At Marissa Cox's, in Rouen
Muted atmosphere, exposed beams and old-fashioned charm: you'd swear that Marissa Cox's Rouen cocoon has stood the test of time. Don't be fooled by appearances! Just a few months ago, the half-timbered façade concealed a flat that had been altered too often, to conform to standards of modernity that robbed it of its character.
The best of the best
Small space, great cohesion! With 38 m2 spread over two floors, Marissa decided to blur the boundaries between the kitchen and living area to create volume, by extending a creamy white from floor to ceiling. With its hint of yellow, it adds a warm and bright touch that compensates for the flat's east-facing aspect. The icing on the cake is that it allows our Ivory matt lacquer fronts to blend into the décor, giving the wooden handles and stone worktop centre stage.
To the millimetre
Compact and highly optimised, the kitchen seems to have always been there. "It was tiny when we arrived, it looked like a little cupboard". A few walls had to be moved, and the adjoining bathroom had to be reduced to gain precious centimetres, and manage to fit in two runs facing each other... thanks to a good dose of ingenuity. "We cut down the units by about ten centimetres in depth to be able to fit everything in".
Creative constraints
The technical constraints, meanwhile, allowed the creator of Rue Rodier to give free rein to her creativity. The old chimney flue thus conceals a recess in which floating shelves nestle, painted in the same shade as the wall to blend in better. The extractor hood, meanwhile, is hidden behind a plasterboard casing that is both discreet and functional. Designed to protect the wall from water splashes, the splashback return is higher behind the mixer tap, and shaped to echo the curves of the wooden handles.
Set in stone
The stonemason who cut the stone for the worktop played a central role in the renovation. Hunted down, broken, repaired, installed and then damaged again, the fireplace found on Le Bon Coin passed through his hands several times. "There was just a smooth wall, with no interest whatsoever. I wanted to restore the living room to its former glory whilst creating a focal point." To integrate it into the living room and give the illusion of an original fireplace, Marissa designed a plasterboard structure. The depth created by the new mantelpiece made it possible to design bespoke shelves, also made from plasterboard, and to accommodate practical closed storage for everyday use.
Stairway to Heaven
Heads, a fireplace that reshapes the space; tails, a tone-on-tone staircase that blends into the half-timbered wall like a chameleon. You’ve probably guessed it by now: it’s not original! “You used to get upstairs via an ultra-steep ladder. We wanted to fit a made-to-measure model, but our budget wouldn’t stretch to it. So we opted for an off-the-shelf staircase, which we repainted ourselves.”
This blue dream
Brushes and rollers didn't stop there! You only need to climb the stairs to see for yourself: nestled under the eaves, the bedroom is an ode to colour. Conceived as a box, it has been painted in a celestial blue from floor to ceiling, including the woodwork. A bold way to give the room character, and to create bespoke arrangements without weighing down the limited space.
The ideas that inspire us
- The shortened units in the kitchen, to optimise the space as much as possible
- The rounded splashback behind the mixer tap
- The blue box that invites you to escape in the attic bedroom
- The fireplace mantel created from scratch and its recesses, which seem to have always been there
