How an Architect Used IKEA to Maximise Storage in His Small Apartment, France 48sqm/517sqft

Never Too Small

Subscribe to NTS Magazine for Issue 7 with free worldwide shipping. This issue celebrates a bold mix of rule-breaking design, DIY spirit, shapeshifting furniture and creative homes https://www.nts-store.com/collections/subscribe   Home to architect Luc Pfister and his partner Valentin, a flight attendant, this 48sqm/517sqft Strasbourg apartment has been reimagined for two people with very different schedules. Working with a €35K budget, Pfister combined IKEA components with custom finishes and hands-on DIY to create a cohesive, built-in feel. A single multifunctional volume begins in the kitchen, elevated with a terrazzo splashback, and continues into the bedroom as a highly organised wardrobe, alongside a raised bed and integrated storage. A narrow bathroom borrows light through an internal window, bringing brightness into the compact space. Thoughtful, flexible, and shaped around everyday routines, the apartment shows how simple materials and smart planning can create a home that feels efficient and deeply personal.  00:00-01:16 Introduction  01:16-01:51 Location 01:51-03:13 Entrance 03:13-06:43 Living Area 06:43-07:40 Balcony  07:40-08:34 Dining Area 08:34-11:12 Kitchen 11:12-14:04 Bedroom 14:04-16:45 Bathroom 16:45-17:29 Conclusion  See our favourite design details from this apartment! https://www.nevertoosmall.com/post/how-an-architect-turned-ikea-into-storage-in-48sqm-517sqft-apartment  #smallapartment #architecture #interiordesign   How I Live Small Ep. 16 Architect and Owner: Luc Pfister https://lp-a.archi/  https://www.instagram.com/lp_a.archi/   Produced by New Mac Video Agency Creator: Colin Chee Producer: Lindsay Barnard Director & Cinematographer: Nam Tran Editor: Jessica Ruasol Music: Artlist.io Pianosa by Rowan Hudsons Passing Ships We Really Dont Know by Brian Claxton Sparkling Water by Aves Club Supreme by Eden Barel Golden Era by Steven Beddall When I Get Home by Brian Claxton Blue Moon Cafe by Stefano Mastronardi This Year by Brian Claxton Ernst by Rowan Hudsons Passing Ships  Share your projects with us- https://www.nevertoosmall.com/submissions Subscribe to our newsletter- https://www.nevertoosmall.com/subscribe  Check out our store- https://www.nts-store.com Website- https://www.nevertoosmall.com Instagram-  https://www.instagram.com/nvtsmall Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/nvtsmall

Transcript

00:02When I was a kid, I used to redesign my room every month, and it would drive my

00:09parents crazy all the time. I always pushed them to redo things, repaint. So

00:16when I moved into this apartment, I don't think I had a specific design idea.

00:23The architecture is a backdrop. I wouldn't want to not be able to put in

00:28an artwork that I love or change a cushion just because the colors don't

00:32work or because it clashes with the architecture. It has to allow for that

00:36flexibility and I think that's what I tend to do in my projects. I'm Luke. I'm an

00:43architect. I work and live here in Strasbourg. I've been living in this

00:48apartment for five years now. I renovated it for one year during 2019. My

00:55renovation budget here was 35k. I did some of the works myself with the help of

01:01friends and then other things with a builder. I live here with my partner

01:06Valentin, who is a flight attendant. We have very different schedules and that was

01:13an important part of the design from the get-go.

01:18I've been living in Strasbourg for 15 years now. It's my home. It's where I have my

01:26friends, my community.

01:30This is my building. It's a building from 1933. That's my hairdresser right here. I

01:37have other friends who live further down the street. My partner's mother lives down

01:41the street that way. So it's really our nice little village. I have my apartment

01:47on the first floor. It's always a little dark.

01:53This is the entrance to the apartment. It has this place where you can just come in

01:59and take your shoes off. You can hang your jackets in this place. Here are shelves to

02:07just store your everyday shoes. I put a big mirror in to really enlarge the space and

02:13make the light just reflect a lot. We have this small raised platform here. The

02:19kitchen used to be closer to the bathroom and since I moved it to the living room,

02:25the pipes are hidden under it. I like to think of it as a bit of my catwalk.

02:32I don't use that bike anymore. I bought a new modern one that I store downstairs but I

02:36like the style of this one so I've cut it here. I have that little shelf to hang the

02:41bike on which is where I put my gloves and my scarf when I use the bike.

02:47Here is the electrical box which I tried to hide the best as I could by putting artworks

02:56all around it and just make it work as a bit of an art wall. Some of these

03:00photographs are just from someone ringing the doorbell or from a small unknown

03:05painter in New Zealand. But I'm really looking for things that I like and it

03:10doesn't really matter if they're worth anything or not.

