When Parisian multihyphenate Jeanne Damas and her partner, art dealer Edouard de Moussac, decided to move in together, their first thought was to find something with a garden. Damas had been living in a top-floor apartment with enviable views, but now she wanted outdoor space. Coming across a listing in the newspaper one day, she recalls, “[It] had a terrace and it looked great in the photos, but we [were not familiar with the neighborhood]. We climbed the stairs when we arrived and fell in love.” The former residents were still at home having breakfast around the kitchen hearth during the visit, and “there was such a warm ambiance.”
Damas, the founder of cult-favorite fashion brand Rouje, has recently added acting to her list of endeavors, starring as Paloma Picasso in the recently released television series Becoming Karl Lagerfeld, now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. She also opened the US’s first Rouje boutique earlier this year, in NYC’s SoHo, and it’s a direct reflection of Damas—imbued with her inimitable style, easy confidence, and distinct twist on vintage-Paris cool. As it turns out, a knack for acclimating to new situations and environs would also suit her own imminent move.
“We came to visit without knowing the area, [but] we both fell in love,” says Moussac of their apartment search a few years ago, when Damas was pregnant. The area in question, in the 20th arrondissement, is animated, authentic, and charming. Although the streets are typically bustling, Damas and Moussac’s top-floor abode is quiet and cocoon-like. The pretty, planted rooftop terrace more than makes up for the lack of a garden.
The apartment unfolds over two floors, and one of their primary aims was to lighten everything up. The couple’s architect, Maxime Bousquet, helped them achieve that during a six-month renovation by expanding the opening between the two levels, lightening the wood beams, and replacing all the windows. “For upstairs, we were thinking [of a] country house,” says Damas, “and everything is carpeted up there—fairly classic.”
