Studio KO
Home and away in Paris
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In these complicated times, the concept of a domestic refuge couldn’t be more appealing. Designing an apartment for clients in Paris’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, Karl Fournier (right) and Olivier Marty, of Studio KO, looked to the island of Naoshima, off the coast of Japan, as a touchstone for escape from city life. Architect Tadao Ando’s otherworldly stone and concrete Benesse House museum informed their choice of a hushed palette, complemented by a sculptural oak fireplace surround of their own design and a textured travertine low table by Pierre Culot. But the Studio KO founders are not mimics, and the mood here is distinctly urbane. Lounging fireside on a Christophe Delcourt sofa or a T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings daybed, or curled up in a pair of rush-seated CH22 chairs by Hans Wegner, the owners needn’t get on a plane to feel utterly transported.
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“We try to approach the project with a fresh gaze, not to reproduce or impose a style but to listen and learn from our clients.”
— Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty