A Run-Down Paris Rental with a Nearly Unusable Kitchen Is Totally Gorgeous Now
Adrienne Breaux
·6 min read
AuthorAnna Kloots has been renting an incredibly enchanting 800-square-foot, two-bedroom Parisian home for three years. "My boyfriend, who was a neighbor at the Airbnb I lived in when I first moved, now lives here with me," Anna describes. "We live with our toy poodle, Miette, who is 3 pounds and hails from Italy. He rules the roost, obviously, and uses all my fancy pillows for his naps." Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
When asked to describe her home's style, Anna wrote: "Barbie's Dreamhouse meets French grandma." Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
The big floor mirror is something guests talk about. "I often get asked for a 'link,' but you can’t link something from the 17th century!" Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"I added all the molding to my walls, doors, and shelves the old-fashioned way with hammer and nails," Anna explains. "I still don’t know what I was thinking." Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"Even though I’m renting, I had to do a full renovation and completely put in new cabinetry, oven, and fridge," Anna explains of her apartment's kitchen. "I wanted a pink kitchen, but I wanted it to look chic and sophisticated and have lots of touches of me." Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"From my great-grandmother’s antique dishes and engraved silverware, to the framed tattered and stained recipes from my grandmothers that hang on the wall next to a giant print of a David Bowie cassette tape ... " Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
" ... to my stack of favorite cookbooks, and tiny plush Remy from Ratatouille that I move around like an elf on the shelf, but make it Paris — this room is very unique. It’s also where we open the Champagne." Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"My boyfriend and I ended up demo-ing the kitchen together after the crew canceled on us a few times. I was so eager to get the project going, and felt like a little smashing might be good for the anxiety that was building already!" Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"I also added all the moldings to my apartment myself! I honestly had no idea how to do it, and did not do it in the most efficient way at all — old-fashioned with a hammer and nails and miter saw!" Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"I didn’t even have a level until halfway through. It took me about a month and a half to do all the walls, doors, and the hallway, but it was well worth it!" Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
There are many things in Anna's apartment from French flea markets in Paris. "I go every weekend!" Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"Shop SLOW," Anna advises. "Don’t buy something unless it speaks to you." Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"If it takes time to finish the project, that’s far better than just buying things for the sake of having it done," she continues. Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"My apartment used to have marble fireplaces, but at some point they were removed." Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
"I wanted to add that charm back in, so I found an authentic fireplace on leboncoin (France’s Craiglist), bought it, hauled it up the three flights of stairs, and my boyfriend rebuilt it in the office!" Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
Thanks, Anna! Credit: Courtesy of Anna KlootsCredit: Courtesy of Anna Kloots
AuthorAnna Kloots has been renting an incredibly enchanting 800-square-foot, two-bedroom Parisian home for three years. “My apartment is in the heart of the Marais in Paris, and oozes natural Parisienne charm with its parquet floors, wrap-around balcony, and marble fireplace,” Anna begins.
But it was a bit hard to see all that charm at first. “When I began renting, it needed a lot of work, but it’s so hard to find an apartment as an expat that I volunteered to do it! I also knew it would endear the place to me and it certainly did! I spent over a year renovating and decorating, antiquing, and DIY-ing and when it was done it was like giving birth!”
Anna describes the apartment before moving in as “empty and pretty run-down. The salon had a random blue wall and big black electric heaters that didn’t fit. The walls had no moldings, the doors were flat, and the hardware was ugly, big, cheap nickel handles. But the ceilings, French doors, and floors were so beautiful — I knew it had potential!”
"I didn’t even look up 'design rules' because I truly believe rules are meant to be broken, and I’m sure I’ve broken many!" Anna begins. "I know open shelving is kind of 'out' but it was budget-friendly, renter-friendly, and allowed me to show off my antique dishes. I love it and I’m SO glad I did it!" Credit: Anna KlootsCredit: Anna Kloots
Anna explains in France it’s common for an “unfurnished rental” to mean there are no kitchen cabinets or appliances. “My apartment had no oven, fridge, washing machine, etc. There were kitchen cabinets, but they were totally broken and the sink wasn’t usable at all. If I wanted to rent it, I knew a total kitchen renovation was mandatory! I had to do this at mostly my own expense, so that meant creating my dream kitchen on a tight budget.”
“An apartment in Paris was always my absolute dream. I moved here after a divorce, and I had spent the last decade living in my ex-husband’s magic-themed studio in New York City, full of his antique collectibles,” Anna admits.
“When I moved here, I decided my apartment had to become a complete reflection of who I was in this new chapter of my life. Every single choice is intentional, and the apartment is filled with things that spoke to me at the flea markets here mixed with meaningful things from my family back home and my many travels around the world (83 countries!)”
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