Interior Designer Turns Small Dark Paris Apartment Into Bright Open Home, 45sqm⧸484sqft

The clients had rented the apartment for 20 years and had the opportunity to buy it. So they had a good idea about what worked and what didn't after living there for so long. It was a genuine desire on their part to transform the place and allow them to truly make it their home. I really liked the concept of being able to completely open up the apartment and creating the one continuous space. They even told me they now spend much more time in the apartment. They cook more often, feel much more at home and go out less than they used to, which for me as an architect is truly rewarding. I'm Juliane Garcia, an interior designer in Paris and the founder of Maison Insula, my own design studio. The apartment is located in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. It's a central area that offers a vibrant neighborhood life. The building dates from the early 20th century and is located in a quiet courtyard. The clients are a couple of graphic designers. They live here with their dog Cento. They travel a lot and always bring back art pieces and books from the countries they visit. The apartment has been rented out for at least 30 years. The electrical system was not up to code and some water leaks had left their mark over the years. Some elements of the original structure were worth preserving, such as the molding, the imprints of old fireplaces on the floor and the solid wood parquet flooring. The linear circulation made it feel very tight and it was impossible to perceive the full 12 meter length of the apartment at a glance. All partitions were removed except for a loud bearing wall that houses the plumbing. We wanted the kitchen to be part of the living room and give the bathroom more privacy and created a new entrance for the bathroom to accommodate a laundry space. We divided the living and sleeping areas with a new wall. Floor-to-ceiling pocket doors open up to suggest different paths of circulation across the apartment that will make it feel larger than it is. 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As soon as you walk into the apartment, a small but luminous entry area welcomes you. Right beside the door, we installed two custom-built closets that conceal the electrical panel and house the washing machine along with some coat storage. This is a high-traffic area where you might enter with wet or dirty shoes, so it made sense to do a tiled floor that continues throughout the kitchen and the bathroom. Without even leaving the entryway, you can glimpse the entire apartment. The living room is open and connected with the kitchen. Placing the sofa against the island unit helps to define the large open area. Instead of having an unused dining room, usually they will just gather around the coffee table on the sofa and chairs. They decided to leave a foldable table in the basement for when they wanted to host sit-down dinner parties. We chose a small frame TV and placed a few art pieces around it to keep the screen as discreet as possible. The space between the former chimney flues and the new partition allowed for a creation of a small niche with wooden shelves for the client's book collection. We didn't want to erase the history of this place, so we decided to keep the floor of the old fireplace but updated the tiles to match the terracotta ones in the kitchen. The kitchen is from IKEA with a custom oak wood countertop that was especially designed locally for this kitchen. The dusty pink tiled backsplash was chosen by the clients and is placed in a grid pattern that gives the space a modern and clean look that contrasts beautifully with the walnut of the island. To maintain a clutter-free look, we hid the fridge, dishwasher and extraction fan behind the illuminated cabinets. Before the renovation, I noticed a large sideboard tucked away in a dark corner of the dining room. I specifically asked that we put this piece into the design, serving as a central island. It also adds a lot of storage inside for pots, pans and other non-kitchen items. A striking chandelier hangs above the island, showcasing the work of Nama Hoffmann, a Berlin-based designer. The bedroom is at the end of the apartment. It can be entered through the two pocket doors on either side, unlike doors that swing open. The doors can be completely hidden away, which means we can make use of all of the space around the doors. The frosted glass maintains privacy while letting the light in. We designed this room so that even when the pocket doors are fully open, you cannot see the bed from the other side of the wall. With a headboard built as a continuation of the partition, equipped with fittings and outlets for lamps and chargers. As the room is situated at the far end of the apartment, we positioned the wardrobe along that wall, adding a drawer set in the corner so as not to block a small window in that spot. This room also had a fireplace at one point, so we replaced the tiles the same way we did in the living room and created a niche for books and personal objects. The bathroom is accessible through a frosted glass door by the entrance of the apartment, which allows natural light to filter into the entrance hall while maintaining the room's privacy. During the renovation, we removed a heater that we really wanted to replace for something that looked more modern. We ended up finding a vertical heater that matched the black features of the rest of the bathroom. Beside the tankless toilets, we installed a small closet that hides the water heater and adds a bit of closed storage to this small space. I found that designing small spaces is often much more fun for me, especially because I enjoy diving into every little detail. I feel very lucky to be able to share this process with my clients. It requires putting yourself in someone else's shoes to imagine and optimize their daily routines.