This 388-square-foot Paris pied-à-terre unfolds like carriages on a luxury train : organized lengthwise, the apartment retains its original layout, but all of the internal partitions have been removed to offer a continuous perspective, punctuated by five south-facing windows.

The owner, a Californian who wanted to reimagine his pad in the French capital, “gave me complete creative freedom from the outset,” says interior designer Lauranne Elise Schmitt . “We shared some common points of reference, including a fondness for midcentury modern . It’s not a California style per se, but it’s had a big impact on the West Coast since the 1940s.” It makes sense that the Parisian transplant wanted to take a little slice of home across the pond with him.

The living room and bedroom walls and ceilings are painted in Marron d’Inde (Ressource).…