A Private Tour of Architect Emmanuelle Simon’s Paris Apartment, An Ode to Comfort

The feeling of well-being is immediate as soon as you open the door. Emmanuel Simon’s apartment will charm you. Because this interior architect and designer, who founded his agency in 2017, makes sure that his work creates sensations. Its 120 m², which is located in XX^e The Paris neighborhood does not shy away from this philosophy. From the moment you enter, you are enveloped in softness.

The eye, which is first attracted by the mosaic floor created by Delphine Mesmer, strewn with yellow flowers and patterns that cause ricochets, is then lost under an arch that seems to call it to a warm light.

Dilapidated workshop

“This former fur factory was never inhabited and was very dilapidated. But it had great advantages: very high ceilings and windows everywhere, facing the street, courtyards, and therefore generous, opaque light. It was all I needed, the blank page I was about to rebuild, wanting to find a balance between open reception areas and hidden intimate rooms. So the arch introduces an airlock that leads to the living room. It directs the visitor, calls for discoveries, causing a real physical reaction in the one who enters here,” emphasizes the woman who opened a second office in Madrid a year ago and now lives between France and Spain.

Therefore, nothing is left to chance. And the stay shows this attention to every detail. Spacious, it accommodates a living room area, dining room and kitchen. “The problem here was to create separate zones. I think the furniture itself is an architectural element and I played with it. Two large L-shaped sofas around the coffee table allow you to focus on the function of the living room. They demarcate the space just like the bookcase and the burnt wood look on these sofas. The dining room table is central. I wanted it to be really big to invite a lot of people and also work. It is all rounded like Baba’s chairs that surround it. Round is synonymous with comfort. An essential concept for me. I like soft too. And it can be seen from the textiles I have chosen.”

Landscapes included inside

The open kitchen disappears behind a sculptural stone island. “It has a Japanese feel with its two legs supporting the large tray, the edges of which have been grooved by hand. I like that we feel the master’s gesture in the material. When I use wood, it is treated with a burr, like on a large table, or rubbed to expose the veins. I attach great importance to the fact that things reveal lightness. The apartment is marked by grainy, smooth, earthy effects… So on the kitchen wall I asked Romain Guyon to create a plasterboard that was scratched in place. The splashback below is in raku. I like this material because it gives the impression that there are landscapes written inside.

On this wall there is another arch, wider. it evokes the shape of the rising sun. “It’s like a window that opens to the horizon. It brings depth,” emphasizes Emanuel. And if we are attracted by this excitement of the imaginative look, then we do not fail to notice subtle details. Secret cabinets that open and close easily to hide all your technical equipment, bowls, vases, etc. And in one corner, a large totem that seems to float above the ground.

Furniture as a ritual

“It’s a bar cabinet, the first piece of furniture I showed to the public for the Révélations biennale in 2017. I participated in a competition to highlight craftsmanship in design work. I had the opportunity to collaborate with a ceramist and an ironworker to develop this cabinet of eighty different tiles. When we open its doors, which look like two big arms, it’s a surprise. Interior is cognac, mirror polished brass. The contrast between interior and exterior is striking. It’s an invitation to a slightly exclusive tasting. This cabinet is a good representation of my way of understanding furniture. they influence our actions, our desires, they create rituals.”

Therefore, it is not surprising that Emmanuel designs custom furniture for his construction sites. For this reason, he who chose the Camondo school for a double course in interior architecture and design, who studied with Jean-Marie Massot and Pierre Jovanovich, always relies on exclusive local knowledge and cannot find harmonious subjects for his creations. So she fell in love with the desk and chair gallery she installed in the bedroom. These interact with her bean-shaped Ari bedside tables, her low bench whose seat is extended by shelves, and above all her impressive curved carved solid wood headboard, upholstered to add to the cocoon feel. The attached bathroom is breathtaking with its travertine breccia arrangements and basins.

Relax above all else

“These are pieces of stone that have been collected in riverbeds. As a result, they discover an incredible design. Undoubtedly, art is in nature.” Other rooms on the main hallway: a guest bathroom with everything for lazing in the tub, and a library in the guest bedroom, where a large bench takes up almost the entire surface. “Here I wanted people to enjoy lying down, reading a book… That’s why I made this choice. It brings relaxation, you can’t do anything but relax there.” It’s hard to resist, in fact, the temptation to let one’s mind wander, to stretch and dream of other equally welcoming interiors, such as those completed by Emanuel in the 16th century.^e Paris Region, Ibiza, Majorca.

“Every time I like to understand the environment, to imagine a scenario,” he insists. Each project is also an opportunity to discover new artisans and their knowledge. And we never stop learning. So, for the first time for the houses in Ibiza and Mallorca, we have to bring nature inside, create frames on the landscapes. It has nothing to do with the apartments and shops we have done so far. This is a new phase.” All these places, however, have one thing in common. they are not fixed, which Emanuel and his teams envision as the environment of memories. “When we complete our mission, they live on, they will become part of people’s memories, they will be filled with their feelings…” Isn’t that what we call an extra soul?

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