Step inside some of Paris’ tiniest and quirkiest apartments! Discover how Parisians maximize space, design creatively, and live comfortably in compact city homes. 🏙️🇫🇷
#ParisApartments #TinyHomes #InteriorDesign #SmallSpaceLiving #ParisLifestyle #Architecture #Shorts
#ParisApartments #TinyHomes #InteriorDesign #SmallSpaceLiving #ParisLifestyle #Architecture #Shorts
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I'm in one of the tiniest apartments in Paris. It is only 9 square meters or 96 square feet,
00:06which is barely the size of an acceptable bedroom. But they were able to fit so many
00:10things here that it feels pretty luxurious. And before I give you a tour, let me show you
00:15how crazy things usually are. There's around 115,000 tiny apartments in Paris, and around
00:2285% of them currently sit empty. Mostly because they're so bad that they can't be rented,
00:28just like the one we're gonna see now. So here we are in the very chic 7th arrondissement,
00:33which is one of the richest of Paris. And from the street, you honestly have no idea of what we're
00:38about to see. It's a beautiful building with a really nice door that feels uniquely Parisian.
00:43But after climbing six flights of stairs, things are about to get real as we arrive in this long
00:48and uninviting alleyway leading to our first apartment. So if you've watched my last video
00:53on the topic, you might know that tiny apartments have a very controversial history in Paris.
00:58And I need to tell you a bit more about it so that you can make sense of what we're
01:02about to see.
01:03So the reason why we have so many tiny apartments in Paris is because of this man,
01:07the well-named Hoffman. He was given full powers to extensively renovate Paris,
01:12he demolished a bunch of tiny medieval streets that were overcrowded, and instead he built the
01:17wide avenues with the beautiful stone buildings that we have today, and that in my opinion make
01:22Paris so beautiful. But as you'll see, hide a lot of secrets. And an interesting thing about these
01:27buildings is that they were designed to mirror the social hierarchy of the times. So the fanciest
01:32floors were at the bottom, so remember elevators were not a thing back then, and as you went up,
01:37things got less fancy. That is, until you reached the last floor, which is often the sixth floor,
01:42that was made to house the servants of the people who lived in the fancy apartments below.
01:46And as you can expect, back in the 19th century, servants didn't have the best living conditions,
01:51so the sixth floor was just a bunch of very bad tiny rooms that were called chambre de bonne,
01:56which means maid's room in French, since around 60% of buildings in Paris today are
02:01Hoffman-style buildings. These tiny apartments are absolutely everywhere. And to be honest,
02:06not much has changed since the 19th century, and we're gonna see it for ourselves right now.
02:11Okay, so back in the day, there was no running water inside the rooms on the last floor,
02:15so there was one shared sink, which you can see the remnants of right here, and everyone
02:19also shared a toilet, which you can see right here. You have to remember that it's still in use,
02:25because even today, some of these tiny apartments don't have toilets, and the people who live there
02:29have to use this common toilet, which is so disgusting that it makes me grateful for the
02:34comforts of modern and private bathrooms. Okay, so now let's check out the apartment. It is only 9.5
02:39square meters, which is 102 square feet. And let's start with what's maybe the only positive thing
02:44about it. Since it's on the last floor, it has a very nice view over the roofs of Paris. But
02:49this
02:50also means that we have slanted ceilings, which makes the place feel not very spacious. They've
02:54also converted part of the unusable space into storage, which, you know, I appreciate. You can see
02:59the previous owners tried their best, but things are not very good, especially since the kitchen is
03:04right here in this corner, and you can't really stand there to cook a meal. Also, while this place
03:09does have a private bathroom and shower, it is common to have issues like mold and humidity in
03:15this type of tiny Paris apartments, because originally they were not made to have bathrooms
03:19and kitchens inside the apartment. Anyway, anyone who can see would agree that it is in urgent need of
03:25a refresh. And, you know, you can obviously tell that the apartment is not up to par with modern
03:30standards, and that's also why there's no one living there. But, you know, it's not like you can
03:34just change the decor and have things be moving ready. First of all, since that place is on the
03:39last floor, under the famous zinc rooftops of Paris, the insulation is so bad. It gets re-cold
03:46in winter and re-hot in summer. And I don't know if you can see it, but the floor is
03:50also so weird.
