My Space

Inside French Artist Yoann Lemoine’s Playful Paris Apartment

The multihyphenate creative views his home as the ultimate gathering place

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Yoann Lemoine in his red salon, where he keeps a bar stocked for festivities.

At 37, multitalented French artist Yoann Lemoine has reached a particular in-between stage of life. With the recent release of his sophomore album as Woodkid and the direction of music videos like Harry Styles’s “Sign of the Times” under his belt, he’s graduated from the transience of his youth. At the same time, Yoann is not yet a family man—he’s a single creative who spends his free time with friends. His first home had to reflect that.

Yoann found his ideal hosting pad in a former school designed by renowned Eiffel Tower engineer Gustave Eiffel. Located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, the structure’s distinctive construction allowed Yoann and his architect, Regis Larroque, to devise a floor plan optimized for dinner parties and movie nights. “It’s a remarkable building because it only stands on a few iron pillars,” Yoann explains. “There were no load-bearing walls, so I knew I could completely open it up.”

“It has the quality of a first house,” says Yoann. “It has that idea of that moment in life where you’re single and your friends are still very important.”

The airy, vintage-filled space is the ultimate hangout. Light spills in through a bevy of narrow casement windows, yet privacy is maintained by the brick roof of the adjacent church. Large modernist George Nelson pieces such as a Pedestal Extension dining table and modular sofas ensure that each area can accommodate a crowd, while a projector and Bowers & Wilkins sound system provide cinema-style entertainment. For a mellower gathering, a long, suspended bookcase displays reading material and cleverly hides the heaters.

LEGO-inspired color blocking and whimsical shapes reinforce the idea of an adult playground. A glossy blue Corian kitchen is juxtaposed with a pale yellow Jean Prouvé table and is enhanced by funky Gerd Lange for Thonet Flex armchairs and a toy-like Ettore Sottsass wall lamp that reminds Yoann of a Star Wars stormtrooper. “I wanted to shock the apartment with a couple of pop elements,” he describes.

“There is exclusively vintage furniture in my apartment,” Yoann declares. “Nothing is new. I like the idea that pieces come with a history and they’re moving from one house to another. It’s also a bit more of a responsible, ecological statement.”

The living room is centered around a bold Paulin, Paulin, Paulin wool rug produced by the family of the late Pierre Paulin. Based on the celebrated designer’s drawings of a geometric stone garden, the black-white-and-gray pattern is one of few graphic moments found in the home. It’s both eye-catching and functional. “We spend a lot of time on the carpet,” Yoann reveals. “It’s the ideology of Pierre Paulin. He believed that you could live on the floor.”

More traditional seating appears in the form of twin Kazuhide Takahama Suzanne sofas that offer plush, rounded comfort, as well as a treasured set of Pierre Jeanneret Chandigarh V-leg armchairs, an extremely rare find that marries wood and square cane. “The profile is incredible,” Yoann muses.

Yoann fell in love with the Alvar Aalto pendants above his dining table while shooting a music video in the Maison Louis Carré, a modernist residence that the Finnish architect designed.

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A brief departure from the socially minded layout, Yoann’s elegant Pierre Paulin CM141 desk, foldable Joe Colombo Vademecum lamp, and ergonomic Ettore Sottsass Olivetti Synthesis chair compose a tranquil workstation. The backdrop is a deep teal–hued complex that conceals closets, a laundry room, and a black marble bathroom.

In response to the cool tones throughout, Yoann installed warm oak floors and created a bright red zone for drinking and smoking. An homage to Yves Saint Laurent’s fiery decor, the little lounge features Børge Mogensen Spanish chairs with broad armrests and sexy leather straps, a George Nelson daybed that can sleep overnight guests, and a ledge for rotating art. “I don’t hang things because I like to move them around all the time,” Yoann says. “I always want to rediscover them.”

In his shiny cobalt kitchen, Yoann frequently cooks pasta for his crew.

A Zuza Krajewska photograph of troubled teens rests atop Yoann's Pierre Paulin desk.

Nearly all the lighting is by Gino Sarfatti, an Italian designer who Yoann reveres for his avant-garde approach. Sleek, minimal fixtures like the glowing green pendant in the kitchen and the arched floor lamp that illuminates the desk evoke the 1970s despite their invention more than a decade earlier. “The real problem with Gino Sarfatti is when you start to get into him, everything else feels a bit heavy,” Yoann admits. “I’m so obsessed that I only want Gino Sarfatti in my house.”

“I wanted a wood and marble collision,” Yoann says.

Such a precious, retro collection combined with vibrant, playful details achieves Yoann’s desired distinguished-meets-childish vibe. It embodies his current state in which he might write an emotional, intricate song and play Mario Kart on the same day. It’s just the balance he needs.

“The view is very special because it’s just roofs and sky,” Yoann says. “It feels like you’re in a village in England because of the red bricks.”