Ramy Fischler: “The Place de Colombie apartment in Paris’ 16th arrondissement is my first solo foray into the world of interior design following ten years working with the designer Patrick Jouin and time at Villa Medicis in Rome. Since returning to Paris, I’ve been using an eclectic approach to design by fusing art, industry, craftsmanship, fantasy and reality. Interior design – or should I say decorative arts? – plays a key role in bringing harmony and evolution to my work.”
“It drives creative growth and experimentation in a world where concepts that are so vital to our profession are becoming harder and harder to preserve. To me, designing an apartment or house is like running a research laboratory in that lots of different expertise works together to produce a unique piece that everyone has a part in. The Place de Colombie apartment is the result of a group of ideas and talents coming together as one. ”
“A chance encounter with the lucky owners formed the foundation of this 350m² worksite on the ground floor of a listed building named after its architect, “Walter”. Better known for his social housing and hospitals, Jean Walter designed this luxury Art Deco garden city in the 30s. The apartment has two floors, a garden and direct street access – a unique privilege for the building undoubtedly approved because of the former owner’s notoriety. The latter left the apartment period woodwork covering the walls in the living room and dining room.”
“We have restored this woodwork and the Versailles parquet flooring that covers the fore section of the apartment. This prestigious pied à terre embodies Paris, is imbued with its history, respects its past yet is deeply rooted in the present and almost avant-garde in nature. The result? A delicate piece of composition and harmony, a concept that is classic, subtle, unexpected and even surprising at times.”
“From the hallway to the kitchen, each space can be read like a chapter in a novel working its aesthetic and sensorial vocabulary without glossing over its technical feats or previous uncertainties: from the creation of the lacquered plaster shutter as if frozen in time and living room wall features that transform into a ceiling that then metamorphoses into a light. A few additional lights in the living room, a range of furniture tailor-made for the premises surrounding a bespoke semi-circular lacquered coffee table like the dining table.”
“In the walk-in wardrobe – between the dining room, bathroom and long corridor to the kitchen – the wood parquet floor turns into engraved white paving finished with a thin layer of shiny and clear resin used in the apartment’s bathrooms. The atmosphere changes when you go down from the living room to the ground floor with garden views. Dutch silkscreen prints on wood conceal a desk or a suitcase whilst the fireplace shares a large sculpted setting with a TV hidden behind a mirror.”
“The bedroom in this little suite opens onto the lounge and is enclosed by thick padded wall panels. Two bespoke bedside tables in moulded wood stand on either side of the bed.”
Info and images © Ramy Fischler
