French Art Deco Gets a Memphis Milano Twist by Dries Otten & Axelle Vertommen.

Somewhere in the French town of Ennetières-en-Weppes, not too far from Architect Robert Mallet-Stevens’ renowned Villa Cavrois, sits the Rose Garden, an Art Deco home of two graphic designers. The clear geometric volumes and bright colours, alongside rich and luxurious materials, reveal the nature of the original home, and much of that remains as is today, with the exception of Antwerp-based design studio Dries Otten’s fitting additions.

What Otten and the team, in collaboration with Axelle Vertommen, brought to this home is a true sense of theatre (or Circus, rather) with an interior revitalisation that could be likened to the works of Memphis. Welcomed by an expansive front garden, guests are led up bricked stairs that tread over a mosaiced artwork and fountain, and if you look closely, headed by a gargoyle (it is French, after all).

Modern Architecture Masterpiece: Villa Cavrois in Croix by Robert Mallet-Stevens.

Designed by the French architect Robert Mallet-Stevens in 1932, Villa Cavrois is armed with quite a story.

From one staircase to the next, a rather imposing yet altogether grand marble staircase graces the entry foyer, displayed against a duck-egg blue backdrop that brings to the room a fragility that rivals that of the egg itself. In addition to this, and what could only be called an almost-juxtaposition of the existing, we see a cloakroom that looks like Christmas with its striped green and mirrored exterior, paying homage to the immediately adjacent Villa Cavrois-esque radiators that form part of the original home.

Nearby, a small study space takes shape, and the continuation of colour is used here to indicate both form and function. The red-linoleum desk is abutted by a staggered block cupboard, dotted with door knobs that look suspiciously similar to stick-on googly-eyes. (Fun!) Upstairs, an anti-chambre hosts more storage space in colours reminiscent of pink taffy, musk and a dusty yet rich green. The room also includes a slightly rotund and chubby red sofa, backdropped by thick white and baby-blue striped wallpaper, and spherical wall sconces that once again add a certain Cirque element to it all.

Flat for a Cat Lover in Sion, Switzerland by COCI Studio.

This apartment by Coci Studio is a warm, colourful and zany home for a cat lover—who paradoxically does not own a cat.

In the master bedroom, the room is privatised and divided by a head-war-drobe, a dual function headboard with storage space built in. Here, Otten took inspiration from the existing shapes and mirrors of the original house to design the Cobalt blue board that heads the central bed. The fun doesn’t stop here, with the bathroom sporting much of what was already there. The tiny tiles that pave the floor make up deco-detailed patterns and shades of blue, a theme that leads right up the wall until it’s broken by the glorious golden tile datum.

The only new addition hides in plain sight, this being the mirror-encased shower with its unfinished bras strips allowing for an ever-changing patina in its reference to the gold datum of before. The bathroom doors appear double-sided, with an art-deco musk hue to the bathroom and a candy orange hue to the hallway. It seems every opportunity was taken in the revitalisation of this home to honour the existing in the new, without creating a pastiche of the Art Deco style, or missing out on any fun.

Defying Banality: 087 Lisbon Residence by Fala Atelier.

This small Lisbon house by Fala Atelier boldly defies banality. The three level home showcases a playful exploration of the architectural language and a complete disregard for symmetry.

[Images courtesy of Dries Otten. Photography by Luc Roymans.]