This is Paris, one of the most evocative and charming historical places in the French capital: Montmartre hill. A district brimming with art and history, whose streets are bordered by extraordinary Liberty style houses and impressive 19th Century buildings.
It is specifically in one of these prestigious dwellings, just a stone’s throw from the world-famous Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur, that a young French manager decided to set up home.
The house, with its exposed brick façade, is two storeys high and extremely bright and quiet. Indeed, it overlooks a silent internal tree-lined courtyard and a small impeccably manicured private garden.
A new life for an old exposed brick architecture
The home owner, who is passionate about art and cooking, wanted to transform her house radically to suit her own individual needs as soon as she purchased it. The bedrooms are situated on the upper floor while the kitchen and living room take up the generously sized double-height ground floor. In particular, she wanted to create a very large, bright, fully accessorised and functional kitchen. A welcoming and relaxing place to cook and at the same time unwind.
The project was achieved in partnership with her trusted architect, who was able to transform the owner’s ambitious needs into a reality.
The request was in fact no easy feat since the house was originally divided up into a large number of small rooms. But the result literally leaves you speechless!
The architect’s first task was to knock down all the dividing walls to create as large and bright a ground floor as possible. For structural reasons, only the load-bearing pillars were left in place. The designer’s great creativity succeeded in transforming them into scenic backdrops with a theatrical show-stopping effect.
The front door leads guests directly into the living room, which is overlooked by the mezzanine study. At the back is the extremely bright kitchen area. To expand the space and give the worktop even more light, the architect created a veranda structure that extends towards the private garden.
When the refurbishment work was complete, the only task left was to sort out the furniture. A minimal style was picked for this home, comprising a handful of elements with a strong visual impact. Everything is embellished by works of art collected by the owner and a series of Murano glass lamps which belonged to an old bank.
The large Abimis kitchen overlooks greenery
When it came to make the 2 large, fully-equipped bespoke kitchens, designed specifically by the architect to accommodate the owner’s needs, the choice fell on Abimis. The designer was quite familiar with the brand, having previously already had several “custom made” Abimis kitchens built for other clients.
The plan was therefore for one large corner kitchen area consisting however of two different kitchens. Different not merely in function, but also in shape and finishes.
Abimis therefore produced both kitchens, which were fitted and joined together on-site.
The one installed against the wall is made entirely of stainless steel, including the top.
The second kitchen on the other hand, fitted with its back to the glazed wall and flooded with natural light thanks to the veranda, has a stainless steel core and a special Richilite® cladding. This is an innovative, extremely hard and waterproof material made from recycled, pressed paper. The top is in white enamelled slate.
The first kitchen – which has a more operational soul – is equipped with a large cooking area fitted with ovens, a hob, a teppanyaki hot plate and a hood that disappears completely into the top. For this area, the choice fell upon a kitchen from the Atelier collection, adapted for the occasion to the customer’s space and specific requirements.
The second one was instead built according to the architect’s design. Considering its privileged position with a beautiful view of the garden, the decision was made to equip it with a spacious worktop and a washing area.
Since the architect was quite familiar with the customisation abilities and painstaking care for details that have always distinguished Abimis kitchens, he “tied” together the two kitchens with a system of storage units and shelves that perfectly mirror the irregular silhouettes of the wall. What’s more, he wanted to create a functional area around one of the load-bearing pillars, behind the cooking area. For this space, he designed a stainless steel spice rack and a desk-shelf with an organic shape, also in stainless steel, which Abimis produced.
Two large kitchens that Abimis made “to measure” to satisfy the desires of a demanding gourmet aficionado, which were then translated into a design by Federico Masotto, one of the most creative Parisian architects.
