Heaven in the 7th, part III

Veni.

Vini.

Bought-i. And we are now excitedly under contract to purchase a Parisian apartment.  Can we please just call it a flat?  I know it’s pretentious, but it’s so much nicer!

Now there is a very nice little French law that allows you to get out of your contract for up to eight days after you have signed your “Promesse” to purchase in the notary’s office. Although I’ve been feeling pretty good about this apartment, there is one person I’d like to have look at it before I let the eight days elapse.

Ever since we’ve thought about buying an apartment in Paris, I’ve kept close tabs on the apartment rental market in Paris. We’ve stayed in a lot of hotels and rented apartments from a lot of agencies, and although there are many good ones I can recommend, my personal favorite Paris apartment rental agency is Paris Perfect. Every time we’ve stayed in a Paris Perfect apartment, everything from the quality of the apartments to the locations, the views, the amenities and the service have been, well … perfect. I’ve always thought that Madelyn, the co-owner of this agency, has a great eye and great judgment about investing in Paris apartments, and so my next step is to get her opinion.

I know Madelyn from way back, when we first started looking for an apartment almost three years ago. We had found a jewel of an apartment in the 7^th, which we were planning to buy. Unfortunately, the stars did not line up in our favor this time around, when everything from the economy to the exchange rate turned against us, and we had to, regretfully, step out of it. When the apartment showed up on the Paris Perfect website, I knew that it had gone to the right person. They did a fabulous transformation from ugly duckling to beautiful swan, and I knew that if anyone could help me determine if my little duckling in the 7th was the right purchase, Madelyn could.

Before and After:

Here are the pictures of the one that got away, as we saw it when it was for sale,  followed by Paris Perfect’s beautiful transformation.

 

Before we get started, let’s just show you why we were even considering this apartment:  A killer view in a killer location, in the heart of the 7th.  With this picture, the before and after didn’t change,  which is why it’s always about location, location, location!

Now, for the magical transformation:

Before

After – love how they kept the idea of the closets, but made them more open, keeping them functional but with a greater feeling of space.

And of course,  a big Louis Philippe mirror does wonders for any room, especially with a chandelier reflected in it.

 

A little corner of the living room gets a precious little desk and chair.

 

The windows were already a great feature of the apartment, but what a beautiful place to put the dining room table!

 

One of my favorite features:  The afternoon light pouring in to the living room.

 

In the bedroom, they cleverly transformed one of the walls in to a wall of closets, creating storage (a most precious Parisian commodity) while keeping it good looking.

  They had to shift some walls around to have put the bed against this wall – and it sure was worth it.

Bathroom transformations are always some of the most dramatic, and this one is no exception. 

The kitchen had good little bones to begin with, but badly needed the facelift it received.  Vive la difference!

So, what do you think?  Can my little duckling be transformed in to a swan?  I’m pretty sure it can, but just to be sure, I’ll see what Madelyn has to say.  Stay tuned!

Ta ta,

A.