BLUE SKY LIVING
A RUN- DOWN FACTORY IN FRANCE IS TRANSFORMED INTO LIGHT- FILLED MODERN HOMES FOR FRIENDS
Adecrepit former toothpaste lid factory may not sound like a building with the potential to become an envy-inducing property, but for two couples who were searching for a renovation project that could provide them both with their dream homes, it turned out to be the ideal solution.
When Joana and partner Denis, along with Denis’ childhood best friend Romain and his partner Cécile – an interior designer – wanted to buy their first homes they quickly realised that finding the right properties for their budgets wouldn’t be easy. However, by widening their search away from houses and combining their funds, they soon came up with a unique solution. “One day, Cécile came across an ad for a warehouse in the Bordeaux suburbs which was on the market – it was over 20 metres long and 8 metres high. We went to visit it and were quickly won over and, because of her expertise, Cécile began drawing up plans.”
The abandoned hangar in Floirac needed a huge amount of work and imagination but, thanks to its large footprint and swathes of natural light, it was a great blank canvas and the couples soon came up with an ingenious way to split the space. “Staring from zero scared us a little, but it was also exciting,” says Joana.
“We divided it into two spaces, both 86sq m, and created two floors. Both homes are completely separate apart from a large communal door that leads to a garage on the ground floor where we created a bar and a cosy play area – making it a great party space. From there, there’s a staircase that leads to the doors for each of the lofts.”
The first floor of each home initially consisted of a patio, kitchen, living room and dining room – and an open room with a bathroom area, later converted into a baby’s room for Joana and
Denis. On the second floor is a large main suite, as well as a walkway that runs along the patio and then another living room, which Joana turned into a library.
The building took nine months and, while the structural work was done by professionals, everything else was left to the quartet, who, rather than work in their couples, split into a boys’ team and a girls’ team to get the work done. “We’d never done anything like this before and »
“STARTING FROM ZERO SCARED US A LITTLE, BUT IT WAS ALSO EXCITING”
we learned everything on the job,” admits Joana.
“We were lucky, it was a great experience, although there would certainly have been more tension if we’d worked as a couple! We worked every weekend and holiday, and were helped by family and friends, too. Romain and Denis took care of the electricity and plumbing aided by Romain’s dad, while Cécile and I helped insulate the walls, glue the facing bricks, install the zellige tiles in the kitchens and bathrooms, sanded the floors and renovated the furniture. Denis also built the staircase and continued to build new furniture and doors once we had moved in, learning so many skills along the way.”
The outside patio may be on the small side, but for Joana it provides all the outside space they need. She reveals, “On sunny days, we like to see it as an extra room by opening the large picture windows and setting up our table outside – or sometimes even the sofa. Even though we’re not particularly green-fingered, the plants are sheltered from the wind so they like it a lot.”
Joana and Denis designed the decor together and their interior manages to pull off the feat of balancing their preferences: country style for him and minimalist Scandinavian for her. “The decor evolved as we went along, as we found things second-hand,” Joana explains.
“We put our hearts into every space and carefully chose every colour, material and piece of furniture. The kitchen is probably my favourite area because it was entirely created by Denis. As it’s open-plan to the living and dining rooms, it’s nice to cook in.
The materials we chose were inspired by the countryside and remind us of our childhoods. We found old wooden planks for the cupboard doors and the hood was inspired by the kitchen of one of my great aunts.”
The group were determined to keep the metal trusses to maintain the feeling of the warehouse it once was – and Joana and Denis even named their home The Betts Loft in honor of William Betts, an Englishman who started the factory in the 1800s. But no dark warehouse space remains: it’s really light thanks to the window panels that run all the way to the tiled roof. “It’s hot in summer,” admits Joana, “but the rooms are air conditioned and, apart from on rainy days, the patio doors are always open.” “The good thing is that we never run out of light during the day, even in winter, and it’s nice to lie on the sofa, look up and watch the sky change with the weather. There’s nothing better than sitting in our little library listening to the rain falling on the roof or taking a bath under a starry night.”
“THE DECOR EVOLVED AS WE WENT ALONG, AS WE FOUND THINGS SECOND-HAND”