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From the plush towels to ideal location, our apartment was perfect. Thanks for living up to your promises! Justin, Melbourne

Archive for June, 2009

Our Kir Apartment Rental in Paris, a New Look!

Saturday, June 27th, 2009
Kir studio compact and oh so charming!

Kir studio compact and oh so charming!

We redecorated our  Kir apartment last month and I stayed there to finish it.  We also like to ‘test drive’ the apartment to make sure everything works well!  We changed the dining room table to a charming French oak table. Added new dining chairs, arm chair, sofa cover, curtains and cushions to give it a French Country/Provencal feel.

Kir is a compact studio apartment in the center of of a great neighborhood in Paris,  cute and comfortable.  What we fell in love with were the large windows and gorgeous views over Paris rooftops.   It’s located on the top floor of the building and benefits from sunlight and that feeling of ‘Ahhhhh, Paris!’ when you gaze out the large French windows.

 

 

 

 

 

Always practical, we designed a wall of closets beyond the oak dining table.  for storage.  We eve  used the crawl space above the kitchen to install air conditioning.

 

 

The building opposite only reaches the 4th floor, so there are unobstructed views of tree-lined streets and the Champs de Mars gardens, a rarity in Paris. On the far right, you even get a peek of the Eiffel Tower.

 

Peek of the Eiffel Tower to the right of the Kir apartment

Peek of the Eiffel Tower to the right of the Kir apartment

French Empire sofa in antique white, trundle underneath

French Empire sofa in antique white, trundle underneath

The sofa is antiqued white with long seat that converts to a single bed by removing the cover. We like the fact that you can stretch out and nap on it during the day, and pull out the trundle bed underneath for a second single bed at night.

Pretty white armchair with fluffly cushion  faces it.  An antique dresser sits between the two windows for storage.

Kir apartment entry; kitchen on left and living straight ahead

Kir apartment entry; kitchen on left and living straight ahead

Step into the apartment and the kitchen isimmediately on your left, with bathroom beyond.  Living area is straight ahead.  Some people say small spaces should have light cabinets, but we chose rich dark colors for the kitchen. The pink and brown granite countertops sparkle from the under cupboard lighting.

For fun, thought you’d enjoy seeing some pictures of how it looked when we purchased it! It looked like a cyclone had hit it, but it was only a French student who loved ‘la vie Parsienne’ but didn’t have the word ‘organise’ et propre’ were not part of their vocabulary.

Before Picture of entrwyway towards living room

Before Picture of entrwyway towards living room

The right side of the apartment was a work area that we remodeled into a dining space with wall to wall closets.  It was hard to see the potential, but we saw the two large french windows that offered fantastic sunny views over this charming neighborhood … and we knew we could turn it into something wonderful.
Transformed to dining area with wall to wall closets

Transformed to dining area with wall to wall closets

If you’re looking for an apartment to buy anywhere in the world,  make sure the bones are right — views, feeling of space, sunlight and location!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The compar  Kir studio is a popular apartment for couples, with full air conditioning and rare Paris views!

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Why We Love High Floors in Paris Apartments

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Getting ready to take pictures of the Kir Paris apartment for rent, I woke up early. First stop was one of my favorite pastry shops across the street to buy my standard breakfast in Paris:  ‘Bonjour Madame, un pain au chocolat s’il vous plait et un pain au raisin.’

Sunny day, needed some exercise so I decided to take the stairs. From the 6th floor (7th floor American) to the ground floor, the difference in light in the stairwell was amazing. We always talk about why it’s important to buy apartments in Paris on upper floors and these pictures say it all.

5th floor natural light

5th floor natural light

4th floor light ok

4th floor light ok

3rd floor broad daylight can't see keyhold

3rd floor broad daylight can't see keyhold

By the time I reached the third floor, it was time to turn on the lights.   This difference in natural light is reflected inside an apartment, since city living means apartments face other buildings which block the sunlight.

When you’re staying in a Paris apartment, look towards lower floors and observe how many apartments below turn on their lights by late morning.  We prefer natural sunlight all day long, which means apartments on higher floors where you can see the sky.

I didn’t realize how important it was to me until I spent my first winter in Paris.  When the sky only starts to get light at 9am and sunset begins at 3:30 pm in winter, I realized that I only wanted to live in Paris apartments on the top floors!

2nd floor can't see the stairs

2nd floor can't see the stairs

By the third floor, had to swtich on the stairwell lights.  I posted the second floor apartment doorway, but not below because the photos are completely black.

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The Moulin a’ Vent Apartment!

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

The Moulin a’ Vent Apartment
We had a lot of fun decorating our new Moulin a’ Vent apartment and thought you’d enjoy the latest photos. It took longer than expected to receive the right pieces of furniture, and the new dining table and dresser were delivered last week. We found the Moulin a’ Vent late last spring and the location was fantastic – just around the corner from the Café du Marche on rue Cler.

