As with all small spaces.
The challenge was to make it seem bigger.
I wanted to create
continuity and fluidity between the spaces,
to create a simple natural design
with warm and durable materials.
I think it's important
to have fun when decorating your home.
I love natural graphic materials
and adding a small touch of eccentricity.
The apartment is located in Jourdain,
next to Belleville area in the 20th arrondissement of Paris.
This area is a bit like a village
with a beautiful church, a lively neighborhood life
and not far from The Buttes Chaumont, a famous park in Paris.
The building was constructed
at the end of the 18th century.
It was built as a residential block.
It's very beautiful with its stone facade and old moldings.
My client had
some specific ideas about the layout he wanted.
The light was an important consideration in this project,
as the apartment was quite dark.
The glass wall between the dining room and the bedroom
is currently trendy and often asked by my clients
But for this project I wanted to design it in a way
that it looks like it has always been a part of the apartment.
When we first found the apartment,
it was poorly maintained and lacked soul
The apartment was previously used as a share house, so there were no common spaces.
There are two bedrooms, a common toilet
and a small kitchen.
We totally change the floor plan
and we moved all of the inside walls.
We created a new kitchen by the entrance of the apartment,
a bedroom with a large ensuite bathroom and separate toilet,
and a cosy living room with a central dining room.
The apartment opens up directly to the kitchen,
so a part of the kitchen is also the entrance.
Coats and outerwear can be hung and the hooks behind the front door.
The kitchen is along the wall.
It is quite large for this size apartment and equipped
with everything you need.
The kitchen counter is made from oak
and I put some textured white tiles for the backsplash.
There is a big fridge, a dishwasher,
an oven, and an induction hob.
I chose to use white facades
to make this narrow space more spacious.
The floor is covered with terracotta and red colored pattern cement tiles
The dining room
marks the articulation between the kitchen and the living room.
The old wooden floor has been restored
and runs into the bedroom, toilets and living room.
The glass from the wall dividing bedroom and dining rooms
allows natural light to spill into the dining area.
We chose a large vintage table from the 50s
and four vintage chairs from the 70s for the dining room.
Above the dining table there are two blue
ceramic pendant lights.
The living room faces
the main window with the balcony,
I custom designed, some shelves
and closets of each ends of the window.
We chose not to install too much furniture
to make it simple.
The client loves listening to music
and he has a great record collection.
So we made this the central part
of the living room.
When he wants to watch a movie,
he can pull down the projector screen from the ceiling.
We added a lamp next to the vinyl cabinets
and we put lights on the walls.
It creates a nice atmosphere
in the evenings.
The bedroom can be seen from the living room.
From the outset, my client wanted a terracotta wall.
It is a color that has some meaning to him.
It gives depth and the terracotta color can be seen
from everywhere in the space.
Along one wall there is a floor to ceiling wardrobe
that spans the entire bedroom.
It has a lot of space for clothes
and household items.
Below the window between
the dining room, there is a cupboard for more storage.
When the client wants to work from home, there is a pullout desk here too.
There are two wall
mounted lights on either side of the window.
It makes a comfortable space to work in the evening,
but also helps to illuminate the dining space on the other side.
I custom designed the bedside tables.
They are small and have a tiny footprint.
Perfect for the space.
They are two lamps on either side of the bed
for bedtime reading.
The bathroom is quite large and bright with two windows.
It's all white.
In order to bring out the same tiled floor,
which are the same as the ones in the kitchen.
The washing machine is inside of a floor
to ceiling storage closet.
The sink and vanity are in the brightest corner of the bathroom.
There is a large mirror which helps reflect the light from the windows
and floating shells made from the same oak as the kitchen.
The vertical lights
on each side of the mirror are the same as the ones in the bedroom.
As an architect, I like simplicity and fluidity.
I often use a few different materials
so the space can feel larger and not overloaded.
Parisian apartments are often tiny,
but they are a refuge in this big city.
I think it is essential to renovate existing buildings
in order to adapt them to our current lifestyle.
In Paris, we are fortunate to have high quality existing buildings
full of potential that we should repurpose
and make use of them.
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You're welcome.
Thanks for watching.
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please share it with us at Never too Small.
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