How to Turn Your Apartment Into a Parisian Flat

Experience the life in Paris without moving to France.

Jun 29, 2013
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Image via Complex Original

With June nearly behind us, perhaps it's time for some remodeling. Hopefully your apartment already looks a little snazzier with updated linens and new paint. But think, where in the world are the most stylish and ritzy apartments, not to mention the birthplace of some of the world's best designers, architects, and, well, Le Corbusier?  

Unfortunately, we can't all live in Paris. We can, however, pretend. So if you're ready for a new crib, here's How to Turn Your Apartment into a Parisian Flat, with help from Danielle Miller's New Paris Style and some of Richard Powers' gorgeous photographs.  

Images via New Paris Style, by Danielle Miller, photographed by Richard Powers, published by Thames & Hudson, 2012.

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Declutter and Keep It Simple

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De-clutter and Keep It Simple

As with many things in life, minimalism is the way to go, especially when it comes to Parisian flats. "There's a fine balance between sophistication and simplicity, which is very much the Parisian style," claims Sarah Lavoine, an esteemed interior designer who lives in a self-fashioned home (which boasts gorgeous views of The Louvre and The Tuileries Garden!)

For starters, clean out your apartment. Toss out anything that's in excess, whether it's a pile of coffee table books you never read or a heinous lamp you feel bad throwing out. A Parisian flat is no place for ugly lamps.

(p. 24)

image via Richard Powers

Be Picky about Decor Items and Group Them Together!

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Be Picky about Decor Items and Group Them Together!

To achieve that balance of sophistication and simplicity, you must be picky about what you display in your humble abode. Remove the little objects collecting dust on your tabletops. Reevaluate the artwork hanging on your wall, and take down the pieces people pass by without a glance.

For Lavoine, everything in her flat has been carefully thought out, each object revealing a bit of the designer's personality and taste. In her sitting room, there's a painting by French artist Fabrice Hyber, a sculpture of a over-sized, cartoonish panda by Chinese artist Jiji, and even a cluster of tea-light holders designed by Lavoine herself.

After you've selected your key pieces, group them together. It looks much better to have a small collection of trinkets and frames in a group than scattered randomly across your apartment.

(p. 24)

image via Richard Powers

Coordinate Your Colors. Introduce a Shade of Black.

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Coordinate Your Colors. Introduce a Shade of Black.

Lavoine, who's big on colors wanted to "loosen up" and "deconstruct" the uniformity in her room. The interior designer created and splashed a shade of jaune-tournesol (or sunflower-yellow) onto her dining room walls, balancing it out with linear bands of black and white to create walls reminiscent of a Piet Mondrian painting.

Just as black is the go-to color for the typical New Yorker, it's also the unifying hue in a Parisian flat. Remember to introduce a bit of black into your apartment, but do it subtly without darkening the room or altering its atmosphere. Instead, add a touch of the color on accented walls or the trim of shelves and tables. Black picture frames and key pieces of furniture like Lavoine's bronze side table by Hubert Le Gall, pictured below, work too.

(p. 24)

image via Richard Powers

Make Room. Open Spaces Are Good.

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Make Room. Open Spaces Are Good.

This goes without saying, but you don't want your apartment to feel crowded. When emulating a Parisian flat, which is usually spacious, airy, and simultaneously strewn with bric-a-brac and flea-market finds, don't go overboard with decorating. Be sure to make space inside your home.

Where you have decor and color, you also need "room to pause," something on which to rest your eyes.

Arranging your furniture centrally like Lavoine does in the image above will give even a small room a feeling of openness. Instead of trying to add personality to every shelf or table, spruce up a lonely corner or mantelpiece.

(p. 24)

image via Richard Powers

Imitate French Windows

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Imitate French Windows

How we'd love to have French windows that open up onto a terrace with a view of the Eiffel Tower! For those who don't have French or even large windows, you can cheat a bit by purchasing a set of fancy, velvet curtains that extend a few inches past the bottom of your window. Hang a pelmet (the covering that hides the curtain rod) above the frame of the window to make it appear larger than it really is.

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Think Marie Antoinette

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Think Marie Antoinette

When it comes to most beautiful and bad ass, scandal-ridden monarch, Marie Antoinette had only the best in that old palace of Versailles. Swap plain old picture frames and mirrors for ornate ones. If possible, embellish your walls and furniture with a lot of moulding. If you're tired of paint, settle for brocade wallpaper.

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For Furniture, Go with Vintage.

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For Furniture, Go with Vintage.

These days, the typical Parisian flat takes the classic French look and intermixes it with some vintage or throwback goods for a retro charm. Just take it from Vincent Frey, head of French fabric company Pierre Frey, and his partner, fashion stylist Bianca Lee Vasquez. They decked their home out with 1970s lounge chairs, retro lamps, and Italian bedside tables also from the '70s.

(p. 15-21)

images via Richard Powers

But Don't Be Afraid to Mix Modern with Vintage

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But Don't Be Afraid to Mix Modern with Vintage

"Good taste comes from knowing how to mix pieces from different eras in a way that is interesting and elegant," according to French designer Ora-Ito, who is known for his futuristic designs. Somehow, he manages to sit a suit of Samurai armor behind a "Sexy Relaxy Chair" by Richard Hutten and makes it look awesome. Don't be afraid to experiment, mixing classic Haussmann-era design with contemporary pieces. The new Parisian flat is supposed to be eclectic and fun.

(p. 8; 50)

image via Richard Powers

Put Beveled Mirrors in Your Bathroom

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Put Beveled Mirrors in Your Bathroom

Art Deco was all the rage in Paris during the 1920s, eventually spreading to the rest of the world decades later. Channel the design style with fancy beveled mirrors like the one above, and place them in your bathroom. Take a bubble bath, and chain smoke all day. You'll feel like you're in France in no time.

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You Can't Go Wrong with Anything Le Corbusier

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You Can't Go Wrong with Anything Le Corbusier

Kanye West knows, heralding a lamp by the French designer as his "greatest inspiration" for Yeezus. Get like Kanye, and fill your apartment with some Le Corbusier-inspired lounge chairs or sofas 'cause let's be real... if we had the money to buy a Le Corbusier, we'd be in Paris right now.

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