Extra long sofa makes a comfortable place to stretch out

Extra long sofa makes a comfortable place to stretch out

The kitchen has loads of counterspace, rare for Paris apartments

The kitchen has loads of counterspace, rare for Paris apartments

It had been owned by the same family for over 30 years, who had apparently never changed a thing. The condition of the plasterwork, plumbing, kitchen and bathroom were terrible. But the blue sky views of Paris and the front to back views from 5 large French windows was incomparable. The apartment has a bonus of views of both the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides Dome – rare and simply delightful! Six months of remodeling to our best standard, we discovered the original chimney breasts, hacked away the plaster to the original brick walls — replaced all plumbing, electrics, bathroom and kitchen — we restored it into a beautiful Paris home. We named it Moulin à Vent after the excellent Beaujolais wine with windmill in the center of the vineyards — similar to the wine, the apartment has a fresh, light feel.

White antique style dining table extends to seat 8

White antique style dining table extends to seat 8

Some of our favorite features are the open kitchen and bar in a warm café’ au lait color, the living room and its comfortable sofa and the spacious bedroom. And of course, the sunlight. As we tell potential buyers, when the sun rises after 8 and starts to set at 3:30 pm in winter, you want to be on the highest floors possible, with an unobstructed view! See more photos at: http://www.parisperfect.com/apartments-for-rent-in-paris/moulin-a-vent.php

Newly remodeled kitchen in cafe

Newly remodeled kitchen in cafe

Spacious Bedroom, Filled with Sunlight

Spacious bedroom, comfortable armchair next to fireplace

Spacious bedroom, comfortable armchair next to fireplace

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Birthday Lunch for Philippe!

Monday, June 8th, 2009

Philippe’s Birthday Present

Philippe's Birthday Lunch, Hand-carried from Paris

Philippe's Birthday Lunch, Hand-carried from Paris

Philippe’s Birthday Lunch Served on the Terrace

My husband Philippe’s birthday was last Thursday and I was struggling to find something special to offer him.   Then,  I walked past Dubernet, the shop which sells specialties from the Southwest of France on rue Augereau in the 7th and the lightbulb went on! This shop is tucked away on a quiet street, but well known throughout Paris. They supply many of the top restaurants with foie gras and other delicacies from the Southwest of France: pate’s, foie gras, magret de canard, sausages, choucroute and more, all excellent quality and delicious.

Philippe loves good food and his parents are currently visiting. For the French, Sunday lunch is the most important meal –perfect idea to bring back to London to serve for the weekend.

On the last weekend of the month, Dubernet puts many of their products on sale; so I lined up behind the Parisians on the sidewalk to take advantage of the good prices.

I bought a small magret de canard, or breast of duck that was fully prepared and ready to cook, some special sausages stuffed with pork and foie gras. Finally I added a small selection of chicken liver and goose liver pate’s.

Heading to the Eurostar to London, I stopped off at my favorite macaron shop, Pierre Herme’ and choose a small box of Philippe’s favorite macarons:  Caramel, Cherry, Passion Fruit with Chcolate and Dark chocolate.  Our daughter and I have been learning to bake them and they’ve been a big topic of discussion at meals, with our son a reluctant listener. ‘Mom, you’re obsessed!’ Ok, so I’m obsessed with macarons at the moment; what a challenge to try to make them! I decided we needed a tasting session to compare the best makers in Paris, so bought a small box of Laduree’ and Gregory Renard’s macarons as well.  Not cheap, but all in the name of French Food Research.

French Gift Ideas

French Gift Ideas

French Gift Ideas:  Delicious Food Specialties!

Philippe loved his present and as predicted, suggested we cook the magret for Sunday lunch. The weather in Paris and London has been glorious so we enjoyed champagne and pate’ on the patio, then the tenderest duck we’ve ever eaten. There wasn’t a single slice left! My mother in law made ‘pommes de terre rissole’s, or cubed potatoes with olive oil and garlic – her dish was wiped clean when we finished.

For dessert, Philippe carefully cut up all of the macarons and separated them on different places so we could taste and comment – the Great Macaron Taste Off! My in laws raved about Herme’,  their first introduction to his specialties. They loved his olive oil and basil macaron one, should have bought more. They kept asking who could imagine that such an unusual combination could taste so delicious. The hands down winner: Herme’s incomparable cherry flavored ones – your mouth waters when you bite into one — second was the surprise Mogador macaron, with a “ganache” or filling of passion fruit and chocolate. Laduree’s caramel macarons were superior to Herme’s as was Laduree’s dark chocolate macaron. Gregory Renard won kudos for his raspberry and pistachio ones.
The Great French Macaron Taste Test!
My daughter and I were so inspired that we spent the afternoon making macarons. More on that later…

Tonight we’re having ratatouille omelettes from my mother-in-law Ninette and fresh fruit salad, so we all get our ‘five veg’ a day!

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