When interior designers Pierre Emanuel Martin and Stéphane Garotin moved into their new apartment in an historic district of the French city of Lyon, they faced a significant design challenge: it hadn’t been decorated in many years and was in their words “in a dreadful state … the utterly basic kitchen was separated from the bathroom by only a plastic curtain”.
Luckily the apartment had several wonderful features in its favour—an abundance of natural light thanks to large south-facing windows and an internal courtyard; magnificent parquet floors; exquisite mouldings and original wood panelling.
In complete contrast to their previous apartment which was dramatically dark and enveloping, the designers decided to keep their new apartment light and ethereal to evoke a feeling of serenity, while allowing the period features to take centre stage.
They chose elegant pale grey as a backdrop upon which they layered neutral tones, keeping pattern to a minimum. They used white marble in the bathroom and for the waterfall island in the kitchen, which continues the restrained palette of materials while adding an elegant finish and subtle detailing.
As a counterpoint to the classic 19th Century fabric of the apartment, the pair have chosen mostly modern furniture and lighting. The juxtaposition of contemporary with classic is beautifully considered and adds a depth of sophistication to the entire space.
Click through to see more of this thoughtfully balanced design and notice how the elements play off each other as notes do in a beautifully composed piece of music . . . —Louise
Images: All via Vogue Living