Voltaire: Bringing Light into an Old Parisian Apartment

RESIDENTIAL · PARIS

Although Voltaire features windows on both elevations, a fragmented original layout long obstructed daylight. Diettert Collet reconfigured the Haussmannian flat to improve cross-ventilation and natural illumination while preserving historic mouldings, positioning an all-black entrance and kitchen alongside a luminous, pale living room.

Seating and a paper floor lamp on timber flooring — Seating and a paper floor lamp rest on timber flooring beside the window, where a black plinth in front of a wooden screen supports a red ceramic vessel.

Opening Passages Between Rooms

Located in Paris's 11th arrondissement, the 55-square-metre apartment had not been renovated since the 1970s. The redesign removes select partitions to streamline circulation between rooms and draw daylight from both street- and courtyard-facing windows deeper into the plan.

Compact and windowless, the entryway is rendered entirely in black, forming a stark chiaroscuro transition into the adjacent pale living area. From within the main living space, these deep, dark portals clearly frame the thresholds leading to other rooms.

An open timber bedroom door — An open timber door reveals the adjacent room through a deep, dark opening, with a pale bed visible to the right.

Dining table close to the fireplace and shelving — The dining table sits close to the fireplace and shelving, where mirrored panels reflect the windows and interior furnishings.

Two tiers of shelving displaying dark ceramics and a silver vessel — Two tiers of shelving display dark ceramics and a silver vessel against mirrored backings that reflect the room.

Dark kitchen cabinetry within a black door frame — Dark kitchen cabinetry is framed by a black door surround, alongside a wall niche fitted with open shelves.

Living room seating and floor lamp along the windows — In the living room, seating and a floor lamp line the windows opposite the sofa across a stone coffee table, backed by a folding wooden screen.

Pale sofa adjacent to the black doorway — A pale sofa abuts the black doorway, with the folding wooden screen and red ceramic vessel placed on the opposite side of the room.

View into the living room through the dark doorway — Looking into the living room through the dark doorway, the foreground sofa gives way to the dining table, shelving, and mirrored walls.

Far end of the living room with fireplace and flanking cabinetry — At the far end of the living room, the fireplace and flanking cabinetry face the windowed dining area and central stone coffee table.

Black portal framing the kitchen entrance — A black portal defines the entrance to the kitchen, where continuous shelving on the right connects down to low cabinetry.

Kitchen flanked by dark cabinetry on both sides — Flanked by dark cabinetry on both sides, the kitchen receives natural daylight from a far window onto herringbone parquet flooring.

Kitchen and Fireplace

Opening directly into the living room, the kitchen features cabinetry recessed into wall alcoves, with matte black fronts paired with Zimbabwe granite worktops. Rather than crowding the living-facing threshold with overhead units, tall cupboards and appliances are gathered on the opposite wall, keeping a preparation counter low beneath the window.

While the client initially requested a period marble mantle, the design team proposed a custom travertine fireplace with bold, sculptural massing that departs from traditional profiles. Flanking the hearth, bespoke shelving units are lined with mirror backings, reflecting daylight from the windows and interior furnishings across the room.

Dark sink integrated into the worktop — A dark undermount sink integrates seamlessly into the granite worktop below a wall niche holding a black teapot.

Metal cups, pale linens, and a vase on a dark tablecloth — Metal cups, pale linens, and a vase are arranged across a dark tablecloth beside draped window curtains.

Stone coffee table set in the centre of the rug — A stone coffee table anchors the rug in front of the fireplace, framed by pale upper cupboards and flanking open shelves.

Shelving in front of mirrored backings holding ceramics and books — Shelving before mirrored backings holds ceramics and books, with a vase and foliage doubled in the reflection below.

Cups and small vessels on the dark kitchen counter — Cups and small vessels rest on the dark kitchen counter, bordered by a low trim along the base of the pale wall.

Shelves within a pale wall niche holding a black pot and metal cups — Built-in shelves within a pale wall niche display a black pot and metal cups.

Wooden folding screen set between two doorways — Set between two doorways, the wooden folding screen serves as a backdrop to the heirloom red ceramic piece on its black plinth.

Detail of timber screen panels joined with zigzag hinges — Zigzag articulation joins the panels of the timber screen, fronted by the red ceramic vessel and pale sofa.

Dark chair with woven seat and back beside the curtains — A dark chair featuring a finely woven back and seat rests beside draped curtains.

A Place for Belongings

The living space blends vintage pieces with contemporary furnishings. A timber folding screen articulated with zigzag hinges divides space lightly, while heirloom red ceramic vessels belonging to the owner are displayed on an independent black plinth.

In the bedroom, a half-height headboard wall finished in a deeper tone than the perimeter displays framed artwork and ceramics, with built-in niches set into either flank. In the bathroom, a crisp white basin and mirrored cabinet follow pale walls to maintain a light, pared-back aesthetic.

Half-height headboard wall supporting framed artwork and vessels — The bedroom's half-height headboard wall supports framed artwork and vessels, flanked by recessed bedside niches and switches.

Bedside wall sconce fixed to the half-height headboard wall — A bedside wall sconce is fixed to the headboard wall beneath resting artwork and above a square bedside niche.

Pale bed linens with two dark cushions — Two dark cushions accent the pale bed linens, with framed artwork on the headboard ledge beside the doorway.

White vanity unit along the bathroom wall — A white vanity unit runs along the bathroom wall beside an open door, grounded by an aggregate-textured floor.

White basin against pale walls — A white vessel basin sits against pale walls beside a slender vase holding a single bloom.

View through the doorway into the bathroom — Glimpsed through a doorway, the bathroom reveals its internal door and aggregate floor, framed by a dark vertical element on the right.

Mirrored cabinet above the vanity with wall-mounted tapware — A mirrored medicine cabinet hangs above the vanity, where wall-mounted tapware and controls align beside a vase.

Dining table and chairs set by the living room windows — By the living room windows, the dining table and chairs face the stone coffee table set before the sofa.

Fireplace and flanking cabinetry along the wall — The fireplace and flanking cabinetry span the wall, with a round dining table tucked beside draped window curtains.

Candlesticks and ceramics atop the stone fireplace — Candlesticks and small ceramics sit atop the stone fireplace beneath tall cupboards and open shelves.

Two figures in front of the timber folding screen — Two figures are posed before the timber folding screen—one standing and one seated—beside the red ceramic vessel.

Voltaire retains the historic charm of a Haussmannian apartment by focusing interventions on spatial permeability and bespoke joinery. With the kitchen open to the living area and storage streamlined along the walls, the liberated layout allows dual-aspect light to travel unobstructed from one facade to the other.

Project credits

Project — Voltaire
Location — Paris XI, France
Interior design — Diettert Collet
Designers — Emma Collet; Thomas Diettert
Area — 55 sqm
Photography — Clément Gérard
Images courtesy of — Diettert Collet
Project information and original feature — Diettert Collet; Yellowtrace; Livingetc
Editorial adaptation — 01DES

Voltaire: Bringing Light into an Old Parisian Apartment

Opening Passages Between Rooms

Kitchen and Fireplace

A Place for Belongings

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