bonapartconsultingparis

Outfitting a Parisian apartment

From Curbed/Gridskipper.... Readers are always asking me where to go to outfit their Paris apartments, apart from the ubiquitous IKEA and everyone's one-stop shopping emporium, the venerable BHV (Editor's note - even the staff inform us it's a rip off but it's handy right in the centre of town I suppose). The number of Parisian home decor stores can be overwhelming in scope, style, and price. But there are a number of specialty shops around Paris where you can find your desired object, be it a light fixture or a couch or the perfect shade of paint, in multiple if stylishly edited propositions.

Paris Design Shows and Salons

Whether you're interested in contemporary design or you're just looking to replace your old coffee table, these resources provide an "all you need" guide for interior designing.

See I V Y paris' updated Calendar for Events

Maison et Objet PARIS~Resources for the design and construction~

Puces du Design~Vintage 50's and 60's furniture collections~

Designer's Days~An annual event in Paris promoting industrial design~

Salon du Meuble~

Foire de Paris~A massive trade shows for home improvement~

Renovation reflections

I always like to check in with clients after they have their keys and I am very excited to see the make-over of an apartment I sourced for a US businessman last year. The objective was to find a two bedroom, two bathroom property which would then be given a high-end renovation to prepare it to be rented out with a luxury vacation company.

Photos here are not of this particular apartment but serve as an example of some kitchen and bathroom disaster areas.

Two bedroom/two bathroom properties are highly sought after in this marketplace especialy if the are equipped to "US standards" (I could add UK standards too!). Clients are often shocked to see the state of kitchens and bathrooms in Paris apartments, even those on sale by the so-called luxury agencies such as Daniel Feau. Ninety percent of the time, to achieve the required finish, everything needs to be completely ripped out.

My personal pet peeve is apartments that have been - "entirely re-done" - in bad taste with yucky materials. Many owners aspire to finding a foreign buyer (cue pupils rotating with $$$) and think if they provide a ready-to-move-in apartment someone will buy it off the shelf - sometimes they are even complete with all furniture and fittings. Suffice to say we have never had a client buy one of these "fast-food" style apartments because they usually represent terribly poor value for money and an ugly re-fit job to boot. In fact, I don't know who actually does buy them!

I was interested to read comments from the aforementioned owner of the apartment in the Marais - wise words a few months down the line:

"The only thing I would change in my search if I were to do it over again, would be to better recognize that after purchase, the apartment is going to be torn down completely inside so the current condition/layout almost doesn't matter. The only things that matters are things one can't change like view, elevator, location, square meters, interior walls protected by Syndic, etc. The all in cost is quite a lot, but I think Paris real estate values will catch up to what is invested someday, but perhaps not right away. I think the reality is that you can't just easily buy an apartment in the finished condition that this one will be in when redecorated, so pricing is hard to compare."