This content details an architect's thoughtful and personalized approach to designing and furnishing a small 28-square-meter studio apartment in Paris, emphasizing functionality, minimalism, and the creation of a cozy, inviting living space.
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Hello, my name is Jérémy.
I arrived in Paris seven years ago.
I am an architect.
This is my home, my small studio.
It's 28 square metres.
I've been living here for just over a year.
I've furnished myself as it was completely empty when I arrived.
I had to think carefully about how to use
the space and prioritise the rooms.
This is the living room.
I drew a little plan when I first came to see the flat to think
about how to arrange it.
I decided to have one large living room
rather than two small spaces
with a dining table and a small sofa.
Since that setup worked well for me, I designed the space
so someone could move easily around the table, which I built myself.
I love having people over — we’re often many, gathered around the table,
sitting on the sofa or even on the carpet on the floor.
That’s why I chose a carpet that covers the entire living room —
to invite people to sit on the floor and make the space feel cosier.
For my style, I like things to be fairly minimal.
I believe that even in small spaces, decoration should be kept minimal,
or at least grounded in a simple, clean base.
Also, in terms of colours, it helps to calm the space a bit and make
it feel a bit bigger rather than cluttering it up with too many elements.
But then, on the other hand, I like to add a few small,
more personal decorative items that I pick up over time, depending
on my travels and the seasons.
I like to change things around.
For me, the biggest challenge was creating the partition behind me,
which is something I had already done in my old flat and am replicating here,
to combine the separation of the bedroom with the functionality of adding storage,
because there wasn't much of that originally.
I also really like the contrast between the very cold,
industrial look of the stainless steel and the mix of more natural,
neutral materials.
I can see that this used to be one big space.
In fact, when I came to the kitchen, I immediately thought of creating this
separation, even if it meant having a slightly smaller bedroom,
but I preferred to prioritise the living room space by creating this separation.
Also, the outdoor space, which is actually the most important
thing, especially in Paris, where we have small spaces, and it's
just nice to have some outdoor space.
It's pretty special to be able to get out of the house while still staying at home.
It's pretty cool to have that in Paris.
I like being at home, even though it's a small space.
I think it's important to feel good at home.
I’ve made it somewhat like I imagined it.
It’s a quiet place where I can relax.
Do all your friends love your flat?
Yes, now, a bit.
They're happy to come here and hang out with us.
In general, they're quite impressed by the fact that it's always spotless,
that I don't leave anything lying around.
I know it's a bit of my personality that's quite visible, but it suits me and I think
they also like being able to enjoy it in a way.
When it comes to decor, I like the contrast between the modern and the old.
Take this table jewel, for example —
from the Italiano collection, it’s a contemporary interpretation of a small Chinese design.
Here is a small box that doesn't have much use, but is mainly for decoration,
once again to add a bit of colour to the flat.
This bookcase is also something I made with my father's help,
which was a bit complicated because it's made of metal and looks thin,
but it's actually really heavy.
It must weigh over 100 kilos.
So my friends help me move it whenever I move house.
They remember that.
It's something I really like -
once again, I like changing the decorative elements,
often to suit the seasons.
For example, in autumn, I go for warmer, deeper tones — rich Bordeaux shades.
Then I move into spring and go for fresher colours, like the cushions
you can see here.
I spend most of my time here, in the living room.
Where I eat at the coffee table.
Especially in winter, when the terrace is no longer an option,
I’ve arranged everything so the table feels warm and welcoming —
and functions just like a proper dining table.
The TV was a bit of a challenge here — I had to find a way
to integrate it without letting it dominate the space.
I bought it when I arrived here because I like to have a quiet
movie night on the sofa.
I didn’t want the TV to undermine the beauty of the inox wall I designed,
so placing a traditional screen on it wasn’t an option.
I found this model, added a wooden frame to it,
and now I can rearrange the shelves, change the wallpaper, and hang pictures around it -
that changes and also suit the visitors.
I enjoy drawing on my architecture background to build things by hand —
to optimize space and design modular objects perfectly suited to my home.
So I designed this end table to go with the sofa.
It has a metal base and a top I found second-hand.
It allows me to add lights to the apartment.
I invite you to come and see the kitchen.
It's big enough for the apartment.
It may not be the most functional piece, but it’s actually quite comfortable to have.
It gives you a bit of space and you can enjoy it too.
I haven’t made many changes here,
as it was already quite new and well set up.
I just added this inox piece as a subtle nod to the one in the living room.
Just to add a bit of decoration with small elements
that bring some character to the kitchen.
Even though, in general, I think it's better not to have too many
things lying around in the back so as not to overload the space and always keep
in mind the idea of a larger space.
As you can see, the glass roof creates space for our bedrooms behind it.
It was original to the flat.
It's really practical because otherwise it wouldn't have been possible to separate
the rooms and keep the bedroom completely dark.
It lets a lot of light into the bedroom and I can close it off with a
curtain on the bedroom side.
Here, we have a similar collection of Jeans-Ric items,
which I'll tell you about.
She has some little Outer Fantaisie mugs to add a bit of fun to the mix.
Behind me is a tiny bedroom, reduced to the bare minimum.
I've made it a bit cosy.
I played around with the fact that it's inevitably small to make it feel like
a little nest with a bed covered in dark colours and a curtain in the corner
that can be used to close off the bay window and the wardrobe so that I
can tidy up and make it feel cosy.
Here, I'll show you a bit of my dressing room and how I'm getting on with it.
I decided to put in a 45-centimetre-deep cupboard instead of a
60-centimetre-deep one.
I deliberately decided to get rid of the hangers so that I could have more
space in the living room with a narrower piece of furniture.
I had to think a bit about how to reorganise my clothes storage because
I have quite a few and I like them.
Most of my clothes are folded.
It's a bit more economical in terms of space and a bit more efficient.
I've put my trousers in drawers so that I can always try to fit more in and so
that they're easy to use on a daily basis and I can see everything
I have at a glance.
I don't want too many colours in general.
It's a bit like the flat in a way, with neutral tones,
fairly soft colours and a few more colourful pieces here and there.
Here in the bedroom, there's a painting I did that's quite big
for the room, but I like to play around with contrasts and have
a few striking elements.
It's a painting I did myself.
I bought the frame and covered it with fabric I bought
at the Saint-Pierre market.
Most of the things in the flat I made
myself so that I could have exactly what I
wanted and also have things that might have cost more if I had bought them
ready-made, so that I could have objects that really represent me
and my personality and also serve exactly
the purpose I need them to in my life.
Here, I came from France with only the cards that were
in the flat when I arrived.
So it wasn't bad, but it wasn't enough.
But I have a lot of my things, like shoes, jackets and all the DIY stuff I
use to make things for my home.
And right here is the van where I just put
a big mirror at the back and made this van
for the city machine and things that are a bit You can't see it.
Thank you for the tour.
I hope you enjoyed it and that it gave you
some ideas and inspiration for our flats. Goodbye.
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