Ball, which also features on the panelling throughout the house, linking each room.
Elsewhere in the house carpets were replaced with wooden floorboards, wallpaper with paint and unnecessary doorways were closed off. Pattern and colour are used in delicate ways, allowing the antiques to take centre stage. 'I adore going to brocantes in Paris, or anywhere else in France if we go away for the weekend,' she says, citing the Chatou antiques fair and Materiaux Authentiques, just outside of Lille, as her favourite spots to pick up furniture and Haussmann-era doors and hardware.
The entrance, with its chequerboard floor, leads on one side to a spiral staircase that winds its way up to the top of the house. On the other is the sitting room. It's here that the family performs their Sunday ritual. ‘We light the fire, roast chestnuts and eat them with cheese', explains Alix. She designed the sofas, both upholstered in an earthy green velvet which matches the curtains. The gold antique mirrors are offset by the wooden coffee tables and the glitter of a crystal chandelier, found in a brocante.
The two floors above house all of the bedrooms and bathrooms. The children’s rooms were painted in blues, yellows and pinks. 'I love the idea of each bedroom being a different colour. It reminds me of the holiday homes I stayed in as a child.’ The main bedroom, however, remained white. 'My husband was determined. It’s the only thing I conceded on, and now I am really pleased I did. It meant I could pick a really bold colour for the curtains'. On the desk - which Alix picked up on Boncoin (a French version of Gumtree) - sits an ornate gold lamp, given to Alix by her grandparents. 'I loved their style,' she says of them. 'It was classic and timeless'. It’s a simple but wonderful vignette, and Alix’s favourite place to work.
Walking around the house, Alix feels pleased. 'I wanted it to feel as if we’d lived here forever', she says. It seems she’s succeeded.
Owen Gale1/17The mirror was existing when she bought the house.
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Owen Gale3/17The kitchen is Alix's favourite room in the house. The cement floor has been sealed with varnish. The small table and chairs were given to Alix by her grandparents, whose style she credits for forming her own. A large Medici urn which Alix found in a brocante in the north of France.
Owen Gale4/17The french doors lead down to the garden at the front of the house.
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Owen Gale6/17All of the cabinets are painted in ‘Pantalon’ by Farrow & Ball.
Owen Gale7/17Above the workbench hang two ceramic pendant lights, designed by Alix.
Owen Gale8/17As part of her own collection, Alix sells small porcelain signs, and this one, which says ‘broom cupboard’, stands out against the earthy green of the cupboard.
Owen Gale9/17The silver lamp in the corner is a Philippe Barbier, from the 1970’s. It’s one of the few more modern pieces in the house, influenced by Alix’s parents, who loved contemporary design. She found the table and chairs on Le Boncoin.
Owen Gale10/17A painting of Alix’s husband’s grandmother hangs above a large credenza, which was once used for storage in a DIY shop.
Owen Gale11/17Across the hall is the sitting room. The black commode is in the Boulle style, and has its roots in the Louis XIV period.
Owen Gale12/17The 19th century boat paintings in the hallway are family heirlooms. The staircase spirals up to the top of the house.
Owen Gale13/17Panelling throughout the house is painted in ‘Pantalon’ by Farrow & Ball.
Owen Gale14/17Alix designed the bathroom based on the ‘New York loft’ style of interiors, though she was also heavily inspired by the bathroom at the Ned, in London, designed by French interior designer Marianne Evennou.
Owen Gale15/17In her son’s bedroom, Alix has painted the walls in ‘Berrington Blue’ by Farrow & Ball.
Owen Gale16/17The wardrobe nook is also used as a study. In it hang artworks found on a trip to Japan. An internal window, on the right, overlooks the staircase and lights up the hallway.
Owen Gale17/17A keen gardener, Alix was determined to move somewhere she could plant flowers.
