Waking up in Paris…there’s an unspoken magic to it…
especially when the morning light streaming through your bedroom window…
mimics the sunset you witnessed the evening before.
This is the window in Haleigh’s dreamy bedroom…when she saw that she could peel off a portion of the living room and create her new bedroom complete with a fabulous window her decision was final.
And while she chose to locate her closet in what had been the old kitchen…she did place a clothes rack in the bedroom to hold some of her fun and favorite pieces.
And once she painted the original black top on this piece from a Paris Flea Market in a sweet shade of bubblegum pink…
it became the perfect little lingerie chest.
The bed looks a bit small in the angle of this shot, but it is actually a full size.
and because the “messy bed” is a trend in photo-styling…
just thought I’d give you a look at the way the bed looks most of the time…busy girl with a busy Parisian life.
You may remember the beautiful “wedding cake” ceiling in Haleigh’s last apartment.
The architectural elements in this apartment are very different with its rough hewn beams. In this building, Haleigh’s apartment is the entire top floor. I have been told that when this building was a single family home, that the top floor is where the servants would have lived and that the lower floors would have had the fancier ceilings. The great thing about being on the top floor is that there is the potential to bump up a mezzanine floor in the future and take advantage of the attic space where grain and other provisions would have been stored. It may be a couple of years, but if she goes forward with the upper expansion, I am already fantasizing about discovering forgotten treasures and a huge pile of antique grain sacks in this now unaccessed space.
You may remember seeing a photo in a prior post of Haleigh with this little mirrored beauty sitting next to her on the Metro…we had just found it at our favorite Flea Market and I made it an early birthday present for her.
This vintage lamp hangs just above the mirrored chest…
and both are right next to the door leading back out the the living room. I love all of the little glam flourishes she added here and there.
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I always have to laugh when people…most of whom have not spent much time in France…go on an on about what fabulous taste the French have. While it is never a good idea to generalize, it makes me even crazier when in the next breath they rail on their fellow Americans claiming that we have inferior taste. If you have ever shopped for real estate in France…even in Paris…I am sure you will agree that being French does not automatically qualify one for the good taste award.
I am sure the prior owner of this apartment would be astounded at the changes that have been made. Here is the former bedroom where Haleigh installed the new kitchen, tore down a wall and opened it to the living space. Time and resources were not an issue for the former owner…she lived her for more than 15 years and was a successful professional…and oh yes, she is French.
And this is the end of the original living room that became the new bedroom…have to say that I do love the mirror…
This is the portion of the living room that has remained and you can see how the furniture was just lined up around the walls…looks like a dance floor…and this is how it looks now
after…
and after.
This is the former kitchen…or more precisely kitchenette…no real oven or full size refrigerator…and all it took was a 22 year old American girl with no formal training in interior design to envision it as a walk-in closet.
Up the small staircase…Haleigh painted the floor Ladurée green, installed open shelving…
hanging poles…covered storage cupboards…
and even a built-in laundry hamper where the kitchen sink once stood.
Another great feature for any closet is natural light…and a skylight floods this one with lots of lovely Paris light.
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Good taste really has nothing to do with age, place of origin or financial resources. You either have it, or you don’t. I won’t rest my case quite yet…wait until I show you the bathroom transformation.
