Le Charmant

It was because they wanted to save this late 19th-century mansion, abandoned for 10 years, from the clutches of developers and most certainly from demolition, that this couple from Saint-Ouen came up with this slightly crazy project. They had to convince, persuade, convince again, and then roll up their sleeves. It took two years of work to literally bring this millstone house, built when Saint-Ouen was still countryside on the outskirts of Paris, back to life. They salvaged the crockery from the cupboards, supplemented it with cleverly chosen second-hand finds, had a few abandoned armchairs in the living rooms reupholstered, brought the lamps and wall lights left behind up to standard, saved a few sinks, cleaned the stucco and painted ceilings, found identical wallpaper, added color, lots of color, a fresco by Olivia de Bona on the staircase to match the stained glass windows, and, with the help of mainly local craftsmen, breathed new life into the house. The result is a table that can be set in molded living rooms and, on sunny days, in an XXL garden, 8 cheerful bedrooms in the house and, very soon, 8 more in the stables and 4 in a barn; the countryside, as we said! Accessible by metro via line 14...