Fall in love with this Paris apartment

Close to Avenue George V, one of the most elegant thoroughfares in Paris, you will find Onze Magellan. This turnkey apartment in the 8th arrondissement, which fuses refined French style with global design influences, is a splendid space – made sumptuous in a recent remodelling by the acclaimed interior architect Fabrice Juan.

The 3,013 sq ft apartment, on the fifth floor of an original Haussmann building with an ornate façade, is just a short stroll from the couture houses of Avenue Montaigne. And Juan, who trained as a carpenter before becoming an interior architect and designer, is known for his love of couture craftsmanship – it informs his design aesthetic, which is rich in beautiful, luxurious materials.

In this apartment, available for sale through Savills, Juan honours the neoclassical heritage of the building while incorporating the theatricality of Art Deco motifs, a 1970s spirit and what he calls a “Latin mood”. The result is indisputably elegant, but also playfully unexpected. “While the grand salon still featured its historical elements, the other rooms didn’t, which allowed me to recreate decorative details as I wished,” Juan explains. “I did this, for example, with the mouldings, which resemble boudin [a type of sausage], and the walls of fabric and ribbon.”

Another of the delights of working on this apartment was its scale. “It’s special because of the size of the rooms,” Juan says. “The living room, with its high vaulted ceiling and original details, but also the L-shaped central hallway, which is the axis of the apartment and brings in the light.”

The hallway is certainly arresting, with soft terracotta walls highlighting petroleum black woodwork. Doors have been removed to accentuate the sense of openness, and the floor is a spectacular mosaic of oak parquet with limestone and travertine inlays. “I wanted it to be very graphic,” says Juan, “with the diagonal pattern accentuating the sense of perspective.”

The hallway links the apartment’s two main living areas, both statement spaces. To the right is the salon, with the original veined-marble fireplaces and cornicing. Juan has treated the vaulted ceiling like a fresco, painting it with pale marmorino plaster, which creates a softly textured, almost dreamlike look. Juxtaposed with the white cornicing, it accentuates the 13ft height of the room.

Floor-to-ceiling doors open onto a long balcony with a traditional wrought-iron balustrade. The room is bathed in light, accentuating a bold colour palette of yellow, ochre and black, echoed in the sumptuous rug on the herringbone parquet floor.

That rug is a backdrop to a pair of curvy Odyssey armchairs and two arching Glove sofas, all designed by Juan. Throughout, artworks selected by the designer decorate the walls, some adding a splash of colour, others texture or striking shapes.

From the salon you can see the magnificent kitchen, which was originally at the back of the apartment, but now sits at its heart, reflecting the importance this space occupies in modern life. Custom-made cabinets and work surfaces in oak and marble, with red lacquer accents, surround an island made of brushed steel, with a red travertine worktop. Taking up one side of the room is a bespoke banquette from Juan’s Saint-Germain collection, a decadent piece designed for lounging as well as eating. It sums up the style of the room, and indeed the apartment, which is all about combining functionality and style.

Two of the four bedrooms are principal suites reached by corridors decorated with papyrus-leaf wallpaper. The rooms are tactile, with plush carpeting: private spaces that feel a world away from the bustle on the street below.

For a sense of connection between the rooms, Juan used grosgrain ribbon to create patterns on the wall. “It’s like a fashion accessory you might find on a ballgown, the lapel of a tuxedo jacket or the edge of a straw hat,” he says. In one room the ribbon echoes 19th-century wall panelling, in others it is used horizontally or diagonally to create varying shapes.

“With this apartment, I took time to design every decorative element – it is details such as these that make a difference,” Juan says. And it shows.

Onze Magellan is available for sale. Contact Alice Storrie for further information: astorrie@savills.com

Fabrice Juan

Pictures from top: the light-filled salon; views down the bold hallway; statement furniture stands out in the dining room; master bedroom (all images by @francisamiand)