In This 755-Square-Foot Paris Apartment, Nearly Everything Is Custom

Their obsessions immediately reveal themselves in the home’s entryway. Drawing inspiration from the foyers they’ve discovered during trips to Milan, they wrapped the walls in green fabric. Paired with a ribbed travertine baseboard, it backdrops an eclectic collection of objects that showcase Daventure’s addiction to auction houses and confirm the couple’s passions—an antique Roman bust, a sculptural chair, brass and glass Italian sconces, embroidered materials. “Returning home to this space immediately makes us happy,” Orsini enthuses.

The pattern of the kitchen’s floor, composed of ceramic tiles discovered at Winckelmans, was inspired by the couple’s visit to the Yucatan’s Chichen Itza. The coordinating baseboard was created using stone slabs from La Pietra Compattata.The oak chair was purchased from Besancon auction house. The silver fruit basket, designed by Luc Lanel for Christofle in 1930, is from Galerie Asteria. Vintage nickel knobs, found at a flea market, punctuate kitchen cabinets covered in Onari vinyl. The countertops were created of poured concrete.

The banquette cushions were created from Larsen’s Linen Asante. The pillows were sewn from Casa Lopez’s Cannage Californian in coral. The custom table top was created from Brêche de Bénou marble. A pair of steel torches discovered at Joncquet auction house flank a trio of naturalist engravings created in the 18th century by Georges de Buffon, and found at a flea market in France. A smoked glass punch set from the 1970s, purchased at Villemur.art auction house, sits on a custom credenza created from sheets of stainless steel.

The kitchen’s design nods to their honeymoon in the Yucatán: the floor tiles, the crenelations that make up the design of the banquette’s backboard, and the rough texture of the concrete countertop evoke Chichen Itza, the Mexican state’s iconic temple. Even the exuberant marble used for the tabletop seems to conjure up that peninsula’s vibrant topography. The room’s sconces, another auction house find, are reminiscent of a more recent event: “We joke that they are our Olympic torches,” Daventure says.

The couple’s fascination with hand-crafted details tests the skills of their coterie of artisans. “At first, they’re a little worried but by the end they’re happy for the opportunity to show off their expertise,” Orsini laughs. Yet their love of time-honored techniques doesn’t forego their interest in discovering modern materials that offer them the freedom to architect spaces that wink at the past while being anchored firmly in the present. Witness the bathroom, which deftly blends meticulously cut marble with flexible marble powder sheets producing a windowless space that offers the luminous beauty of an ancient temple. Or the couple’s bedroom, where the introduction of aluminum and chrome bedside tables into the custom headboard barely disturbs the surprising peace of the pattern-drenched space. The geometric brushstrokes of Daventure’s frescos, unfurled across the living room’s walls, balance the room’s lushly upholstered custom settee, its witty trio of custom heart-shaped tables, the opulent shine of its engineered wood bookcase, and the unexpected luxury of a rug inlaid directly into the floor. “When we have people over, they almost always end up sitting on the ground,” Orsini says. “It’s what we’re always hoping to create: a space that is beautiful, comfortable, and interesting.”

Hilca Carpet’s Royale, inset into the floor, is paired with a stained oak border sourced from Carrésol. The plaster, acrylic, and ink wall frescos were handpainted by Clément Daventure. The custom corner bookcase is created from MDF, with a high gloss varnish finish. The dining table, created from oak with a lacquer top, and the trio of tables, that combine velvet bases with heart-shaped high gloss varnished wood tops are from Orsini Daventure. The custom made sofa, designed by Orsini Daventure, is upholstered in Aldeco’s Blossom in Amazon green. The bolster was constructed of vintage jute fabric.