A collection of masks from Guatemala hangs above the pantry space, which opens and closes via sliding doors.
Three thin slabs have been staggered vertically through the space to create three distinct floors and allow light to flood in from the front, back, and roof. The white Saari kitchen makes the most of a compact space.
Suzanne and Brooks Kelley at the back of their 1,100-square-foot guest cottage.
The size of the house and the layout encourage spending time together, another welcome change from the couple’s life in Paris. “In our former house, we were all in our private spaces,” says Patrice. “Here we spend time in the central areas. It’s basically one floor, and you can call out to each other easily.”
Donate, Isabelle’s mother, takes in the view from the dining table over a cup of coffee. “You can quietly take your breakfast here and wait for the sun to come into the room, looking out at the beautiful old cherry tree,” says Isabelle. “When the weather is nice, with the sliding doors open, we feel directly in contact with the garden.”
The sloping metal roof extends well beyond the house and the narrow deck that runs around it. “The roof protects from the sun and the rain and also creates shadow,” says Barache, adding that “beauty is in the shadow.”
A custom ribbon skylight fabricated by Atelier Bailleul curves across the ceiling.
The first floor is where the family spends most of the day. “The girls will be playing, and we’ll be working on projects and cooking,” Honora says. “It just all happens right here.”
A ribbon window in the primary bedroom/bath frames the urban landscape outside. “We go upstairs to do bath time and bedtime,” Honora says.
The factory’s dividing walls were removed, leaving a “square doughnut,” as Gabriele puts it—a continuous flow around the central landing. The renovation took just four months. “The whole thing was done with very little cost in materials and time,” he says, “but in the studio we are used to working like that.”
Krzentowski, who works from home for three hours a day, at his desk. A Marc Newson Orgone stretch lounge occupies the foreground, while a large Paul McCarthy photograph looms behind.
Didier Krzentowski and his wife, Clémence, in the dining room of their Paris flat. The Slim table was designed by Martin Szekely for a Galerie Kreo exhibition in 1999. On the wall, above a Marc Newson Alufelt chair, is a photograph of Krzentowski by Erwin Wurm.
The extension sits in the shadow of the main cottage, so light was an important consideration. Roof lights introduce light to the interior, and a corner window in the first-floor studio takes advantage of the long, uninterrupted views down the valley.
The existing cottage has been on the site for “a long time” with various extensions and refurbishments taking place ad hoc between the 1930s and 1990s, including the garage and utility room at the rear that has been replaced by the newest extension. Like many typical cottages in the area, the cottage is built from local stone with timber shutter windows.
