At the Invalides, in the Plum Living apartment
Five years. 1,280 cabinets, 4,250 inspirations, and thousands of projects. 60 months, during which your desires have pushed us ever further. 1,825 nights spent sketching our vision of the interior, joyful, colorful, and unique, to better bring it to life in the light of day. Five years dreaming, designing, refining every detail of a universe that resembles us, and imagining it crossing a new threshold—literally.
This visceral desire to confront the material took shape in the heart of winter. 250 m² at Les Invalides, entrusted to us by a property dealer. Creaky parquet flooring, faded walls. A blank page doubled with carte blanche, to better let our love of color speak for itself. Bold hues, daring layouts, and details that hit the mark: here, our score comes to life. Shall we show you around?
Opening act
Like a life-sized moodboard, these 250 m² have gradually become the perfect playground to bring our inspirations to life and learn to work with constraints. Take the entrance: huge and not very sunny, it was separated from the living room by swinging doors, which we replaced with honey oak panels, simply glued in place of the old frame. There was no point trying to bring in more light. Instead, we decided to do the opposite and imagined a Bleu paon box from floor to ceiling, to create a theatrical effect and conceal essential everyday storage.
Seamlessly hidden
The colour extends into the hallway, where two rows of Pax cabinets have been placed back to back. Here, we played with plasterboard painted in the same shade and our matching finishing panels to recess the Ikea elements and give this XXL dressing room a bespoke look. We even went as far as to nestle the switches into the lacquered fillers, making it possible to optimise every square centimetre.
A living moodboard
It only took a glance out the window to be convinced: inside and out, blues respond to greens in a palette ranging from olive to celadon. The living room is the best example! The starting point for the design, the Maison Sarah Lavoine rug established itself as a palette that opens up endless possibilities and allows you to play with the shades of the sofas by Hauvette & Madani.
Mix and match
With 120 m² of living space, it was necessary to define areas so as not to feel lost. A small Plum Living desk, a matching TV unit and a brushed stainless steel sofa, and here we are in a TV lounge that gives pride of place to honey-coloured wood. Was a poorly placed radiator immediately noticeable as soon as you entered? No problem! We boxed it in to hide it without losing efficiency, and took the opportunity to create an open niche, which we had panelled by the carpenter. All that was left was to varnish it before installing our floating shelves.
Back in chrome
Wood, velvet, linen... Perfect companions to our palette, natural materials create a link between the rooms of the apartment. Conceived as a common thread, chrome sometimes enhances the light, sometimes anchors the Haussmann style in a decidedly contemporary dimension. The dining room is no exception! Here, the poetic pendant lights by François Bazin converse with the chrome wall lights by Violaine d’Harcourt, which in turn echo the lacquered table base designed by Gabrielle Paris. Everything comes full circle!
Window bench
Admit it: you’d never have guessed that there’s an Ikea bench hidden in this dining room. That’s because we did everything to make the cabinets blend in! We started by tucking them under the bay window, so they could be built into the recess. We chose black ones to better conceal them behind our Green 13 - Canopée fronts and panels, and added a thick seat and soft cushions to finish it all off. All that’s left is to curl up and relax…
A masterful composition
This is the heart of the apartment… and what we do best. Did we need to make use of the space? Challenge accepted! With its bench seating and columns, perfect for a large family, the kitchen combines lacquer and wood, marble and linen to create a warm cocoon. Designed as a "Tableau" kitchen, it stretches from wall to wall with plenty of storage. Its deep colour and concrete-effect floor could have made it feel cold… But that was without counting on the honey oak fronts, cream linen curtains, and XXL pendant light that dress the room and soften the high ceilings.
Let there be light
There are light fittings that catch your eye at first glance... and those that blend in, enhancing an interior by being discreet. This is the case with LED strips, here recessed into the finishing panel that hides the underside of the cabinets. A bright idea, which we also used in the TV lounge alcove by carving a groove into our floating shelves. These are details that really matter, and you need to think about them right from the electrical planning stage to make sure the right cables are run to the right places.
Tailor-made... or almost!
250 m², four bedrooms and an office: creating storage was an obvious choice! We could have settled for a three-door wardrobe in each room, efficient and functional. Instead, we chose to reconcile beauty and utility, aesthetics and everyday life, by integrating a desk here, some shelves there. With its two separate rooms, the master suite is no exception. As with the entrance or the living room, we started with Ikea cabinets and did everything we could to make them blend in. We cut them down, stacked them, suspended them, repurposed them, and dressed them up to create the base of a wardrobe that rivals any bespoke solution.
In the grain of oak
In the boudoir area, we envisioned a desk set up facing the dressing room, with wood taking centre stage. Just as chrome does in the living spaces, oak helps maintain harmony throughout the sleeping area. From sculptural handles to thick finishing panels, from desk surfaces to display niches, it creates a link between the bedrooms and enhances the luxurious feel of the fittings.
Tone setters
From the master suite to the kids' bedrooms, the wardrobes have been designed as the starting point for each room. Forget about wardrobes simply placed in a corner. Here, it's the layouts that set the tone and carry the thread of colour. Stone, Ivoire, Lin, Amandier grisé, Ciel voilé... so many shades that have allowed us to explore the different facets of our universe.
Welcome to reality
We wanted to face reality and play with constraints: all we had to do was ask! Hidden behind a door, a small, cramped cupboard was in the child's bedroom. Without hesitation, we saw the opportunity to nestle a graphic, colourful desk in there, picking up on the colours from the Sandberg wallpaper. All it took was to trim our tabletop before fixing it in place, and that was it!
Ideas designed to inspire you
- Chrome and wood used as common threads throughout the apartment
- The use of thick fillers and finishing panels to create a luxurious, bespoke feel and to conceal the Ikea units
- Integrated LED strips under the shelves to illuminate niches and worktops
- Built-in desks in the bedrooms and TV lounge
- Colour used all-over on the walls of the bedrooms and entrance
- Ivory walls, subtler than white paint
