text & stylingchiara dal canto |photographyhelenio barbetta/living inside“ We’ve always celebrated birthdays and
anniversaries in this living room. Choosing
to live here has meant continuing a family
tradition. However, I wanted to modernise”
THIS IS THE STORY OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN PARIS, of a grandmother who left her home to her beloved grandson Antonin,
a professional photographer, of his decision to live there with his young wife Elisa and their daughter Léontine – but not before
remodelling and changing its original appearance! For this Antonin turned to his long-time friend Samantha Hauvette, architect
and head designer at Hauvette & Madani (co-owned with Lucas Madani, Hauvette-madani.com). As students, Antonin and
Samantha lived in part of the apartment as roommates. Back then, neither imagined that one day they would radically transform
the place, in the roles of client and designer. “We’ve always celebrated birthdays and anniversaries in this living room,” Antonin
says. “Choosing to live here has meant continuing a family tradition. However, I wanted to modernise and imprint my style and
Elisa’s on it. The three of us worked harmoniously because we have the same tastes.”
Joining two separate units, the renovation created a two-level apartment, where traces from the time it was a hôtel particulier
(grand townhouse) are still evident. The entry stairway connecting the ground and first floors leads directly to the kitchen, from
which one passes into the parquet-floored dining room and on to the living room. Although the layout isn’t traditional, accessing
the apartment through the kitchen is like entering its domestic heart without hesitation and feeling right at home. From the kitchen,
a new stairway goes up to the bedroom area, with a bathroom (once a living room) and Antonin’s studio.
During the renovation, the living room ceiling, which had blackened over the years, revealed a magnificent fresco of a subtly
veiled sky encircled by painted frames. It was a lovely surprise and, as a tribute to it, the sky is now repeated on the walls of the
dining room, where a cloud-white dining table sits in front of the fireplace. Despite their modern furniture, both these rooms have
retained a traditional feel. In the kitchen, a custom Hauvette & Madani design combines natural oak, Carrara marble and wood
that has been painted the same color as the walls. Ornamental elements include the tiled floor and geometric pattern of the stair rails.
On the upper floor, the room that’s received the most attention is the bathroom. With a large tub in Carrara marble, twin basins
(also in marble), a shower and large mirrored areas, the spacious room serves as a sort of antechamber to the bedroom, which
is actually quite minimalist. These non-conventional choices are what make the home so fascinating and so personal. They also
reflect the tastes of a photographer who works in fashion, loves capturing family memories, prefers vintage and design pieces by
the Bouroullec brothers, and who wanted to make his young family’s home functional. “It’s a story with a happy ending,” Antonin
says, “because the home found us and not vice versa. We continue our family history within its walls.” R@reallivingmag
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