“We had been searching for an apartment for about two years when we came across this disused mechanic’s garage on the ground floor of an early 20th-century building,” says co-founder of French design house Moustache, Stéphane Arriubergé. “It was at the back of a beautiful Parisian courtyard.” Arriubergé and his partner and co-founder, Massimiliano Iorio, were tipped off about what is now their standout, 130sq m home in Goncourt, close to the Saint-Martin canal, by friend, neighbour and designer Mattali Crasset.
“As soon as we saw the place, we fell under its spell,” Iorio says. “We could see that, chaotic as it was, the space had the potential we had been desperately looking for.”
“The ground floor was bathed in light the day we went to see it,” Arriubergé adds, “and we knew in an instant that we had our dream space.”
By demolishing everything, including all the interior walls, then rebuilding and reconfiguring, the couple created a single, entirely open living area; they even added a garden. The objective was to show off the space’s vast scale and to offer uninterrupted views from all angles.
Arriubergé and Iorio enlisted Crasset to help with their ambitious project. “We wanted to build as little as possible,” Iorio says, “and the instructions we gave were clear: do not build internal walls, and instead organise this space by using light solutions and zones. We asked her to create furniture to complement the scale of the architecture.”
The central living area is more than 6m high, and the trio hatched a plan to build a soaring, wooden, cabin-like structure. “It’s such an open space, we wanted to root it with one strong element around which the other areas could naturally be organised,” Arriubergé says. The result is a triumph: a monumental, light, curved frame that sweeps from floor to ceiling, with partitioned shelving to display the couple’s art and ornaments. The first floor houses the bedroom and a balcony office; below it, at ground level, is a bathroom.
In contrast to the rigid wooden cabin, soft materials give the apartment a more homely feel. For privacy, a curtain can be pulled around the bedroom. Created by award-winning French designers the Bouroullec brothers, for Danish textile company Kvadrat, the curtain is deliberately undulating and organic. It creeps along the wall between the office and living area, and acts as a fluid partition. “The idea was to gently envelope the area and make it feel like the most beautiful blanket,” Arriubergé says.
Beyond blending natural wood with textiles and polished concrete stairs, there are delightful touches of colour as well, from vivid turquoise highlights around the bathroom to the saturated green of the bedroom curtains. A pastel pink resin floor adds subtlety. “It’s a place to withdraw to and recharge,” Arriubergé says. “We attach great importance to colour. Often one thinks about the materials first and then about colour, but that’s not for us.”
Outside, through large, full-height, steel-framed, bi-folding bay windows, the couple have created another living space: a garden. “We designed the terrace to be the same level as the interior floor,” Arriubergé says, “so the space flows from inside to out. In summer, it feels like we’re adding 40 square metres of open air in the most seamless way.” Decking, potted plants of varying sizes, and creeping foliage to disguise a concrete wall combine to turn the garden into something of a hidden treasure.
Inside, design pieces and art are key to the personality of this Paris home; the couple are avid collectors. “We were both raised by families who love antiques,” Iorio says, “but we’re more interested in contemporary objects. We love the work of the new wave of designers, including French furniture maker Inga Sempé [who designs for Moustache and created the blue sofa in the apartment], young Dutch product designer Wieki Somers, lighting and product designer Bertjan Pot, and young Italian duo Formafantasma, who are known for their highly experimental approach.”
“The apartment shows how we think about new solutions for modern living,” Arriubergé says. Colour is always part of that solution, which is what makes their innovative use of space instructive for more conventional open-plan living. Bright, mismatched dining chairs or a royal blue sofa provide shots of colour; strong shades offset by soft pastels balance each other out. “We don’t use colour as an afterthought. We treat it as a material. It always comes first.”
Stéphane Arriubergé’s house rules
Most prized possession? Cincinato, my 17-year-old black cat.
Biggest extravagance? Having a view from the bathroom into the living room.
Favourite spot? From the sofa, I gaze at the restless sky of Paris.
Dream home? If this place had a bigger outdoor space, I could live here until the end.
Best design decision? Not building walls – the space is always open.
• Follow Becky Sunshine on Twitter.
