Combining Apartments to Gain Space: An Architect's Family Duplex in Paris

"Whenever we ask architects if we can see where they live, the response is invariably: "My place? Let's just say it's a work in progress." Followed by: "You know the expression about the shoemaker having no shoes?" Paris architect Camille Hermand is one of the brave few to open her doors to us. Hermand has a degree from Paris's École Spéciale d'Architecture and runs her own five-person firm specializing in residential architecture and interior design."

"The 1,400 square-foot apartment is set on the first two floors of a timber-framed 19th-century building in the heart of the Marais. The ground floor was originally a little grocery, then a mini market, and, starting in the 1970s, a wholesale jewelry boutique before Hermand took it over. The sofa and velvet cushions are from Paris favorite Caravane. The woven rush armchair is by Le Déan Prieur"

Camille Hermand, a Paris architect with a degree from École Spéciale d'Architecture, runs a five-person firm specializing in residential architecture and interior design. She lives in the Marais with her children Madeleine, Adelaide, and Honoré in a 1,400 square-foot duplex occupying the first two floors of a timber-framed 19th-century building. She transformed the space by converting her former office and the apartment above into a bohemian, experimental family duplex. The ground floor previously housed a grocery, mini market, and later a wholesale jewelry boutique before she took it over. Furnishings include a Caravane sofa, a woven rush armchair by Le Déan Prieur, and a daybed from Retour de Chine with custom cushions. A shade, awning, and café curtain combination preserves the view and light while softening the street presence.

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