The owner typically is in the apartment by herself or with only her partner, which allowed for a completely open, loft-like design. Each space flows into the next without any need for internal doors. This design also emphasizes the transparent appearance of the mirrored load-bearing wall. In the same vein, the bathroom opens onto the bedroom with another loft-like touch that, for the architect, conveys a certain holiday-like atmosphere. “The metaphor of sea and sky continues with the dining room carpet, which is like a kind of island set on this ocean and, suspended above the table, there’s a light fixture in the shape of a moonset on a beach.” Behind it, a curtain evokes a wall of rain.
Objects, decor, and furniture reflect the building’s eclecticism with items from the 1960s, 1970s, and more contemporary pieces, including ones by Diama David, a Pierre Chareau hanging lamp in the kitchen, and timeless sconces from the 1950s. The owner’s collection of artworks includes a painting by André Saraiva in the dining room, another by Aki Kuroda, and a vase by Gaetano Pesce. In the bright white bathroom, a Louis XIV mirror engages with a sleek bathtub. “These small contrasting effects create a form of abstraction that gives rise to a sense of timelessness that sometimes feels almost anachronistic. This apartment might be from the 1970s or it could be from the 2040s. I like to explore that ambiguity.”
The color white, in a variety of shades, plays a key role in Lesnoff-Rocard’s design. The home celebrates natural light and also the textures that receive it. The light can be an intense white at the height of the day but at other times, when it is softer, the apartment’s surfaces reveal a richness and diversity of materials, textures, and an almost enveloping sense of subtle continuity. “From the entrance to the living room, we can see many different shades of white: the resin on the parquet, the glazed concrete ceiling, the marble, the curtains, the white of the lacquered radiator behind, and the cabinet on the right. It’s a very rich mix, and it creates a certain form of abstraction, it’s not just a flat white.”