In Seine-et-Marne, behind an asymmetrical facade, an unusual artists' residence combining modernism and the jungle.
75 km south-east of Paris, in the department of Seine-et-Marne, a picturesque village is set in the heart of fields and forests. It takes between 30 and 40 minutes to drive to either Provins and its medieval fair, the regional administrative centre of Melun or Fontainebleau.
Mormant is 7km away and offers all day-to-day services, shops and facilities. Every half hour, a train connects to Paris in 40 minutes.
From the street, a pedestrian door opens onto an inner courtyard abounding in plants and greenery. From the entrance, one discovers a small and yet lush outdoor space designed for eating, reading and relaxing. Surrounded by the house and a perimeter wall, not a sound can be heard.
The solid lodging, which resembles a simple village house, stands in the corner.
The houseIts architectural style is strikingly contemporary, with a carved entrance door from an African palace. The two-storey building has simple rendered or pointed walls topped by a strangely asymmetrical flat tile roof, revealing an equally surprising interior. Windows and skylights provide light for the indoors with great simplicity.
On the courtyard side, hidden by the vegetation, the building features more windows and different architectural styles, notably with a facade covered with wooden panels.
The interior of the house has been "sculpted" to measure, with its curves, nooks and crannies and hidden doors leading to rooms that are as surprising as they are unpredictable. All the furnishings and decor are handmade and unique.
The house is not big, but it looks big. Its spaces comprise mezzanine floors, adorned with plants.
The ground floor
An entrance hall with a tiled floor leads to a living room with a sitting area and a fireplace with a conical hood. This fireplace was created by a painter and sculptor. With a ridge hight of about 8 m, walls covered with bookcases, exposed roof beams, a mezzanine and a hanging garden, this is the centrepiece of the house.
A toilet, an open kitchen with golden-yellow walls, a dining area in a corner, a dining room with access to a small garden, a larder and a laundry room complete this level. A workshop and a garage follow further on.
Three straight flights of stairs lead to the upper floors: one from the living room, another from the kitchen and the last from the dining room.
The first floor
The first flight of stairs leads to the mezzanine overlooking the living room. Used as an office, it testifies to multiple trips to Egypt and Africa. It extends along the wall and connects to a library with cupboards. A bathroom with a decorative mosaic floor, a bedroom, a toilet, an artist's studio with a ceiling height of about 4 m and a balcony, a small mezzanine and a modest spare bedroom complete the ensemble. The floors are straight strip parquet and the ceiling beams are exposed. Rooms adjoining the houseOn the ground floor, under the spare bedroom on the first floor, there is another room of the same size. Independent from the rest of the house, access is through the garden.
On the other side of the courtyard, a boiler room with mezzanine lies alongside the house.
