Maison Madeleine

Capturing the daily memories of humans and cats, the project adopts the delicate and soft proportions characteristic of French pastries. The client wished to maintain the sophistication of French style within a small-scale residence without the space feeling overly complex or heavy. Consequently, the designers made "simplified French style" the central theme, retaining the clean molding, door panel lines, and proportional order. Through arches, TV wall storage, and a bright color palette, a dwelling as compact, exquisite, and filled with sweet memories as a madeleine unfolds. The project name "Maison Madeleine" both echoes the French lexicon and cherishes the everyday presence of two cats weaving through the home.

The highlight first stems from the spatial reorganization of the kitchen. The designers shifted the kitchen further indoors, pairing it with an induction hob and a downdraft range hood to keep the ceiling unencumbered by bulky extraction equipment, while positioning the kitchen island as a natural transition point between cooking, dining, and cleaning up.

In the living room, the sense of order inherent in French residential design is extended through TV wall storage, symmetrical cabinetry, and soft lines. The client needed ample book storage; however, displaying all the books would easily create too many competing visual lines against the delicate French molding. The designers solved this by altering the orientation of the storage, thereby preserving the elegant proportions of the walls.

Another fine detail resides in the sofa backdrop wall. The designers seamlessly integrated a hidden door to the master bedroom within the wall surface. Through repeated calibration of molding proportions, door seams, and wainscot height, the door panel avoids looking out of place, becoming instead an integral part of the French style. At the same time, the sofa backdrop wall conceals a double-acting cat door sharing the same design language. The small door extends the French arched silhouette, embedding the sweetness of life within the nuanced design.