“If you cross the threshold of the Flat Office Gallery on Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris, designed by the designer Frank Genzer, be aware that you are leaving behind the real life, the street noise, and the daily monotony. Everything here is astonishing; every detail attracts and destabilizes. The entrance, like an aerial airlock, seems to transport you to another dimension.
The shapes and volumes are extravagant and surrealistic. At the same time, it is high-class design, uncompromisingly practical and smart: wall and floor lamps are cordless and turn on and off with a touch; tables adjust in height with a hidden mechanism, stools and chairs maintain the correct sitting posture.
Once, the psychoanalyst of Yves Saint Laurent lived and worked here. Frank Genzer discovered the apartment in 2021, when it was adorned with heavy classical decoration—respectful but dark, cluttered, with numerous interior walls. It spans 205 square meters and has seven rooms. The element that immediately captures attention is the large semi-circular window with a view of Boulevard Saint-Germain and Rue De Seine, acting as a screen to the bustling city life.
“Most walls were painted in bright colors by a patient of the psychoanalyst, who had been engaged in it for nearly two years as a therapeutic approach. The way the colors were applied revealed the nervousness of the gesture and seemed to still emit his somewhat unhealthy energy. Walking through the apartment felt like traveling through his consciousness. I actually liked the atmosphere and hesitated to change it, but my younger son stated that he wouldn’t want to live in a painting by Munch,” recalls the designer.
It takes a dose of boldness and certainly self-confidence to decide to completely reshape this space, to “strip” it, to open it up to light and the world. Two years were needed for this complete transformation and modernization. Walls were removed, all areas were rethought, and the result is more than impressive. The main idea was to reveal different perspectives.”