INTO THE WOODS

A Paris apartment’s 1980s-era oak paneling forms a buttoned-up backdrop to—and sly foil for—eclectic, artful interiors by Hauvette & Madani

text: ian phillips photography: michel figuet/living inside styling: elen pouhaër

If there is one material the Parisian interior design duo Samantha Hauvette and Lucas Madani loves more than any other, it is wood. “Each time we do a new project, we always try to find a new type,” Madani says. In recent times, they have developed a particular passion for stained, varnished maple. “It reminds us of walnut burl,” Hauvette explains. Whatever the variety, they are mostly drawn to the interesting forms of the grain. “We don’t use many colors or patterns in our work, and wood allows us to create interiors that sing,” she adds.

Thus, in many ways, this 1,720-square-foot duplex apartment for repeat clients, a young family, in Paris’s tony 16th arrondissement was something of a godsend. Located on the top two floors of a rather commonplace 1980s building, it was decorated by its original owners in a distinctly Art Deco style and clad almost entirely in oak paneling. The lower level is home to not only the public spaces but also two bedrooms and two bathrooms; up above is a reading space on a mezzanine and a parental suite that opens directly onto a 215-square-foot terrace.

Over the decades, the wood veneer had lost something of its luster as well as its original color. “The apartment itself is very light and had been bleached by the sun over the course of nearly 40 years,” Madani notes. For the designers, there was no discussion about whether the oak should be kept. Miraculously, they managed to salvage all of the panels, sanding and then staining them a dark chestnut hue. “We love to use wood in tones that are not so obvious,” Hauvette asserts.

Due to their decision to maintain the paneling, few structural changes could be made. The pair simply removed a sliding partition

Previous spread, left: A vintage Michel Boyer coffee table and Warren Platner chair echo the curly brass banister of the mezzanine, which also hosts the building’s elevator shaft. Previous spread, right: Rattan sconces illuminate the entry hall’s custom Charlotte Perriand–inspired oak console, garnished with an India Mahdavi ceramic vase. Top left: A work by Carlos Cruz-Diez hangs above the sitting room’s vintage painted-wood André Sornay console, with an Iris Totem light sculpture by Audrey Guimard and Marie Jeunet. Top right: Nearby sits a Bouroullec Brothers Facett sofa and a 1980s Pierre Paulin Groovy armchair. Bottom: The sitting room’s original built-in oak shelving hosts a collection of ceramics and objects by artisans including Studio Floris Wubben, Ludovic Roth, Charlyn Reyes, and Simone Bodmer-Turner. Opposite: Beside a floor lamp with cotton shade and Ceppo Lombardo stone base, India Mahdavi’s stool accompanies a 1970s brass-and-glass bar trolley.

between the dining room and kitchen. Most of the architectural elements also predate their intervention, whether it be the cursive brass staircase banister, the marble-andbrick fireplace, or the building’s elevator shaft whose cubelike top pops up next to the mezzanine. Among the few modifications they made to the interior envelope are the trumeau mirror in the sitting room and a full makeover of the primary bathroom, with its new 1930s-style oak vanity.

Rather fittingly, one of the duo’s greatest design inspirations is Art Deco maestro JeanMichel Frank. Others include the Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby movieHigh Society and the spirit of the Seventies. “We don’t necessarily like objects in orange plastic,” Madani points out. “It’s more the approach to lifestyle and the freedom we associate with the decade.” One designer whose work they were particularly keen to integrate was Pierre Paulin—an alumnus of the prestigious École Camondo in Top left: The kitchen walls were Paris, where Hauvette and Madani first met as stucustom painted by Paris-based duo Redfield & Dattner. Top right: A Baba cushion by Emmanuelle dents. They set up their Simon accents the sitting room eponymous practice in sofa. Center left: An enamelled 2010 shortly after gradua- ceramic dish by Claire de Lavallée tion. “We love the curves graces the dining room’s oak-top of Paulin’s furniture and table by Heerenhuis. Center right: his irreverence,” Madani A vintage Aldo Tura coffee table in lacquered parchment hosts enthuses. “He created ceramics by Brielle Rovito in the forms that had never been sitting room. Bottom left: On seen before.” Shapes that the kitchen’s Calacatta marble provide a perfect counter- countertop sits a Jacques point to the more rigid, Laroussinie ceramic teapot. rectilinear nature of the Bottom right: Ceramics by Abid Javed have pride of place on the apartment’s shell. sitting room shelving.

