Villa Junot Revives 1920s Grandeur with Contemporary Parisian Art
Villa Junot sits on Avenue Junot in Paris, France, a 1920s house revived for Iconic House’s Maison-Hôtelière vision. The Paris studio Claves leads a full interior transformation that restores heritage while threading in contemporary art and craft. Across generous rooms and a rooftop, the project moves between museum-grade detail and lived-in comfort, merging hospitality polish with the intimacy of a private residence.
A tall door swings open to a measured hush. Natural light gathers on lacquered planes and mosaic floors, pulling the eye toward a stair line edged in iron and gold.
This house in Paris’s 18th arrondissement is a 1920s private mansion renewed by Claves for Iconic House. The interior favors restored craft, collectible design, and contemporary art, reading as both residence and refined hospitality. One idea guides the whole: material character sets the tone of daily life—tactile, luminous, and tuned to the building’s past.
Restore and Embellish
Original fabric holds fast where it matters most. The main bathroom’s historic mosaics stay intact, while custom mosaic flooring elsewhere mirrors their geometry with crisp new tesserae and calibrated color. Plasterwork comes forward—vaulted ceilings, cornices, and arches sharpen the proportions and give the rooms a quiet rhythm, letting light wash gently across curved plaster profiles.
Metalwork and Motifs
Music threads through the metal. Wrought iron on the stair and rooftop balustrades repeats a bass-clef motif, a nod to the home’s early cultural life. Chrome punctuates handrails and fittings, while gold leaf catches stray daylight and dusk—one reflective note bright, one warm—so thresholds read like measured chords as you move.
Color, Lacquer, Light
Surfaces play with gloss and shadow. High lacquer deepens color and throws soft reflections across walls and cabinetry, balancing matte plaster and stone underfoot. The effect is immersive and precise: daylight sharpens edges by morning, then slides across chrome and gilded details at dusk, making corridors and the dining room feel charged without tipping into glare.
Artworks In Situ
Each room gains a site-specific voice. A cosmic mural by Maldo Nollimerg expands the dining room, while a draped fireplace by Southway Studio turns the hearth into a sculptural fold. Stained glass by Atelier Toporkoff filters color into the living room; upstairs, a library-themed mural by Garance Vallée and a painted entry by Galatée Martin layer narrative, with Mauro Ferreira’s trompe-l’oeil fresco drawing the stair skyward.
Hospitality, At Home
The Maison-Hôtelière idea lands in quiet ways. Proportions feel generous, circulation reads clear, and art meets daily routines without preciousness or clutter. Private rooms carry warmth and intimacy, while shared areas—salon, dining, rooftop—carry polish suited to hosting, so the house moves easily between family rhythm and guest-ready grace.
Back at the entry, the material chorus holds steady. Mosaics, iron, and lacquer keep time as daylight fades, letting the old mansion feel freshly tuned for Paris nights.
Photography courtesy of Claves
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