for those of you longing for something other than chair before & afters, here is a unique makeover. d*s reader lily of les carnets du design in paris opened a restaurant, le louvre ripaille, with her boyfriend three years ago. their parisian makeover was done on a budget and entirely by hand. they repainted the walls (in a lovely eggshell hue), took their own photo of logs to create a wall photo mural, painted the bar walls with chalkboard paint for easy menu and wine listsings, and bought a book of bird drawings to decoupage onto the bathroom stalls for a wallpaper effect. the pictures are a little less than perfect (my apologies, we couldn’t get new shots) but the overall look is still pretty clear- a chic, modern update that makes me long for a trip to paris. thanks to lily and her boyfriend for sharing!
[top image, restaurant front "before". image above, restaurant front "after"]
[image above: bar "before"]
[images above: bar (with chalkboard paint) "after. bottom image via laurence thurion]
[image above: dining room "before"]
[image above: dining room (with log photo mural) "after"]
[image above: bathroom and hallway "before"]
[images above: bathroom (with decoupaged book pages) and hallway "after"]
26 Comments
Okay, honestly not a fan of the birds, but the rest is fabulous! It’s stunning how they transformed that place.
(And is it just me or does the previous red sort of scream strip club??)
AHHHHHHHH, this is brilliant! And they did it themselves? Wow, wowwooowowow
wow. looks gorgeous! I disagree about the bathroom. As they were doing it themselves with limited funds, the decoupage pages were a nice touch.
I wish I could visit. TODAY! They did a fabulous job. Especially when you consider where they started…I imagine it was hard to see the very clean and sleek “after” in their minds’ eye at first.
REMARKABLE! This is such a brilliant space. I want to sit on those stools!
wow – that is quite the change! What a chic little restaurant!
I’m so delighted to be part of your Before&After Grace thank you, thank you so much !! Hope to see you there !
i love seeing these kinds of ‘before and afters’! such a lovely transformation.
so many little treasures and nice touches. simple colors, pretty and welcoming design and fun space. makes me want to visit!
Absolutely lovely!! I adore the bar area, and sit here wondering how I can bring a little Parisian charm to my own kitchen. The images and style bring me back to some sweet moments spent in Paris several years ago, dining at a cafe very much like this one. Best of luck to le louvre ripaille!
I love this! The sidewalk front, bar, and dining room are so beautiful. I love the idea of a photo mural… anyone know the process? How would one print/apply something like that? It’s so dramatic, but not overpowering at all. If only Paris weren’t so far away…
i’m loving the bathroom with the decoupaged books!
Stunning! There’s nothing like the reward after investing lots of grit and elbow grease!
LOVE the before and afters!
Simple, cozy, great. Love the wallpaper, I’ve seen it before in magazines, just don’t recall which one.
it’s perfect! why can’t i own a cafe in paris?
ahhh, a dream come true. i love that stacked wood!
It’s gorgeous. Such a resourceful, elegant revamp.
the restuarant looks so modern and chic now! im definitely most impressed with the bathroom!
another WHOA for a b&a, though i must admit i like this one much better than the kitchen reno. reminds me of a place i ate at in toronto this past summer.
This is lovely! It makes me just want to visit Paris even more…
Yes I second Juli’s comment. The decoupage pages in the bathroom certainly grabbed my attention.
We’re going to Paris in a month and I may have to make a special trip down here just to see this remarkable restaurant.
@Katie: most print shops can do “wide-format printing” of larger pieces, up to about 60″ in width. (And signage shops can do even larger.) You can have your file printed in several strips and then wallpaper them up.
The cheaper option would be to print them on 11″ x 17″ tiles and put them together yourself. There is free software that will automatically tile the image for you onto separate pages.
Wow. This is the kind of place you’d like to move into and turn into a home rather than renovate your own.
Excellent work. I’ll be over for dinner.
And the food is so good… Great place, remarkable work, great staff, the place is so nice when the night comes… congradulations! I’ll come back!!!
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