This 323-Square-Foot Home Is Meant to Look Like a Luxury Hotel

When a French couple now living in the United States first bought this tiny 323-square-foot home, it had an awkward floor plan according to interior designer Adeline Hémmonot. She, along with art curator Anne Sirot, were given the task of completely redesigning the space. Hémmonot decided to reimagine the compact apartment as a small hotel suite with all the essentials of daily life in a warm, slightly Parisian decor, but without any unnecessary flourishes. “I focused mainly on separating the living areas—the entrance, the kitchen, and the small living room—from the bedroom, which is accessible through sliding doors, with the bed alcove separated from the bathroom by a fluted glass wall that lets in light.” Hémmonot created a transition between the two spaces in the style of a theater set, with old-fashioned sliding doors with classical details.

Designed like a small hotel suite, this 323-square-foot room combines the comfort of a private apartment with the elegant atmosphere of a luxury hotel. Between white walls with trim and details painted in a cool blue, the living room’s sliding doors lead to the bathroom on the left, and to the bedroom on the right. On the wall, a painting on wood by Luis Filella (curated by Anne Sirot) and a wall lamp (Modern Métier). On the walnut console, an Orta lamp by Adeline Hémonnot (Fantera Studio). On the bench, cushions from Lindell & Co.

A custom bookcase extends into a large archway and divides the kitchen from the entrance while also serving as a radiator cover. The rug was also custom-made for the space (Marguerite Le Maire).

The soul of this apartment gets much of its style from Anne Sirot’s art curation. Her contributions include, in the library, a painting by Delphine de Luppé next to a Gertrude candle holder by Marion Mezenge. On the lower shelf, a painting by Julie Navarro.

The apartment manages to embody two different moods at once. It has a classic Parisian feel thanks to details like its picture rails and moldings. On the other hand, there are elements that are more modern like its color scheme in white complemented by natural materials and a Pierre Frey textured wallpaper. A pastel blue can be found on the wall that separates the kitchen from the rest of the apartment, as well as on its ceiling. “As the entrance hall, kitchen, and living room form a single room, I used a drop ceiling in the kitchen and entrance hall to define them as a separate area. The two spaces are now distinguished by this play of levels and colors.”

As for the rest of the 323-square-foot apartment, there is an ordered sequence to the space in addition to a focus on functionality. The entrance closet, for example, is designed for coats, yes, but also to store the couple’s suitcases. Every square inch has been carefully considered. “It’s ultra-bespoke,” says Hémonnot with some amusement. She even managed to fit a small bookcase into one niche, where it additionally serves to hide a radiator. A curtain hangs above a bench seat that runs the length of the living room and when it’s pulled shut it hides the wall and the window behind it, creating the feeling of a cocoon far from the city outside.

The classic black-and-white bathroom with its New York subway tiles is simple yet elegant while reflecting the attention to detail that is typical of Adeline Hémonnot’s designs.

Behind double sliding doors, the bedroom is an intimate and inviting alcove. Above the headboard and sconces (Allume-Moi), a pen-and-ink drawing on paper by Maximilien Hauchecorne and a Tahrir vase by Camille Calvo (curated by Anne Sirot). Cushions (Lindell & Co), bed linens and blanket (La Serviette Paris).

Much of the elegance of this small retreat is thanks to the mahogany-stained oak of the cabinet doors, with a framing border around each panel, and the blue-gray hue on the sliding doors with their panels covered in the coconut-fiber wallpaper. The mix of Art Deco and classical motifs is a nod to a certain East Coast style. It’s a happy aesthetic allusion that continues in the 1930s-inspired bathroom with its New York subway tiles, thin black borders, and a glossy black and white checkerboard floor. A rug by Marguerite Le Maire has a pattern that looks somewhat liked a striped animal—or it could be a wave or the veins in marble. The soul of this renovation is enriched by the contributions of curator Anne Sirot, who selected works by various contemporary artisans and artists. There’s a drawing by Anne Bracquemond in the bathroom, a Gertrude candlestick by Marion Mezenge in a bookcase, a pen-and-ink drawing on paper by Maximilien Hauchecorne, a Tahrir vase by Camille Calvo in the bedroom, a painting on wood by Luis Filella in the living room… the list goes on. In this apartment, every detail has been carefully considered.

In the salon, the Orta lamp by Adeline Hémonnot sits on a table, also by Adeline Hémonnot for Fantera Studio.

On a bookshelf, a Gertrude candleholder by Marion Mezenge (curated by Anne Sirot).

The kitchen’s appliances and storage are hidden behind mahogany-stained oak fronts that continue the geometric accents found in other parts of the apartment’s design. Antique brass apple- and pear-shaped bowls sit atop the Mont-Blanc quartzite worktop (Corston Hardware). Paint (Argile and Mériguet-Carrère).