In the chic 9th Arrondissement of Paris, architects Batiik Studio found a project that allowed them to do what they do best: Create exceeding clever layouts and built-ins to solve the myriad woes of tiny apartments.
In this case, the apartment was for a single professional who wanted to use the space to cook, work, sleep, and entertain—in only 235 square feet, half of which had a sharply sloping ceiling. The architects met their client’s needs by designing a multitasking plywood built-in that becomes a bed, sofa, storage rail, and dining table all in due turn. They found unexpected niches to tuck additional storage, like inside the walls and under the eaves, and rounded out the project with a generously sized bathroom that’s as far from the kitchen as possible (just like we like it). Let’s take a closer look.
Photography by Bertrand Fompeyrine, courtesy of Batiik Studio.
1. Design for more than one purpose.
The genius of this apartment lies in a single modular built-in that serves as a bed, sofa, and dining table. When the fully extended bed (shown below) is rolled halfway beneath the kitchen platform, it becomes a sofa. Once the bed/sofa is pushed away fully, the plywood divider between kitchen and living room becomes a dining table for four; just add two white counter stools on the living room side and two small stools on the kitchen platform.
2. Let light through.
The plywood counter that divides the kitchen from the living room is perforated with diagonal stripes, to let light through and “reduce the feeling of partitioning,” said the architect.
3. Build a Closet and Pantry in One.
In a space with constraints this extreme, there wasn’t room for a separate wardrobe and pantry. So the architects designed a single, full-height plywood corner cabinet inside the wall to hold both kitchen overflow and clothing.
4. Put the furniture to work.
Batiik designed a plywood storage chest that functions as a coffee table, and painted half in blue to mirror the dark blue bathroom wall and echo the angles of the room.
5. Where you can fit a chair, you can fit a desk.
Batiik tucked a tiny shelf beneath one of the existing windows, which serves as an office space for the homeowner. “The large roof windows especially benefit the new office area,” said the architect.
6. Use color to define space.
The bathroom walls are painted dark blue, “to emphasize the only closed space of the studio,” said the architects.
Before
Have a similar space to share? Don’t forget to enter our Considered Design Awards contest by submitting up to 10 photos of your project by Friday, June 22. There are separate contest categories for professional and amateur designers on both Remodelista and Gardenista, and winners get a $500 gift card to shop Schoolhouse.
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