The Antes-designed dining table in high-gloss, aubergine lacquered timber is surrounded by vintage chairs. ‘A 05 Mural mohair rug’ wool artwork by Maz hangs above the table.
Pictured: Bespoke bookcase and Ave bowl by Thalia Dalecky.
In southern France, a Haussmann-style apartment’s renovation draws back its curtains to reveal handcrafted tactility, composed through scenography and dosed with art.
From its hilltop lookout, Le Refuge embraces Marseille’s duality; a sprawling cityscape hugging the harbour beside rocky, arid flora. Designed by Antes, the three-bedroom apartment cinematically combines the solace of historic, monastic spaces with comfortable, contemporary accents of bespoke furnishings.
Capucine Guhur and Maeva Henninot are co-founders of Antes—a moniker that recalls architectural Roman pillars used to open up space. The duo’s skillsets encompass furniture design, interiors and exhibition scenography—a storytelling dimension that permeates Le Refuge. “Our initial sketches often follow a logic similar to a storyboard,” Guhur says. Narrative flair is paired with rigorous research, uncovering “the history of the place and the different layers that compose it. Marseille is deeply marked by the layers of time: a blend of ancient heritage, Mediterranean influences and raw modernity,” Henninot shares.
The original apartment sequenced small rooms; therefore, openness, light and the client’s wish that the home speak to its setting, steered the renovation. With softly applied Romanesque reverence, the design uses “the interplay of solids and voids, wall thicknesses and the way light sculpts the spaces. It evokes a certain primal monumentality found in ancient architecture,” Henninot says.
Pictured: ‘A 05 Mural mohair rug’ wool painting by Maz.
Travertine-topped island bench and counters lightly balance the dark, metal cabinetry by Léa Colsy. A glass Mazzega pendant light from Retros Gallery, and vintage artworks personalise the space.
The living space is a stage for sensitive artisanship. Designed by Antes with raw plasterwork by Brajon and D Stone travertine pedestals, the fireplace is adorned with the artwork ‘Diesel Memories (Metallic Ghost)’ (2023) by Bella Hunt & DDC/Southway Studio, from Pavillon Southway.
A dimly-lit entryway prompts intrigue before unveiling a raised, light-filled living space oriented towards Marseille’s iconic Old Port. The Antes-designed fireplace, a statue-like, plaster and travertine centrepiece, adjoins bespoke banquette seating, custom designs that Henninot notes, “extend the architecture into the furniture.”
Between kitchen and living zones, a bespoke timber desk, tucked beneath an original stained-glass window, snapshots the home’s contemplative sensibility. Kept temperate beside the hillside’s coolness, the kitchen’s dark patinated-metal cabinetry is offset by sandy travertine benchtops. Not all spaces announce themselves. Beyond the kitchen, the primary bedroom is veiled by vault-like, striated brass doors by Gaultier Rimbault-Joffard. Secretive concealment is reinterpreted from the previous structure, with the guest wing sheltered behind small-hinged doors, camouflaged into lime-plastered hallways.
Above Antes-designed banquette seating with Nobilis upholstery hangs a vintage bas relief. Collaboratively crafted with local glassmaker, Fany Glass, a stained-glass window in the living space replicates the original above the desk. An Eichholtz Bernardi chandelier hangs beneath a restored ceiling rose, above a Willy Rizzo coffee table, which features silver-plated metal egg cups by Rooms Studio. Leather armchair by Memòri Studio and a vintage sofa, reupholstered with cotton and rope ties.
A custom, Antes-designed timber desk and a vintage chair are bathed in the original stain-glassed window’s glow. Bespoke shelving holds glass and metal candleholders by Capucine Guhur beneath a vintage artwork. Longo Peinture three-toned waxed concrete flooring’s is cool and textural underfoot.
In an earthy palette, textural depth of brushed finishes visually softens hard surfaces, including waxed concrete flooring. The gradual pace generated by this tactility continues outdoors where the terrace features a Roman-inspired bathing pool, kitchen and powder room, underscoring the home’s alfresco, Mediterranean framing.
With place acting as an active protagonist, immersive views throughout “have been staged, almost like successive shots of Marseille,” Guhur says, while handcrafted, contemporary designs reshape the historic building, without “disrupting its soul.”
Beyond a sanctuary, Le Refuge shifts perspective, summons a touch of theatrical ceremony that encourages exhalation.
Lit by a vintage hand and candle wall light, the east wing’s corridor is lined by custom cabinetry with chrome handles, mirrors and a vintage, black-lacquered wooden corner chair. Iron-infused, lime-patinated plaster by Ressource coats the dark walls with brushed warmth.
Through the restored, arched hallway door sits a 1970s Acerbis Parioli sideboard by Ludovico Acerbis, handmade bowls by Maz and sculptural iron chair by Memòri Studio. On the right, custom work by Gaultier Rimbault Joffard, made with paint on brass. This is paired with steel elements by local blacksmith Stephane Midy, leading to the primary suite.
Behind the stained fir wood dressing room, a Bonnuit bed rests in the primary bedroom under Aleph Showroom fabic hanging from the original ceiling rose, accompanied by vintage side tables, an Antes artwork and bronze and Terzani Murano-glass Éclat de Lune sconces by Jean Francois Crochet.
Pictured outside is the ‘Jarre Henri II’, a sculpture by Bella Hunt & DDC/Southway Studio, from Pavillon Southway.