03:52Like, it's not straight at all, and there's kind of a hole in the middle. So you would have to
03:56gut the
03:57whole place and spend a lot of money on renovation. And I'll talk about renovations, and I'll give you all
04:02the numbers in the next section. If you think that this would be a pretty bad place to live in,
04:06then let me tell you that this apartment is considered quite spacious in terms of old service
04:11rooms, because it's actually two rooms that have been merged together. As you can see here, this is
04:15a second door that has been condemned, and on the other side, it's actually where they put the toilet
04:20and these shelves. So the last time I spoke about tiny Paris apartments on the channel, the main question
04:26I got was, why can't we merge two tiny service rooms, make a nice and comfortable tiny apartment?
04:31I even had a comment that made me laugh a little, knowing what I know about the weird tiny apartments
04:36of Paris. This person said, if the buildings are solid, then it would be easy to combine two or
04:41more units into livable spaces, and add elevators, insulation, and new HVAC systems. Let's see about
04:48that. So as you can see, when you merge two tiny mates rooms, you don't really get a big place.
04:53Plus,
04:53most tiny apartments that are on the same floor as the one we just visited are actually even smaller,
04:59so they cannot be rented legally, and most people just use them as storage. Like, as you can see,
05:03our tiny apartment is the only one with a doormat. And to be clear, in France, since 2002, you cannot
05:10rent an apartment that's less than 9 square meters, which is 97 square feet, and is honestly very very
05:16small. Keep in mind as well that they only count the parts of the apartment that have a ceiling height
05:21of
05:21at least 2.2 meters, which is 7 feet 2 inches. You know, this is a very serious matter. They
05:27actually have a licensed home inspector come and measure your place, and then give you official
05:31paperwork. So for example, in the apartment we just saw, we're only taking into account these parts to
05:37get a size of 9.5 square meters or 102 square feet. But the floor surface is around 15 square
05:43meters or
05:44161 square feet. And unfortunately, a lot of old service rooms are under the legal limit, so you
05:50just cannot legally rent them. And originally, the service rooms were sold with the fancy apartments
05:56below, so a lot of the people who own them already have a big apartment, so they don't need the
06:00extra
06:00square footage. And they just use them as storage and kind of forget about them, either because they're
06:05too small to rent legally, or because they don't think it's possible to renovate them, and I'm gonna show
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07:17So I was able to see this unused apartment because it has just been bought by a company that specializes
07:23in renovating very bad tiny apartments. And most of the time, the places they renovate are so bad
07:29that they've been sitting empty for a while or sometimes have been abandoned for years.
07:33And this company is called Atom, and they are not sponsors of this video at all. I've just been
07:38following them around for the past few weeks to see how they turn these dumps into actual
07:42comfortable tiny homes, like the one I'm going to be staying in later. And let me tell you,
07:47it is no small feat at all. So when they renovate these places, things are so bad that they kind
07:53of
07:53have to start from a clean slate and fully gut the apartment. And this is why I'm here on a
07:58rainy
07:58Paris night in front of, once again, a fully normal looking building that is home to one of
08:04the craziest tiny Paris apartments I've ever seen. And the electricity looks like this right now. So
08:09I'm not going to be touching it, and I'm going to be filming on my flashlight, which I feel adds
08:13to
08:13the spooky atmosphere. So this place is on the ground floor, and it used to be home of the live
08:18-in
08:18super of the building. If you've watched Emile in Paris, it's this lady right here who is not helping
08:24her fix her shower. It's kind of a job of the past, and there's not that many live-in supers
08:28anymore.
