The 1,600-square-foot dwelling became the perfect backdrop for the duo’s artfully curated collection of antiques and surrealist art over the course of its three-year renovation. Taichman and Salomon spent many weekends meandering Paris’s flea markets, without expectations, waiting for lightning to strike. “I’m never looking for anything in particular,” Taichman explains. “I like to be surprised and seduced by objects. If we find a piece of furniture or an object we like, we don’t hesitate. It always finds its place. I love mixing eras and styles.”
While the pair are open to letting fate take its course in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine (home to the city’s most famed market), they do have an affinity for the furniture of George Nakashima. The dining room—which Salomon calls the most important room in the home and where the couple “exchange ideas”—features their first purchase for the project, a dining table by the Japanese American designer. It’s encircled by Gio Ponti chairs, placed in front of a wet bar with a verdant marble backsplash.
At the home’s entrance, a black walnut console, also by Nakashima, sits under a mirror of no particular progeny that Taichman was drawn to for its simple yet defined shape. Next to that is an ornate wood-carved Art Nouveau–style chair, circa the 19th century, which becomes an unexpected moment, a surprise. This vignette echoes the apartment overall. “It’s a little bit of our world, which is a mixture of culture and emotions,” Salomon says. “Our taste is quite eclectic and we don’t want to have everything from the 1950s or the ’60s, although it’s a period that we like very much.”
Throughout the 7th Arrondissement residence, reclaimed antique parquet wood floors—replacing old Versailles flooring that didn’t feel quite right for the couple’s vision—serve as a blank canvas to build upon. A sleek new fireplace was created in the living area out of Italian stone. “We wanted something super modern to break the classic 18th-century look of the apartment—creating some paradox between classic and modern, and mixing periods and styles,” Salomon explains. A Maison Royère desk was added between two ceiling-height original windows, as well as a green velvet sofa that lies in front of a custom 1950s-inspired bookcase that houses a collection of fashion, design, and architecture tomes. “I couldn’t live without my books,” Taichman says.
Punctuating the walls in the dining room, bedroom, living room, and office are covetable surrealist paintings, including pieces by Max Ernst, Man Ray, Yves Laloy, and a larger piece by Wifredo Lam. “My mother [worked] at a major gallery in the Surrealist period in the 1950s and ’60s, so I had some paintings,” Salomon says. “I was brought into that world, so when I buy paintings I stay in this period.”
While the art will doubtlessly remain adorning the warm, neutral-painted walls in their home, Salomon and Taichman aren’t too precious about the interior landscape they’ve meticulously curated over time. “In fashion, you design a new collection every six months, so maybe in a while we’ll decide to change the colors and the decor,” Salomon posits. “We love to play…. I don’t think it’s going to stay like this forever.”