When Rafael de Cárdenas moved into the snug Paris pied-à-terre of his partner, Cale Harrison, he tossed any Haussmannian fantasies about grand continental living out the window. “It was a monastic space,” says the New York designer, “and we wanted to tease that out.”

Tucked in an apartment building designed by Louis Miquel, a disciple of Le Corbusier, the modernist 800-square-foot duplex was spare but appealed to Rafael’s exacting eye. When designing plans to renovate the space for the two of them, he forwent the usual Paris clichés of voluptuous marble fireplaces, crown molding, and Point d’Hongrie flooring, instead playing up the claustral vibe of the property’s simple expanses of glass and concrete.

The Elémentaire armchairs are by Jean Nouvel for Ligne Roset, and the red lamp is by Andrée Putman." layout="" credit="Add credit" photoUserId=""/>

“When we redid the floor, the rest sort of revealed itself,” Cale says. Out went the faux parquet; in came a resin finish and simple walls devoid of color that create a backdrop for the couple’s furniture and art collection. “I buy a lot of stuff,” Rafael says.

The designer maintains an office in New York, and much of what he’s picked up sits in two storage units on either side of the Atlantic. The final edit in Paris is “mostly French,” boasts Cale, who runs an agency for fashion stylists and lives in France full-time. “I think it’s nice to understand the vernacular of the country we are in.” Cale didn’t want a formal living or dining room, so the main room downstairs is a functional medley of Philippe Starck dining chairs, Jean Nouvel armchairs (reupholstered “in Lufthansa waiting-room gray,” he says), an Andrée Putman floor lamp, and a pragmatic custom Shaker-inspired dining table suited for working.

The upper level consists of sparsely decorated twin cubicles, one of them the bedroom, outfitted with little more than a double bed flanked by sconces designed by Jacques Biny. “It’s like waking up in a white cube,” Cale says with a giggle. “This is a room for sleeping and nothing else,” Rafael says, then points to the next room. “That’s a room for lounging and watching TV and nothing else.” A Patricia Urquiola sofa, a Mario Botta Shogun lamp, and a large flat-screen television fill the space. “If someone’s talking about a new show, I need to know,” says Rafael. “But it’s rare that someone’s watching something I don’t know.”

“We live in a time where the culture around fashion and consumption is complex. I love beautiful things, but I have limits to what I want to buy and bring into my home.”
—Rafael de Cárdenas, designer and resident

In tune with his detail-oriented personality, Rafael points out the “flaw” of this abode: “The only place to sit communally is at the table.” But the mini monastery isn’t intended so much for the long, lingering dinner parties often linked with Parisian life. (The couple can have those at their country home just outside the city.) It’s more of a crash pad for the frequent travelers, as the pristine galley kitchen indicates. When asked who’s the cook, the two smile. “When Raf’s here,” quips Cale, “it’s takeout and TV.”

Project Credits:

Design: Rafael de Cárdenas / @rafaeldecardenas.ltd

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Rafael de Cárdenas Opens Up His Un-Parisian Paris Pied-à-Terre