Based in Paris and London, Interior designer Guillaume Alan is a master at filling spaces, not with fixtures and furnishings as one might expect, but with light. Indeed, Alan’s Kennedy Apartment in Paris is expert demonstration of using the quiet interplay of light and shadow to bring the best of the architectural and furniture elements, creating a minimalist’s dream house in the process.
Guillaume Alan’s Kennedy Apartment Paris is a Minimalist’s Dream House
Guillaume Alan’s Kennedy Apartment is a terrace penthouse with views on the Seine and Eiffel Tower but one could argue, the best views are within, thanks to Alan’s deft monochromatic palette. The brief was simple and to an amateur, perhaps all but impossible to execute but Guillaume Alan handles the Kennedy Apartment’s owners high requirements with much aplomb: turn the Hausmannian apartment into something unique, no design cliches like feature walls and most importantly, make ample use of natural lighting which the penthouse provides.
If you’re wondering what makes Paris uniquely Paris, Georges-Eugène Haussmann (for which the architectural style is named) was commissioned by Emperor Napoléon III to overhaul the French capital city in the 19th century, clear it of of medieval overcrowded medieval slums and sewage which French social reformer Victor Considerant once commented: “Paris is an immense workshop of putrefaction, where misery, pestilence and sickness work in concert, where sunlight and air rarely penetrate. Paris is a terrible place where plants shrivel and perish, and where, of seven small infants, four die during the course of the year.” It was no exaggeration, the street plan on the Île de la Cité and the quartier des Arcis neighbourhood, between the Louvre and the “Hôtel de Ville” (City Hall), was little changed since the Middle Ages. Thus, Paris’ unique “openness” is the result of on the Emperor’s own orders to Haussmann on 29 June to aérer, unifier, et embellir Paris: “to give it air and open space, to connect and unify the different parts of the city into one whole” likely the inspiration for Guillaume Alan’s own transformation of Kennedy Apartment Paris given the lavish amounts of open space and airiness.
The 20+ year veteran interior designer kept it simple, the beauty of French classicism exemplified by the traditional arches with the modern colour palette of light grey or off-white, punctuated off and on with dark furnishings, a bespoke painting here and there, the warmth of oak wood flooring and natural linen rugs and the detailed embellishments of leather, silk, wool to compliment the monochrome tones – it would be zen minimalist, except it has too much warmth, depth, and texture.
Guillaume Alan’s Kennedy Apartment Paris may look Neo-European to uncultured eyes but he has skilfully and unobtrusively incorporated elements of the exotic Far East into his interior repertoire – table lights inspired by old Chinese lanterns and Ming period Tao dining armchairs, all against a backdrop of marble, wood and bronze – this is the pinnacle of sophistication.
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