Mouldings, herringbone parquet flooring, fireplaces... When the interior designer Thibaut Picard was contacted by a client who had just acquired a 105 m² apartment in the Marais, he wanted to make a clean sweep of the past, to erase all the markers of nineteenth-century architecture from this apartment. Thibaut Picard shows a lot of pedagogy to convince him to keep some elements, to show him that the richness of the place also lies in its history and that they can undoubtedly be associated with a very contemporary approach. The client, an art collector, design lover and fashion worker, is convinced. "What makes this apartment special is the multiplicity of styles, the mix of eras. This heterogeneity also reflects the personality of my client who has been living in France for a few years but is Argentinian. He grew up in Argentina but also in Spain. He lived in London. I wanted to infuse this classic and Parisian apartment with its influences. This resulted in bold choices like the eggplant corridor. A boldness that was also possible because my client does not project himself into this place in the future for twenty years. He knows he's not in it for life. And this changes everything: it allows us to inscribe interior design in our tastes and desires of the moment and not to think about it in the long term. This apartment therefore reflects a moment in life and this allowed us to take more risks," explains Thibaut Picard. We follow him on a guided tour.
The Corridor
Before: a long, useless corridor. Thibaut Picard Agency
After: a hallway with an all-over aubergine and USM furniture, but which is also very functional with plenty of storage space. Didier Delmas
"The entrance to the apartment opens directly onto the living room and by removing the door, we made sure to give a view of this reception room as soon as we crossed the threshold. To the right of this entrance, there was a very long corridor that led to a cramped kitchen – converted into a toilet and "friend" bathroom – and which served several rooms. It was a succession of gates. It was too wide without it really being useful. So we reworked it a lot to give it a perspective and make it functional. We also had a constraint that was to integrate my client's USM library. This bookcase and its olive sofa were the basis of my research on colours. The aubergine shade stood out in this hallway because it matched the furniture and because it brought a spectacular side. We restructured the hallway so that it was bigger and that we could really put storage there, cupboards... We moved the partitions of the room, which was initially too large to save space. This also made it possible to enlarge the bathroom. There was also a chicane that we removed to give a real perspective."
The living room
Before: a beautiful room where you need to infuse style. Thibaut Picard Agency
After: glazed brown on the walls and ceiling in which the mouldings blend in. Didier Delmas
"The living room faces the entrance. We have kept the beautiful volumes. It was very rich: lots of mouldings, a fireplace, mirrors, which reflected the DNA of this apartment. We have chosen to keep these elements but encompass them in an icy brown all-over. Painting the walls and ceiling in the same colour allows you to preserve these original details while blending them into the décor. We chose this candied chestnut because it matches the olive green of my client's sofa. It also highlights all the furniture very well. On the floor, as in all the rooms, we kept the original floor but we sanded it, covered with a slightly white varnish to obtain a raw effect. My client likes to accessorize his apartment – no doubt a reflex related to his work in fashion – and to change the décor regularly. He leaves the base of furniture but adds new touches from time to time: when we took the photos, he had built an orange pyramid made of Hermès boxes and installed a small zebra."
The Kitchen
Before: a dining room - basic office Agence Thibaut Picard
After: a contemporary dining room with an almost invisible kitchen. Didier Delmas
"Initially, the kitchen was at the end of the hallway, where now we have a toilet and a guest bathroom. It was cramped and not very pleasant. It was obvious that it needed to be moved. But since my client doesn't cook, he didn't want to dedicate an entire room to her either. So we decided to create a kitchen in the dining room with the bare minimum. This room is located next to the living room, in a row which also leads to the guest bedroom office (which is also accessed through a door that opens into the hallway). We had a piece of furniture created that doesn't look like a kitchen cabinet in any way: it's more of a console that incorporates hobs and a sink. The lower part is aubergine-coloured reminiscent of the paint in the hallway. The worktop is made of granite with red stone chips: all this goes well with the icy brown paint that covers the walls and ceiling. There are no cupboards always high to avoid all the codes related to the kitchen. As for the fridge, it is hidden in the laundry room created next to the bathroom of the master bedroom. My client and I chose a Jean Prouvé table and chairs and a light fixture found in Brussels to complete the ensemble."
The office with guest room
Before: a room to work, to create, to make music. Thibaut Picard Agency
After: a guest room with fantasy. Didier Delmas
After: and a space to work on a Tulip table and chairs by Eero Saarinen for Knoll. Didier Delmas
"This piece is a little different. The idea was to refer to my client's origins, to his taste for travel. The choice of cushion fabrics is therefore more whimsical than in other rooms with a patchwork effect. Depending on the needs and the moment, the room is intended for working on the Knoll table or for visiting friends. Adjoining this room, in the old kitchen, there is a shower room that is very practical when my client receives visitors for a few days."
The master bedroom and its en-suite bathroom
Before: a bedroom of inharmonious proportions stifled by mouldings. Thibaut Picard
After: a restructured bedroom painted in dark grey with USM bedside tables for a contemporary and relaxing atmosphere. Didier Delmas
After: a room where styles blend to perfection, like this kneading machine that responds to an armchair by Pierre Jeanneret. Didier Delmas
"We reduced the space of this room a little bit, and the original proportions were not ideal. And we've removed all the mouldings and the slightly busy architectural elements to make it a really serene, enveloping room. A feeling accentuated by the choice of a dark grey paint. As in the rest of the apartment, we mixed styles with USM bedside tables, very graphic lighting, an antique kneading machine and an armchair by Pierre Jeanneret.
Before: a simple bathroom. agency Thibaut Picard
After: an elegant bathroom. Didier Delmas
After: the bathtub has been replaced by a large shower. Didier Delmas
The en-suite bathroom, which we have also restructured to add a laundry room, is deliberately less colourful, softer and more precious, with a cabochon floor, a piece of furniture covered with a custom-made corrugated coating and a large, very pleasant shower in cream tones."
Contact Thibaut Picard: thibautpicard.com