A 377-Square-Foot Apartment Near Paris’s Avenue Foch Has a Minimalist, Japanese Flair

“I was introduced to the owner of this 377-square-foot apartment on Paris’s Right Bank, between Avenue Foch and Place Victor Hugo, by Archik, an agency that connects buyers with interior designers to help new owners renovate their properties,” says Isabelle Heilmann, an interior designer and founder of the agency Épicène. “This small space was intriguing because of its layout.”

It’s a garden-level apartment in a very quiet location, with large French windows opening onto a lush terrace. In other words, the unit is attractive but neglected—and the owner wanted a modular space where he could operate his business as a coach for corporate executives. He wanted two separate areas, a consultation room and a room large enough for meetings, both of which could be used simultaneously. The apartment would eventually become a a pied-à-terre—the client has plans to move away from Paris in the not-too-distant future. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, decor-wise, the client has a special interest in the modernist architect Maurice Sauzet. Both Sauzet’s aesthetic vision and ideas about natural architecture.

Épicène kept the L-shaped layout of the apartment. Seen here is the living room area and, on the right, the entrance to the bedroom. The Japanese inspiration is evident in the use of wood, a light oak that runs from the floor to the built-in bookcase, with its back panel of woven straw. The reupholstered bench is vintage Knoll, the Orange Slice armchair is by Pierre Paulin, and the Coquillage wall lamp is by Axel Chay.

What’s Maurice Sauzet’s vision?

Sauzet admired how much Japanese design emphasized and respected nature. In another way, Mediterranean design does the same with al fresco culture. “Maurice Sauzet was greatly influenced by Japan and the aesthetic of wabi-sabi, imperfection, and the use of natural materials, but also by more philosophical notions, such as contemplating the idea of emptiness in rooms and thinking both about how we go through a space and how we are present in it,” Heilmann explains. This idea provided her firm with a story to tell through its design. They leaned heavily on Japan, of the notion of inside versus outside, and of spaces like the engawas of Japanese architecture (or verandas that provide a transition between interior and exteriors).

In this terraced apartment, Heilmann brought these influences together in a decidedly contemporary and Parisian way. The L-shaped layout is less transformed than simplified, with the firm elegantly returning the space to its basic flow. The separate kitchen and storage room were replaced by a single kitchen that opens into main room’s entire width. The beautiful high ceilings are enhanced by oak frames around the windows, replacing the original openings. Opposite, full-height built-in storage units incorporate a door leading to the toilet and another to the bedroom/second consultation room, without any visible handles to avoid any break in their beautiful tall expanse.