In Malakoff, a suburb just southwest of Paris, YouTuber Natoo (born Nathalie Odzierejko) bought a home in need of some love. “When we started this project, it was suffering from a serious moisture problem due to the ficus tree in the middle of it. We had to redo the roof, gutters, and skylights, and then completely reimagine the space,” explains interior designer Charlotte Catan, of El&C studio, who was in charge of the renovation. The apartment included several bedrooms, but the layout didn’t work for its new owner. “Natoo often entertains and she also wanted a versatile space that could also be used as an office,” Catan says. She located the home office on the mezzanine, under a glass roof where it is flooded with natural light and has a view of one of the home’s most notable features, its ficus. There the YouTuber can shoot her videos in her studio, while the mezzanine also has a guest bedroom and a workout area where she can practice dance routines.
The ground floor is entirely open like a loft. “We wanted to create that feeling with these large spaces illuminated by huge skylights,” Catan says. From the walls to the roof, light floods into every corner of the house. All the skylights were kept through the renovation process. “We wanted to preserve the soul of the space while enlarging it,” Catan explains. All rooms are equipped with huge Velux windows. “These windows bring in an incredible amount of light,” she adds, “which is necessary with the mansard-roofed walls.” The whole apartment is designed to be open and bright.
Catan’s design revolved around a large ficus tree which was already located in the middle of the home. She kept it as the central element of the living room and the tree introduces a note of serenity and freshness to the space. As it rises towards the ceiling, it’s also visible from the mezzanine. However, keeping a tree this size in the middle of a home is no easy task. Certain structural steps needed to be taken to accommodate it, and even with them humidity can be a persistent problem. “The owner needs to care for it and prune it regularly, but the end result is sublime,” Catan says. During the renovation, the dust and other disruptions from work led to some concerns about whether the plant would survive, but in the end it did and it is now thriving. “It’s in peak condition thanks to the restored glass roof directly above it which brings natural light into the room,” the interior designer adds.