The notion of contrast is Opposite: An Isamu Noguchi paper inherent to Hauvette & pendant brightens the dining room, Madani’s work in general. where the homeowners sit on One word that constantly Fratelli Levaggi–crafted Chiavari crops up in conversation chairs; Services Généraux designed with them iséquilibre— the resin vase. French forequilibrium. They achieve that balance partly by combining furniture from different eras—not an original concept per se, but they do so with particular flair, creating intriguing juxtapositions and dialogues between different pieces. “Sometimes we even take pieces that don’t look so great solo, but they really come into their own once they’re combined in the right way,” Madani notes.

In the sitting room, a painted-wood vintage console by André Sornay converses with Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s angular Facett sofa, while a parchment-clad ’70s cocktail table by Aldo Tura sits on a traditional Mauritanian reed-and-leather rug. One of the apartment’s most bravura gestures, meanwhile, is perhaps one of the simplest: the huge Isamu Noguchi paper pendant over the dining room table. “We tried lots of other things beforehand and they sort of just

disappeared,” Hauvette recalls. “We needed something that was both large and light in order not to weigh down the atmosphere. The wood paneling is already very present.”

Pale tones throughout help to freshen things up further. A cool blue was chosen for the main bedroom. The décor in the small kitchen, a moodier tone of blue, was created in collaboration with the Parisian decorative painters Austin Redfield Tondini and Violette Bonis Dattner, who are famous for their custom patinated finishes. “There’s something a little dated to their creations,” Madani asserts. “They give the impression they’ve been there forever, which is exactly what we were looking for. We hate interiors that look spick-and-span, extremely new. Once we hand over the keys to each of our projects, the goal is for people to imagine,This is how things have always been.”

Top left: Above the primary bedroom’s circa-1970 oak-and-steel desk is an alabaster Fly Gaby sconce designed by Hauvette & Madani. Top right: An oiled solid-oak bookshelf by Atelier Areti stands in the mezzanine. Bottom: In the primary bathroom, Emperador marble tops the custom vanity of striated oak; the pine stool is by Andreas Martin-Löf Arkitekter. Opposite: The primary bedroom’s cotton-wool-blend rug was conceived by Roberto Sironi and Mariantonia Urru and the swing-arm sconce by Jean Prouvé; the headboard is woven cane.

PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT THROUGH TWENTY FIRST GALLERY: CERAMIC PLATE (MEZZANINE). ATELIER ARETI: BOOKSHELF. SERVOMUTO: SCONCES (ENTRY); FLOOR LAMP (SITTING ROOM). INDIA MAHDAVI: VASE (ENTRY). THROUGH VALERIE GOODMAN GALLERY: CERAMIC DISHES (ENTRY, DINING ROOM). WEVER & DUCRÉ: SCONCES (SITTING ROOM). THROUGH GALERIE PHILIA: LIGHT SCULPTURE. LIGNE ROSET: SOFA. THROUGH THE INVISIBLE COLLECTION: ACCENT PILLOW. DUST AND FORM THROUGH BOON: WHITE CERAMICS. THROUGH GALERIE NEGROPONTES: CANDLESTICKS. MONOPRIX: STOOL. SHUT UP AND RELAX THROUGH BOON: JUG. ABID JAVED THROUGH BOON: VASE, MONOLITH. MAISON DE VACANCES: ARMCHAIR FABRIC (SITTING ROOM); BLANKET, PILLOWS (BEDROOM). THROUGH LE VIDE DRESSING D’UNE PARISIENNE: VINTAGE WOOD BOWL (SITTING ROOM); TEAPOT (KITCHEN). REDFIELD & DATTNER: CUSTOM PAINTING (KITCHEN). HEERENHUIS: TABLE (DINING ROOM). FRATELLI LEVAGGI: CHAIRS (DINING ROOM, BEDROOM). THROUGH THEOREME EDITIONS: VASE (DINING ROOM). THROUGH GALERIE MCDE: SCONCE (BEDROOM). CASSIOM: SCULPTURES. COULEUR CHANVRE: BED LINENS. PRETZIADA THROUGH BOON: RUG. THE SOCIALITE FAMILY: HEADBOARD. DCW ÉDITIONS: MIRRORMOUNT SCONCE. VITRA: SWING-ARM SCONCE. ASTRO LIGHTING: SCONCES (BATHROOM). JEAN ROGER THROUGH THE INVISIBLE COLLECTION: CANDLESTICK. FRAMA: STOOL. THROUGHOUT THROUGH GALERIE FRANÇAISE: ARTWORK. TRUDON: CANDLES.