NEVER TOO SMALL 31sqm/344sqft Paris Architect’s Micro Apartment - Jourdain

The apartment is located in the 20s district of Paris. It's called the Belville area. This is a village like every rich in diversity of people and buildings. It is a hilly place where you can catch some beautiful views of the Paris landscape. This is our apartment. My girlfriend, Clementine, and I live here. Originally, the apartment is about twenty four square meters. And together with the mezzanine it's now a thirty one square meters apartment. As Parisian prices are really high, we were looking for an apartment that was affordable. The apartment is located in a tiny and modest building of two floors, which was built in the end of the 19th century. When we first found the apartment, it was a tiny dark three rooms apartment. There were no toilets nor showers, and the ceiling was quite low. Everything was run down and dirty. We removed every wall, close it and ceiling from the space, removing all of the ceiling. Gave us a lot more volume vertically. And because of that, we added a mezzanine to the apartments by making a compact furniture unit to include the bedroom, the bathroom, the walk in wardrobe and all of our bookshelves and closets. We added three skylights into the apartment to maximize the natural light into the space. Getting into the apartment, you're greeted by a generous double storey height space and the exposed old beams and lots of light. Our main goal was to make this apartment the most sustainable and economical for us. And we did most of the renovation by ourselves so we could save money and take good care of the details and also improve our building skills. We used a lot of French pine plywood. Not only is it economical, but also very durable and aesthetically pleasing. We like the idea of simplicity, irregularity and imperfection. Almost all of our furniture are simple and meaningful things that we found in the street. For example, the closet and doors are from my grandparents kitchen that I took when they passed away. And if that was sold. Next to the main window in the apartment marks the beginning of the living space. We designed the wooden volume of the mezzanine, bathroom and wardrobe space that allows the living to extend to a more intimate space in front of the bookshelf. There are five identical 45 centimeter bookshelf sections centered around our old integrated sound system and two 60 centimeter doors we made ourselves. To leave maximum space in the living and Kitchin, the mezzanine ladder is foldable and movable attached to a fin cream rail. By pulling the ladder, you get quite comfortable access to the mezzanine. It is a simple warm wooden space with a bed hidden behind the bookshelf. We built a wooden box with plywood to form a bedhead that insulates us from the wall and allows us a place to put our books or alarm clock. We added a skylight to allow more natural light into the apartment and provide a little window to the skyscape. The bathroom is designed around a small window. It is a very small bathroom, but we wanted it to feel generous, so we chose to use white tiles, white tap and white showerhead to reflect the light. To bring a sparkling element into this white room, we used a survival blanket as a shower curtain. We love the warm, shiny golden reflections that it brings all over the space. During the construction, we found an old and broken sink. So we decided to use it and we really like its cracks and its timeless look. We also used an old mirror that belonged to Clementine's grandparents. The walk-in wardrobe is a compact and efficient space. We created a small bench to sit on and take off our shoes. The walk-in wardrobe and the bathroom were also designed as a buffer space to filter noise from the neighboring apartments and the common spaces. The kitchen is the feature of the apartment. We wanted to have a large workspace to cook together. It has a cook top, oven and fridge. We also kept the old cracked sink from the original apartment. Even though it's compact, we made sure it has a lot of storage below the kitchen bench. We kept the wall free from clutter and hanging cupboard. And we designed this funny wooden wood-shaped extractor hood. We also asked a ceramist friend to create the handles of the kitchen cabinets. We use a washable shiny paint as a splash back over three lines of white tiles, the same as we used in the bathroom. In the dining space, we have Clementine's grandfather's old workshop table where we can generously fit six people. Designing a small space is about choosing what's really meaningful for you. By choosing what's really important, you make these functions easy for everyday life. If you have a tiny space, it might mean that you have few pieces of furniture. So I like the idea of including them in the project. So you can give them the space and place they deserve. As we live, knowing the important effects of climate change on our future city, living, living in the small space can contribute many positive solutions. It is easier to heat or cool and to clean. It also needs less material to build, and it helps to stop the urban spreading. As living in the city is also closer to amenities. It prevents the excessive use of cars and keeps the city centers active and lively. An ideal situation would be to combine tiny private livings and diverce bigger common spaces for shared facilities and activities in the same building or block, and also lots of public spaces in the neighborhood we live in.

Channel: NEVER TOO SMALL

Views: 1,410,183

Rating: 4.9613233 out of 5

Keywords: Apartment, DIY, Do it yourself, European d, Paris, apartment makeover, architect, architecture, bathroom, bedroom, best interior design, city, colour, decorating, design, designer, fold away furniture, french, home decor tiny home, home space saving ideas, idea, interior, interior design, interior trends 2021, kitchen, living, micro apartment, mirror, planning, renovation, sliding door, small, small apartment design, small apartment tour, smart, storage, studio apartment, tiny, transform, window

Id: xfXMoGmb74w

Length: 8min 14sec (494 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 15 2021