08:29So a lot of buildings sell these apartments, and they often tend to be in a pretty rough shape,
08:34like the place we're in. So this place is 18 square meters, which is 194 square feet. And as you
08:40can see
08:41here, they've already started the demolition works, and they've removed almost everything. And when I say
08:45everything, I really mean it, because everything needs to be redone. Like the electrical wiring seems
08:51bad. Insulation needs work. And I think I even see some traces of black mold here. So that's going
08:57to be another problem that will add to the cost of the renovation. So let me show you what they
09:02plan
09:02to do with the place. Adam works with architects that specialize in tiny spaces. So think high-end
09:08hotels, cruise cabins, or fancy train cabins, because every inch of the space needs to be planned to
09:14perfection, otherwise things will just not fit. So here, for example, they're planning to turn this
09:19awkward space that I think used to be kind of a laundry room or storage space into this. So it's
09:24a full bathroom area with a big bathtub and two sinks. Also, this is what they're planning for the
09:29rest of the space. The scary electricity corner will be the kitchen. This area will have a double
09:34bed and some shelves, and there will even be a tiny living room corner with a couch and some storage
09:39space. Obviously, these are 3D renders made by an architect, so we're gonna see a real deal and head
09:44to a finished apartment right after this. But before I tell you the price of the renovation,
09:48keep in mind that renovating such a tiny apartment is very complicated. First, if you make even a tiny
09:54mistake measuring something, things will just not fit. Then, obviously, you need to find the right
09:58workers, which is always a hassle everywhere. And then, since the place is so tiny, the works tend to
10:04take longer because you often can have only one contractor at the time in the space, just, you know,
10:08because it's so tiny and more people won't fit. So with all that said, the renovations for the places
10:13we've just seen is gonna be between 35 and 50 000 euros per apartment, which, just to give you an
10:20idea, is how much it would cost to renovate a big one-bedroom in Paris. So yeah, this is how
10:25much it
10:26would cost to make a tiny apartment very nice. So I wouldn't exactly call that easy. And I feel I
10:31always say that, but remember, buying an apartment in Paris is not cheap either, even if it's a tiny
10:36apartment. Just, you know, check out the prices of apartments of a similar size. All right, now that
10:41we've seen how crazy things can get, let's get back to our luxurious tiny apartment. And I say
10:46luxurious because it's pretty crazy what they were able to fit in 9 square meters or 96 square feet.
10:52And I'll show you, but you'll see a lot of this is hidden behind these mirrors. And remember, you have
10:57to imagine that before, it looked something like this. So from what I've been told, it belonged to a
11:02family that used it to host an au pair and then kind of stopped using it. And you know, that's
11:07a good
11:07thing because this is no way to live. Look at how bad the bathroom is and how cracked the walls
11:13are.
11:13And during this tour, I'm going to challenge myself to do my full daily routine in this apartment.
11:18So I'm going to relax, freshen up and eat in this tiny space. All that while we discover its secret
11:25features. So right when you enter, the first thing you notice is this floor. That's actually exactly the
11:30one they use in cruise ships. So as I was telling you before, one of their first inspirations for these
11:36tiny apartments were luxury cruise ship cabins and sleeper train cars. Then you see the bed slash
11:42couch, which you can access through this little custom made step. And I have to say that usually
11:47I'm not really into couch beds because they are neither a couch nor a bed. But here, this one is
11:53very comfy. What I like here is that the couch pillows behind me are actual couch pillows. So you
11:59have some actual support and you're not like awkwardly sliding out of the couch. And when you're ready to
12:04use it as a bed, you can just throw these away. Or even better, if you're a bit tidier than
12:09me,
12:10you can put them into the many, many storage areas we have here. So as you can see here,
12:14the three couch pillows really fit in here. It's a super wide storage space. I've seen a lot of people
12:19put their suitcases here, but that's not what I've personally done because we have so much storage
12:24all around here. Personally put my bike right here where you have a little bit of space to hang your
12:29stuff. And you also have an ironing board, which I'll never use. But anyway, we'll check out what's
12:33behind those doors in a bit. But back to the bed, this one is just as big as the one
12:37I have at home.
