Renovating a Paris Apartment: Some of our Favorite Transformation Stories

We’ve renovated dozens of apartments, including all of La Place Dauphine.

If you love travel and interior design, you’ll discover your happy place staying at our elegant Paris Perfect holiday rentals. Whether you’re renovating a Paris apartment or wanting to redecorate your home, you’ll find plenty of inspiring styling ideas. We’ve selected our favorite transformation stories, showing how some of our chic apartments have been revamped. Distressed before but divine after, they might encourage you to buy property in Paris and embark on your own exciting renovation! For real estate inquiries, please email [email protected].

Renovating a Paris Apartment

Champagne: before and after

Light, Bright Champagne

With a wraparound balcony and commanding Eiffel Tower views, Champagne is a popular vacation rental in the 7^th. Dusty, dirty and down on its luck when purchased, it typifies how we work with architects and builders to achieve smart, space-saving ideas. Crucially, we opened up the living room’s walled-up third set of French doors restoring light and vistas. We also created a master bedroom from the back of the double lounge (the apartment sleeps four with a sofa-bed). The former bedroom became an airy dining room/kitchen. Reclaiming original parquet floors, stripping back walls and improving flow enabled this successful revamp, enhanced by simple, pretty styling.

Saint-Pourçain: before and after

Saint-Pourçain Makeover

Sleeping six in the 2nd arrondissement, redesigned apartment Saint Pourçain blends classic Parisian bones with contemporary luxury. In a great renovation story, a Pennsylvania couple bought the commercial property online. Original features included traditional Hausmann architecture, parquet floors, moldings, big French windows and four working fireplaces. But the former office’s single toilet, makeshift kitchen, old gas heating, drab carpet and impractical layout had to go! The duo moved the living/dining area to the light front of the space, adding a sleek white kitchen. A master bedroom with generous windows sits alongside, with two bedrooms and a smart bathroom at the back. A sophisticated den with a mirrored bar injects glamour.

Calvados: before and after

Reconfigured Calvados

Balcony-blessed Calvados in the 7^th offers amazing Eiffel Tower views. Previously poorly lit, cluttered and stuck in the ’70s, it needed TLC. We helped the owners remodel it, reconfiguring the hall, kitchen and bedroom and adding a second bathroom. Looking and feeling larger, it now sleeps four with one bedroom and a high-quality sofa bed with trundle. Stylish living/dining room touches included a decorative fireplace, exposed parquet floors, space-dividing rug and a chandelier. Relax on the blissful balcony to watch Madame Eiffel’s twinkly evening light show. A stay at this romantic escape is the perfect motivation for renovating a Paris apartment.

Cremant: before and after

Charming Cremant

Boasting Eiffel Tower views from French windows, studio apartment Cremant in the 7^th sleeps three. We love this little gem – or petit bijou – but originally wondered whether the apartment could be salvaged. See our before shots and work-in-progress update. Luckily, Ann Huff is a talented decorator. She remodeled the space, moving the kitchen to the lounge and making room for a queen-size bed and sofa-bed. Cue an inspiring renovation reveal! Highlights include an enormous chandelier over the sitting/dining area, built-in mirrored cupboards and chic grey room beams. Crémant is part of Paris Perfect Shared and fractional ownership, but is sold out. Get in touch with us at [email protected] if you’d like to know more about fractional ownership.

Saumur: before and after

Space-Savvy Saumur

Renovating a Paris apartment can be challenging, with most properties tiny compared to US homes. Overlooking foodie market street Rue Cler in the 7th, space-smart studio Saumur wows. A small apartment that feels surprisingly big, it sleeps two. We oversaw this brilliant transformation, creating a lovely living room that turns into a bedroom in only 270 square feet. The key was installing an Italian three-seat sofa/fold-down queen-size wall bed with ottoman, bookshelves, closet and reading light. Elegant neutrals with hits of fuchsia updated the décor, while teak floors, deckchairs, compact red dining furniture and plants made the balcony a winner.

Place Dauphine: before and after

25 Place Dauphine Reborn

Historic square Place Dauphine in the 1st is a hidden delight on Île de la Cité. Home to six beautifully remodeled vacation rentals, elegant building La Place Dauphine offers luxurious inspiration for renovating a Paris apartment. Restoring this 1610 protected monument was a two-year labor of love for Paris Perfect, helped by a heritage architect and master craftsmen. When we bought the rundown former Henri IV Hotel, it had 15 bedrooms, communal bathrooms, terrible red walls and carpet, and neglected décor. Now it offers a welcoming lobby, with comfy armchairs and new wood-paneled elevator. Five one-bedroom flats and one two-bed duplex feature local antiques, curated art and traditional-modern furniture. Our Instagram from 1-9 July 2018 shares more beast-to-beauty before/after pictures and renovation secrets, including the discovery of a well to the Seine River!

This is just a taste of the Paris vacation rentals that we have helped renovate. Whether you’re dreaming of staying in one of them or buying and renovating one yourself, we can help!  Give our reservations team a call at 1-888-520-2087 from the USA or email [email protected]. For real estate or fractional inquiries, please email [email protected].

Posted on Tuesday, September 24th, 2019 at 4:40 pm in Favorite Paris Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.