Dwell 2015 09

dwellings
“The only remaining doors are the one for the
bathroom and a glass one for my bedroom, upstairs.”
The windows on three sides of the main floor now
flood the space with light. “I can position myself
in any corner of the apartment, and I have a variety
of views,” he says. “The very cool thing about this
flat is that it’s surrounded by little gardens. It’s rather
unusual to have such a panorama in Paris. The
main facade is on the south. The light always changes,
and this is why I bought this place, because it’s
so well oriented.”
One renovation challenge was creating a coat closet
that wouldn’t obstruct light to the kitchen. “I didn’t
want something angular,” Roche says, “because I knew
that I would constantly walk around it. I didn’t want to
see edges.” Instead, he used approximately 120 red
bungee cords to create a semipermeable space that not
only stores coats and shoes, but photos and postcards,
as well, tucked into the cords for display. “Originally, I
wanted to do something in red Plexiglas, but it got very
complicated,” he says. “So I just simplified the idea.”
One trick Roche employs is a bold use of color.
The red of the coat-storage cords matches the walls of
the adjacent dining area, where a vintage steel 1960s
Warren Platner table and chairs and an antique
Italian cabinet in rosewood are housed. In the kitchen
and bathroom, he used colorful mosaic tiles to
create simplistic designs—numbers, animals, biblical
scenes—inspired by children’s books. Another strategy
Roche uses is color blocking on ceilings, such as a
light pink over part of the living room, to help define
space. One recurring hue is a pastel blue, used
on part of the building’s exterior as well as on the
bedroom ceiling. “Half of the attic’s ceiling is painted
blue, and the other side is a light beige,” he says. His
bed is one of his favorite discoveries, a suede-covered
French piece, designer unknown. “I found it in a
Brussels flea market. It’s sort of a James Bond bed—
with an ashtray, little boxes to store things, a radio, and
lights,” he says joyfully. “It’s really extraordinary.”
A ladder leads to a guest room
in the attic (left). The strikingblue
bedroom dresser was
part of a modular storage
system installed by the previous
owner. Antique tea and
chocolate pots are juxtaposed
with a 1930s painting by
Jacques Villon, Marcel
Duchamp’s brother (below).
Roche found his suede-covered
bed at a Belgian flea market
(opposite). Roche’s grandfather
commissioned the screen,
which has a black-and-white
maple-leaf motif, in the 1950s.
“I’ve always collected many
items, from the most stupid things
to the most interesting ones.”
—Nicolas Roche, resident
106 SEPTEMBER 2015 DWELL