£600,000 for romantic home with view of the Eiffel Tower

With an increasing number of Irish investors snapping up property in Paris, the owners of this penthouse in the 6th Arrondissment have decided to pitch it at the Irish market.

Husband and wife team Carol Reid (she hails from Youghal) and Jean Francois Gaillard have made a business out of renovating and selling apartments to English and American clients. Now they are beginning to get calls from Ireland, from buyers keen to capitalise on the relatively low price of French property. This three-bedroom apartment has all the ingredients of a romantic pieda-terre. From the rooftop terrace you can see the Eiffel Tower, and there is a vast living-room that's perfect for entertaining: it is full of light, with three sets of French windows opening on to wrought iron balconies. On a very European practical level, there's also room for a growing family. It is on the market at FF5 million - approximately £600,000.

When Carol Reid and her French husband first saw the top floor apartment on the Rue Amsterdam, close to St Lazare train station, it was in need of more than a little work. Once the maids' quarters at the top of a 19th century apartment block, the space had at one time been divided into 13 rooms. Then a previous owner removed all the walls, leaving just a vast space punctuated by the metal pillars which support the roof. A family of pigeons were the only occupants. The couple weren't in the least bit put off by the work ahead - renovating properties is their business. He is an architect and photographer, she is a painter and interior decorator, so both have a strong sense of style and the know-how to achieve it.

They divided the space into three airy bedrooms and a large living-room that also includes a dining area and the kitchen. One definitely quirky detail is the open air shower room, which is directly over the kitchen. Clearly no outdoor shower is for the faint-hearted, but this one is really a test for brave bathers - its floor is made of glass bricks which double as the kitchen ceiling. The indoor shower room is equally dramatic, with antique shower fittings, and rich coloured Belgian tiles.

The couple are keen fans of architectural salvage, so the floor in the living area is made of honey-coloured planks salvaged from railway cars and bought in London; the ladder leading up to the little rooftop glasshouse is made from salvaged planks, and the kitchen is made from wood salvaged from a church in Ireland.

The apartment at 96 Rue Amsterdam, is for sale through Pascale Constans, tel 0033 1 46334723.