Vibrant, Cheerful, and Elegant – The Color Scheme of This Paris Flat Mirrors the Sensation of a Blossoming Spring
Above the cobblestone streets of Le Marais, a vibrant sense of spring emerges in a contemporary apartment. Designed by Batiik Studio, this Parisian pied-a-terre exudes a sun-drenched ambiance, enhanced with pastel lacquer, warm, grained woods, and sculptural accents.
Architect Rebecca Benichou and designer Florence Jallet, a harmonious duo, brought this transformation to life, blending their distinct artistic visions. Benichou, a spatial specialist, applies elegance through constraint, while Jallet's set design background infuses the space with a soft, cinematic allure. Together, they breathed new life into a flat that had gone unchanged since the 1980s.
The apartment's owner, Geraldine Tan, sought a colorful and expressive retreat with ties to Parisian interiors and tradition. The designers respected this by preserving the herringbone parquet, ceiling moldings, and antique fireplace, while adding veined marble stone, custom joinery, and a modern color palette of subtle pastels.
The project was named "Josephine," and Florence Jallet describes it as "a warm and luminous atmosphere—it's a space where you instantly feel at ease." This ease could also be called confidence, highlighted by the creative freedom afforded to the duo for this project.
Batiik employed exuberant design elements, such as bas-relief wall sculptures, avant-garde stone marquetry, and an oversized headboard. Yet, the space remains harmonious without being overly fanciful—the restraint between flourishes makes the space resonate. Not every flower in the garden blooms at once.
Though commissioning Batiik may not be within reach for most, Josephine offers more than just inspiration. It demonstrates that spring doesn't necessitate florals ornewness for newness' sake. Instead, the essence of spring lies in a lightness, a lift, a soft-shoe shuffle into optimism, whispering in a muted palette. Warmth, it seems, has returned.
The entrance to the apartment, while quirky, offers functional beauty. The designers preserved the existing perspectives from the entry to the living room by installing a ceiling-mounted antiqued mirror. The walls feature a bespoke bas-relief installation by Redfield & Dattner, transforming the corridor into a gallery-like moment.
In the living and dining area, original fireplaces coexist with contemporary elements like a geometric stacked-base table and a custom moss green sofa. Vintage furniture and lighting were incorporated to temper the bespoke pieces, ensuring an engaging but subtle dialogue between old and new.
The kitchen, a monochrome peach dream, showcases knotted wood pulls as a recurring motif throughout the flat. Graphic marble marquetry and pink-washed tones prevent the kitchen from tilting into excessive femininity, while matte woods and soft lighting keep it grounded.
The main bedroom breathes an exhale of hotel-suite tranquility, with an extended headboard panel spanning an entire wall and a carved wooden detail. A soft pink peach palette pervades the space, complemented by an integrally designed wardrobe painted by Redfield & Dattner. The lighting placement is unconventional, with a sconce on one side of the bed and a slim pendant on the other.
By focusing on blending soft pastels with natural textures and applying restraint in the use of these colors, incorporating vintage elements, creating a warm and ambient lighting scheme, and integrating artful details in unexpected places, one can replicate the inviting atmosphere of Batiik Studio's Josephine project in their own space.
- The living room's geometric stacked-base table and custom moss green sofa contrast with the preserved vintage furniture.
- The designers' use of a muted pastel color palette in the kitchen brings a monochrome peach dream to life.
- In the main bedroom, an extended headboard panel and carved wooden detail exude a hotel-suite tranquility.
- The entrance's functional beauty is enhanced by the installation of a ceiling-mounted antiqued mirror.
- The designers' implementation of veined marble stone, custom joinery, and a modern color palette added a new life to the outdated apartment.
- Minimalism meets vibrant colors as Batiik Studio's project 'Josephine' offers a harmonious blend of artistic visions.
- The entrance corridor features a bespoke bas-relief installation, transforming it into a gallery-like moment.
- With the emergence of pastel lacquer, warm woods, and sculptural accents, the apartment represents a sun-drenched ambiance that embodies the essence of spring.
