How a Designer Worked This Kitchen’s Awkward, Curved Wall Into the Layout

It was begging for a banquette.
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wood kitchen around a curved pillar

Usually, when you close the door to your apartment, you forget about all the other areas behind you: the meandering hallways, the communal laundry room, the stretch of doors leading to your neighbors’ units. But that isn’t the case for interior architect Olivier Debin’s Paris-based client. A protruding, curved wall corresponding with his building’s stairwell sits smack in the middle of his 505-square-foot apartment. When Debin first toured the space, he knew the challenge would be figuring out a layout that worked with the immovable structure, not against it. 

wood kitchen dining area

“This apartment was particularly claustrophobic because it was not only very compartmentalized but also cluttered with all kinds of storage,” he recalls. Debin likens the old kitchen, situated just off the entryway, to a small, narrow box. He saw an opportunity to open the space up by utilizing one wall and continuing the cabinetry all the way to the windows on the other side of the room. The idea was sparked by the layouts in Cité Radieuse, a residence in Marseille designed by Le Corbusier. “The idea is to concentrate as many functions as possible in a small space: entryway storage, laundry, kitchen, and office,” shares Debin. 

wood wall of cabinets

The architect chose birch plywood for the millwork and had it coated with a clear varnish to preserve the raw character of the material. With the exception of the induction cooktop, every appliance is hidden behind the hardware-less doors: the refrigerator, the oven, the dishwasher. Closest to the entrance, Debin snuck in tall cabinets for long clothing, plus a hidden washing machine. At the other end? He worked in a desk with plenty of shelving. 

wood desk

All of this freed up space on the curved side of the room for—drumroll, please!—seating. Debin set out to use the stairwell wall to his advantage by constructing a wrap-around banquette swathed in Pierre Frey fabric. He designed a custom curved dining table made out of olive ash wood that fits perfectly alongside the bench and leaves plenty of room for walking and cooking. 

curved kitchen wall

Taking into account his client’s love of all things science (particularly chemistry), the designer chose a DCW Editions pendant for over the dining table that looks like it’s made of extra-large lenses. Then, he covered the wall in a mural inspired by artist Fabrice Hyber, whose work often centers around nature. What was once a reminder of the building’s stairwell now feels a bit like a meadow in the countryside.

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Lydia Geisel Avatar

Lydia Geisel

Home Editor

Lydia Geisel has been on the editorial team at Domino since 2017. Today, she writes and edits home and renovation stories, including house tours, before and afters, and DIYs, and leads our design news coverage. She lives in New York City.