Decorating & Design

November 11, 2013

Parisian Art Deco Pad

When this listing appeared in September, the French press reported that Brigitte Bardot lived here in the 1960s. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be true. The 79-year-old bombshell opened a Twitter account and used her first tweet to insist that she had “never set foot in that apartment.” It seems the property was actually owned by her third husband, Gunter Sachs, after their split. Still, like Bardot, this $8 million, three-bedroom home is a retro beauty, and totally worth a look.

Whether the actress visited or not, I think the apartment’s gorgeous Art Deco trappings speak for themselves. I’m not sure whether this is the entryway or a dining room, but either way, that stained-glass window is worth lingering by.

The architecture here is a bit more classical, less swoopy, but the furnishings are just as dramatic. (You don’t have to be a starlet to want to swoon onto that red velvet settee.) At right, the lipstick red walls continue through a gallery-like elliptical space.

In the open-concept living and dining room, the palette is a little more restrained. A great room like this is unusual for a Parisian apartment, but given that this house also includes a discotheque and billiards room, it’s clearly doesn’t play by the rules.

Frosted glass and glossy light wood make the eat-in kitchen feel a bit ’90s, but I’d be willing to look past the decor to have this kind of space in the middle of Paris. Plus, it’s easy enough to swap out dated seating for some chic-er options.

I’d be a little concerned about people looking down on this terrace and watching me eat, but let’s face it: in Paris, people-watching is the whole point. And given the building’s location in the ritzy Passy area of the 16th arrondissement, I’d bet the neighbours would be too well-bred to say anything.

Would you feel like a cat-eyed movie star (or at least, the former husband of one) in this glamorous apartment?

Photo credits:
1–5. Barnes International Luxury Real Estate