Blown Away by the Beauty: Les Balcons Saint-Paul

You may find this French Property Insider, the first one of the year, and the 20th year of issues, a little later than usual. That’s because I waited until Les Balcons Saint-Paul was ready for occupancy and for photo-taking.

Simulated photo of the missing armchair

Our renovation crew, led by our illustrious designer, Martine di Mattéo, and our long-time and cherished concierge, Luz Diaz, worked feverishly to get the apartment 99.9 percent complete, before the first owners arrived at 12 noon today. I had a 3 p.m. train to Nice to catch, but rushed over to take the photos, even with the apartment missing one lone thing—the hand designed and custom made pumpkin-colored armchair—that was delayed by a few weeks thanks to Covid-19 (or at least that’s what the manufacturer is saying).

I hadn’t seen the finished product until yesterday when the crew was putting on the final touches and I stepped in to organize the cabinets, purchase last-minute things and add my two cents. To say that I was “blown away” by the beauty of the decor is an understatement! After going room to room, I called Martine.

“Martine, as usual you have outdone yourself!,” I exclaimed. She’s heard this a million times from me, but each time I really mean it. Her ability to pull it all together, down to the tiniest detail, with total elegance and style, is a complete mystery…no one does it quite like she does. Even the hardware is stunning—unusual and noticeably so. She re-used a lot of the elements that were already there, but in an up-cycled and brilliant way.

For example, the large etched mirror over the sofa in the living room used to be opposite the kitchen, vertically placed on the wall, but she had the foresight to move it, place it horizontally over the sofa, and in order for that to work, she actually lengthened the wall a small amount to make it fit. That’s just a small example, but there’s a long list like that of all the ways she can turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. Everything she does, she does with style, even her Halloween costume this past year as Cruella de Vil was first class and unabashedly perfect.

My contribution to the project is functionality, for which I am a stickler. Martine had designed a secretary to fit into the second bedroom at my request. Yesterday afternoon when I saw it, I suggested drilling holes inside to allow cords to pass through to the bottom where electrical plugs could be added, so that a computer and whatever else (such as a printer under the desk, and in the cabinet) could be there and connected without seeing the unsightly cords. I also asked for a small light strip in order to illuminate it. Her contractor understood immediately and by this morning, it was done and 100 percent perfect.

The second/guest bedroom

The master bedroom

For all of you considering a fractional ownership share, but want four weeks together, not just two—that’s easy! With our usage calendar, two shares that each want four weeks can be sold side-by-side so that the two owners simply trade their two weeks with each other to create four weeks together! We just need to know that’s what you want so we can try to accomplish it for you. See the calendar here.

The shower room

There are only two shares left in this beautiful property—Shares F and H. They won’t last long. I’d urge you to act now if you’re at all interested in being one of the lucky owners. Visit our website for all the details and the new photos.

Then, email us TODAY!

A bientôt,