Major work, including the moving of technical parts, has transformed this duplex. The architect Jonathan Barut and his partner created a cocoon with organic shapes and bold colors.
For an architect, designing your own interior is paradoxically a challenge: faced with the infinity of possibilities, the choice is sometimes difficult. Fortunately, Jonathan Barut was able to rely on the gaze of his lover, Lucie, to decide and bring their vision to life. Together, they created a duplex that resembles them, nestled on the 5th and 6th floors of a building in the 11th arrondissement.
Initially, the apartment was healthy but poorly arranged: the first level housed the bedroom and the bathroom, while the kitchen and living room were on the upper floor. Jonathan immediately saw the potential of this blank page and took the radical step of reversing the plan to gain consistency. On the 5th floor, a spacious and welcoming lounge now occupies the entire space. As for the 6th, the kitchen and dining room benefit from the height, complemented by a mezzanine transformed into a cozy bedroom. Last but not least, the bathroom and toilets have been cleverly slipped under the sleeping area.
The furniture is not a simple addition, it is the heart of the project. As Jonathan points out, the place was “designed around the furniture and decoration in order to make the most of the available space, which was not very large”. Every corner has been optimized to offer plenty of storage without weighing down the overall aesthetic.
On the 6th floor, the one that particularly interests us, there was an empty level to reinvent. Originally, the expatriate who occupied the premises had installed his living room on this floor, while the kitchen was completely squeezed under the mezzanine. An impractical arrangement on a daily basis, especially for Jonathan and Lucie who love to entertain family and friends.
Perfectly integrated, this kitchen seems to have always lived there. This black model from IKEA fades into the background of the room in a minimalist aesthetic. By ignoring the wall units, it favors purity without sacrificing anything in terms of use: oven, hob and dishwasher are all present. As for storage, an ingenious column on the left hides the refrigerator, the water heater and all the small appliances, leaving the work surface perfectly clear. The little extra budget: the windows having been replaced shortly before their arrival, Jonathan and Lucie were able to make substantial savings, reinjected into the finishes and the furniture, bringing the overall cost of the renovation of this duplex to 70,000 euros.
After five years spent in this cocoon, the couple sold the apartment, fully decorated, as it was designed, to allow Jonathan and Lucie to take off for a new project abroad.
