This week the Househunter comes to you from Paris, because that is where I am. I’m visiting the Fornasetti Exhibition, so I thought we would take a virtual wander round the estate agents windows and see what’s about.
This is a one bedroom duplex apartment in the 6th arrondissement of Paris which has been designed by the firm A+B Kasha. It’s on the market for €1,260,000. I had to include it as soon as I saw the stairs (pictured above) as that is how our loft should look with the stairs coming up directly into the room, which should increase the amount of space we get. We are also planning to have the rafters visible.
This flat is a duplex with the stairs leading from the sitting room (above) to the bedroom in the top picture. I know the price is insane but we’re only going for inspiration. We’re not actually getting our chequebooks out.
Sticking with A+B Kasha, they are also selling this fifth floor apartment which they designed themselves. It’s on for €1,500,000 and has views of the Eiffel Tower. Many years ago I lived in Paris in a tiny studio apartment at Place des Invalides and if I went onto the tiny balcony (literally tiny, it was about two foot deep by three foot wide) and leaned over at a slightly perilous angle, I could just about see the Eiffel Tower. Made it all worth while.
I can also tell you that this, in Parisian terms, is an ENORMOUS flat. It may only have one bedroom and cost over a million quid but it has a separate kitchen and a decent bedroom and it has a lift. My tiny flat was on the sixth floor without a lift so if you got to the top and had forgotten something – like matches to light the stove, you just didn’t bother eating that night.
Another thing I learned, when I was researching Parisian living for a series of features I wrote in the FT last year, is that, unlike the British, who all want a kitchen diners – or at least kitchens big enough to eat in – the French like to keep the two separate. The kitchens are tiny and they don’t mind as they would rather have the dining table in the living room.
Obviously, before you all pile in telling me I’m wrong, that is a generalisation that holds true for many rather than an absolute truth. Anyway moving on, you can’t argue that that’s not a bad size for a bedroom.
And when you can look at that view whenever you like…
This one is just a few steps from the Luxembourg Gardens.
That house is absolutely beautiful; but it’s the bedroom that I’m really drawn to. I just re-decorated my bedroom so I’ve been surrounded by design decisions and bedroom furniture for weeks! That room is so well decorated, it’s airy; spacious and a nice colour that isn’t overbearing.
I have some new ideas for my bedroom and I may have to go decorate it…again!