12:38And it truly feels like an actual bed. Like you have a super thick memory foam mattress,
12:42a nice headboard, a beautiful decorative shelf. And my favorite thing that has to be this little
12:48storage nook where you can put all the stuff you need next to you before bed. And where you have
12:52a
12:52convenient outlet, a light switch that controls the whole tiny apartment, and a little reading light
12:57that, to be honest, feels like the one you have at hotels. And also, I don't know if you agree
13:01with me,
13:02but I really like what they did with the decor. It feels super modern, but they also kept the
13:06Parisian charm with the exposed wood beams that you can see on the ceiling, which are very typical
13:10of the architecture of the neighborhood we're in, which is called Le Marais and is known for its
13:15medieval buildings. And now I'm finally going to be able to take off the first item on my list,
13:19which is relax. So here I'm going to watch a few of my favorite YouTubers on the TV that's right
13:24in
13:24front of me. All right, so the bed and the storage area are pretty nice, but there's actually a bunch
13:29of
13:29hidden stuff in this apartment. And we're going to check it out. All right, so the first one is right
13:33under the bed. It is a washer dryer. So this is truly the smallest washer dryer I have ever seen.
13:42And if you've ever lived in a big city, you know that washer and dryers are kind of a luxury.
13:49But
13:49check this out. It is super tiny, so like you can fit maybe a tiny load, but it exists. And
13:55that's
13:56pretty nice. It's right under the bed. And seriously, when you live in a tiny apartment,
14:00it's such a luxury to do your laundry at home. And next on my list is freshen up in the
14:05bathroom.
14:05And since this is a family-friendly channel, I won't be giving you a demo. But here the bathroom
14:10is thought as one wet zone with a shower, which looks pretty nice for such a tiny place. You even
14:17have some kind of rain shower. And then you have the toilet slash sink area with a very designy tiny
14:23sink
14:23that works like this. You also have a good size mirror, which I feel is enough to get ready in
14:29the morning. You have some ventilation and some storage space over here. And then you have a
14:34really cool toilet. So if you've been on the channel for a while, you know that I like Japanese
14:38style toilets. So I have to say that I was pretty excited with this one because it's motion activated
14:43and it has a heating seat. But anyway, enough about the toilets and let's move on to my favorite
14:47feature of this tiny apartment. So I told you before, there are a lot of things hiding behind the
14:52mirrors. And here we have a tiny kitchen. And it's also full of mirrors. So I don't think you've
14:59ever seen so many Lucille's at once. But it has pretty much everything you need. So you have a
15:04very tiny sink, a coffee machine, and even a tiny induction stove. And over here, there's a bunch of
15:10drawers with everything you need to eat and cook. A tiny trash can. And up there on the shelf, you
15:15have
15:15a microwave, a kettle, and some kitchen utensils. And if you're wondering what the fridge situation
15:20looks like, it's right there. You know, it's a tiny fridge, but it's pretty big by Parisian standards.
15:24And one of my challenges for this tour was to cook myself a meal. And we're gonna do just that.
15:29And we're
15:30not gonna do anything crazy, just some fried eggs with some Parisian mushrooms. Obviously, I'm used to
15:35bigger kitchen, but to be honest, that re-does the job, especially since you're in the center of Paris and
15:40you're gonna eat out anyway. And here you go, dinner is served. So all in all, I think this tiny
15:45apartment
15:45is amazing if you're a student or you're just coming to Paris for a few months. And you know,
15:49I wish this existed back then because I would have totally loved living in one. So what do you
15:54think? Could you live in such a tiny place to be right in the center of Paris and in the
15:58middle of
15:59the actions? Let me know in the comments. And in the meantime, go watch one of the videos that are
16:03on screen right now. I think you'll like them and I'll see you there. Bye for now.
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