AN AMERICAN IN PARIS
Designer Ashley Maddox brings her native Californian exuberance to an 18th-century apartment in Saint-Germain, proving that a culture clash can in fact be a positive thing.
Designer Ashley Maddox brings her native Californian exuberance to an 18th-century apartment in Saint-Germain
George Gershwin composed An American in Paris to convey his own first impressions of the City of Lights. In the sumptuous 1951 film version, Gene Kelly famously pliéd through a ballet sequence to that song with a similar sense of naive optimism. Here, Ashley Maddox has decoratively danced her way through an 18th-century apartment in SaintGermain with a Californian-style joie de vivre.
Maddox — a West Coast-born property developer — has been buying and renovating homes in historic buildings since she arrived in Paris with a newborn and toddler in 2008, and now makes it her business to search out neglected Paris apartments — “ugly ducklings”, she calls them — and wave her magic wand over the 1970s decor.
The formerly dowdy bird in question is the first floor of a building on Rue Jacob, built in 1710. “There are many designers in Paris who are removing the original elements,” says Maddox. “For me, it’s like, noooo! I’m American. To have a marble chimney that’s practically older than the United States — it’s such a joy.”
The ornate period details are all the more ‘wow’ in a revamped interior with a modern layout and an easy flow. “It’s about adding personality, but personality in a way that’s not overbearing,” says Maddox, who collaborated with Paris-based GCG Architects and contracting team WITO on the project. It was also about reconfiguring the layout; repurposing the period features; and injecting some colour, a dose of American practicality and an eclectic selection of furniture, including the 1970s Azucena Toro sofas and chairs in their original blue and tomato-soup velvets. “The joy of doing this in Paris,” says Maddox, “is that you have these amazing spaces that have been neglected for a long time.”
The team started by ripping up the linoleum floors and knocking out the lowered ceiling. In the hallway, architraves from the salon were repositioned. Previously enclosed, the salon was opened up to make the whole space feel brighter.
“We knew the blue would be a nice visual focus. Colour makes these classical rooms feel taller, as well as giving them a good graphic punch” ashley maddox
And where was the American in this corner of Paris? In the glossy blue-painted window seat, for one, inspired by a Paris cafe. Maddox says she likes to anticipate nice places to sit; it’s about comfort and a moth-like search for the utmost light. “We knew the blue would be a nice visual focus,” adds the designer, who’s known for favouring saturated colour palettes. “Colour actually makes these classical rooms feel taller, as well as giving them a good graphic punch.” The blue also ties in with the bottom half of the kitchen, which relates to the blue bedroom and the Toro salon chairs.
American comfort is most commonly sought in the (Frenchnamed) ensuite, so there is now a bathroom for each bedroom. Not to mention an ample new kitchen sink: “In America, we always have a big sink,” says Maddox. “When you have friends over for drinks, you can put everything in it and you can’t see a thing.”
The decor itself is hardly American. Like Paris, it is a melting pot of designs behind which lie stories of travel. The burled wood kitchen table is Italian, found in Holland, and combines with the Marcel Breuer chairs (German, but found in Italy). Picked up from a flea market, the Murano chandelier in the kitchen hangs above Austrian Thonet chairs sourced in Marrakech.
But the game is given away by the colour scheme of Californian Gold Coast-warm rather than grey or stark white, a tale of tonality that best demonstrates the culture clash. “There’s a funny reality when I work with architects in Paris,” Maddox muses. “Often, when we think of a colour scheme, a range will be presented. I’ll choose the warm colours, whereas they’ll go towards the cool. We’re using brass throughout, for the lighting and taps, which is not typical at all in France or Paris.”
It’s almost as if Gene Kelly just performed a pirouette across the apartment’s pale oak parquet floor, and whatever he touched assumed a gossamer Hollywood filter. “I grew up in California in the sunshine,” explains Maddox. “In Paris, the sky is already grey. We don’t need any more.”