Entente cordiale

The best of English and French style has been brought to this house near Paris, creating a home full of joyful colour and pattern

- WORDS VIVIENNE

With its elegant white facade, this charming French house, located just outside Paris, has an unexpected interior that exudes joie de vivre with its curated colour and pattern. The French clients relocated from London to France. ‘They had rented properties in London, but this was their first proper family home,’ says interior designer Sean Symington.

For Sean, it was his biggest project to date as it involved a comprehensive renovation and full refurbishment. ‘It was one of those projects where it was supposed to be a light touch then it ended up being the whole house,’ he says. ‘It took two years and was full-on going back and forth to Paris.

Structural work took place from the top to the bottom of the house. There was a complete reconfiguration of the top floor, where the children’s bedrooms and a bathroom were created, while on the first floor, double doors were installed in the main bedroom to provide a bedroom, an en-suite bathroom and a dressing room. On the ground floor, the kitchen was moved to the other side of the room for better flow to the dining room and a much-needed boot room was built. The basement, with its beautiful brick ceiling, was developed so that it now houses a wine cellar, a pantry, a study and a gym.