00:08The apartment is located in the 20th district of Paris. It's called the Belleville area.
00:16This is a village-like area rich in diversity of people and buildings.
00:24It is a hilly place where you can catch some beautiful views of the Paris landscape.
00:36This is our apartment. My girlfriend Clementine and I live here.
00:47Originally, the apartment is about 24 square meters and together with the
00:51mezzanine it's now a 31 square meters apartment.
01:05As Parisian prices are really high, we were looking for an apartment that was affordable.
01:11The apartment is located in a tiny and modest building of two floors which was built in
01:17the end of the 19th century.
01:23When we first found the apartment, it was a tiny dark three rooms apartment.
01:29There were no toilets nor showers and the ceiling was quite low, everything was run down and dirty.
01:40We removed every wall, closet and ceiling from the space. Removing all of the ceiling gave
01:46us a lot more volume vertically and because of that, we added a mezzanine to the apartment
01:52by making a compact furniture unit to include the bedroom, the bathroom, the walking wardrobe
01:59and all of our bookshelves and closets. We added three skylights into the apartment to maximize
02:06the natural light into the space.
02:12Getting into the apartment, you're greeted by a generous double-story height space and the exposed
02:18old beams and lots of lights.
02:23Our main goal was to make this apartment the most sustainable and economical for us.
02:29We did most of the renovations by ourselves so we could save money and take good care of the details
02:35and also improve our building skills.
02:39We used a lot of French pine plywood. Not only is it economical but also very durable
02:45and aesthetically pleasing. We like the idea of simplicity, irregularity and imperfection.
02:53Almost all of our furniture are simple and meaningful things that we inherited
02:58or found in the street. For example, the closet handles are from my grandparents' kitchen
03:04that I took when they passed away and their flat was sold.
03:11Next to the main window in the apartment marks the beginning of the living space.
03:18We designed the wooden volume of the mezzanine, bathroom and wardrobe space
03:22that allows the living to extend to a more intimate space in front of the bookshelf.
03:30There are five identical 45cm bookshelf sections, centered around our old integrated sound system
03:38and two 60cm doors we made ourselves. To leave maximum space in the living and kitchen,
03:46the mezzanine ladder is foldable and movable, attached to a thin cream rail.
03:53By pulling the ladder, you get quite comfortable access to the mezzanine.
03:59It is a simple, warm, wooden space with a bed hidden behind the bookshelf.
04:06We built a wooden box with plywood to form a bedhead that insulates us from the wall
04:12and allows us a place to put our books or alarm clock.
04:17We added a skylight to allow more natural light into the apartment
04:21and provide a little window to the skyscape.
04:27The bathroom is designed around a small window.
04:31It is a very small bathroom but we wanted it to feel generous
04:36so we chose to use white tiles, white tap and white shower head to reflect the light.
04:43To bring a sparkling element into this white room, we used a survival blanket as a shower curtain.
04:50We love the warm, shiny, golden reflections that it brings all over the space.
04:58During the construction, we found an old and broken sink so we decided to use it
05:03and we really like its cracks and its timeless look.
05:07We also used an old mirror that belonged to Clementine's grandparents.
05:15The walking wardrobe is a compact and efficient space.
05:20We created a small bench to sit on and take off our shoes.
05:26The walking wardrobe and the bathroom were also designed as a buffer space
05:31to filter noise from the neighboring apartments and the common spaces.
05:38The kitchen is the feature of the apartment.
05:42We wanted to have a large workspace to cook together.
05:46It has cooktop, oven and fridge.
05:49We also kept the old cracked sink from the original apartment.
05:57Even though it's compact, we made sure it has a lot of storage below the kitchen bench.
06:03We kept the wall free from clutter and hanging cupboard and we designed this funny wooden boot
06:10shaped extractor hood.
06:12We also asked a ceramist friend to create the handles from the kitchen cabinets.
06:18We used a washable shiny paint as a splash back over three lines of white tiles.
06:24The same as we used in the bathroom.
06:28In the dining space, we have Clementine's grandfather's old workshop table
06:33where we can generously feed six people.
06:39Designing a small space is about choosing what's really meaningful for you.
06:44By choosing what's really important, you make these functions easy for everyday life.
06:50If you have a tiny space, it might mean that you have few pieces of furniture.
06:56So I like the idea of including them in the project
07:00so you can give them the space and place they deserve.
07:05As we live knowing the important effects of climate change on our future city living,
07:11living in a small space can contribute many positive solutions.
07:16It is easier to heat or cool and to clean.
07:20It also needs less material to build and it helps to stop the urban spreading.
07:27As living in the city is also closer to amenities,
07:31it prevents the excessive use of cars and keeps the city centers active and lively.
07:39An ideal situation would be to combine tiny private livings and diverse bigger common spaces
07:46for shared facilities and activities in the same building or block
07:50and also lots of public spaces in the neighborhood we live in.
08:08It also needs a great way to create an experience.
08:10It's one of the things that we don't know and create our own space in the same building.
08:13It talks about the natural space.
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