03:16The living room really feels large with all of the windows that bring in a lot of

03:20natural light. Here I used these pretty industrial shelving that is really

03:27economical and that you can find just in your everyday hardware store. You can change

03:32the heights and change the number of shelves that you want. It's more of my

03:36stuff. Valentin has lived less on his own. Slowly he's putting in his part as well.

03:43Downsizing for me wasn't going minimal. It's really keeping things that have a story and that

03:51I have a memory with. I have things from my grandma that I got from her place when

03:57she moved out. This is our license plate from the US when we lived there. That's a

04:04photograph of my sister when she was really young. I think she's just adorably cute in it.

04:10This couch area I designed around the shelves and around that rug here which is from a Danish

04:18brand MUTO. I chose a TV that wasn't too big. I didn't want it to be too much in your

04:25face

04:26and to take up too much of the volume. I'm glad I have that size and not a bigger one.

04:34Is it a book? Is it a mag? I'm a magazine alright, but a magazine like no other. Look

04:39at me go. I'm design-y and architecture-y with experimental furniture and design ideas for

04:44your small home coming out my...

04:47And specifically designed page by page to make you go, ah, and oh that's cool. Hang out with

04:53Italian artist Zuzu in her cave of dreams. Get inspired by Barcelona-based punk product

04:59designer Kuro Claret. Try not to smile in response to Camille Wallalla's Technicolor

05:03masterpieces. Delight in the shape-shifting, interactive and small-space friendly textile

05:08furniture of Luna Havercorn. Meet some bastards from Bangkok. Learn what car crashes have to

05:13do with Aldo Rossi's sexy coffee pots and poetic cemeteries. Get your small homes fix with

05:18three very different paths from Spain, Australia and Japan and plunge into the playfully nostalgic

05:24world of Brazilian duo Two Lost Kids. You've never met a mag like me? Subscribe now to get

05:31yours with free worldwide shipping.

05:36The apartment had been renovated in the early 2000s by the owner of the entire building for

05:43rental purposes. So it was very bare. At first I was like, oh my god this is horrendous.

05:48But I saw that, yeah, there were no structural partitions and the ceilings were high and the

05:54light was great. And I thought, okay, now I can work with this and I can make something

05:58out of this apartment.

06:00So on the other side of the sofa and right under this window, I added this work from home

06:06desk. If it gets too bright and the curtain isn't enough, I can use the shutters here.

06:12This is also useful because I have some neighbors that really love to just stand around their window

06:17and look at everything. So sometimes it feels just a bit awkward to see her staring at me.

06:22So sometimes I just pull it.

06:26That desk I put in the living room is just an afterthought. One thing maybe I would do

06:32differently is including a work from home space. I guess I would try and make something better

06:39suited for a work from home situation.

06:41All of the windows, you can see, are double glazed. So you can definitely hear the difference

06:47when it's open or closed.

06:49Here is a little balcony. We have these two little chairs from a French furniture brand

06:56called Fermob. We also put in these wood partitions here just to bring a bit more intimacy to the

07:02place. I've struggled a bit with the plants here, but I'm hoping to get something quite nice

07:08this summer. Valentin likes to have a smoke here and we like to have a drink here in the evening.

07:14I definitely love a larger terrace, but I mean, this is as good as it can get for now.

07:21We have this artwork from Kumi Sugai, which is actually the first artwork that I bought on

07:26my own. It's a Franco-Japanese artist. It is called Home Numéro Un, which is man number

07:34one, and you can guess from the shape what it recalls to you.

07:41The dining room area is centered around that table here, which we've had in the family for

07:46the last 30 years now. We've had it in every home we've had. It's a table from IKEA from

07:52the 1990s. We used to be our dining table as a family, and then it got used as a desk

07:57and

07:58it got separate lives. Here is a vase I got from my grandmother as well. And that's a

08:05nice bouquet that my partner got for me when we celebrated our 15th anniversary just a couple

08:12of weeks ago. I showed this metal shelf. It's called a string shelf. Here I really wanted

08:19something that was airy because it's right next to the black unit. It's a glass lamp from

08:24a French brand that doesn't exist anymore. It's called Habitat. It was pretty famous.

08:28It glows this nice pinky light, which is also really nice in the evening.

08:35The kitchen is a part of that black unit that you see when you really enter the room. It's

08:40a volume that allows to separate the different spaces, the entryway, the bedroom, and the living.

08:46And I really wanted it to be one color, one material. I didn't want it to stand out too

08:51much. And that's why I chose that black because black is profound. Everything kind of blends

08:56in together. I used the same gray terrazzo as the raised platform just to bring in a bit

09:02of contrast and a bit of light to the prepping area.

09:07I put this wall sconce here. It's a lamp from a Belgian company called Zangra. It brings a

09:12nice dim light. All of the cabinets are from IKEA. Even the fronts and the handles are from IKEA.

09:20The sink and the tap is from IKEA. And then I just asked for a carpenter to do some specific

09:27finishes,

09:28such as the corner top and that frame around the entire kitchen. And it allows it to feel really

09:35seamless and really bespoke. The corner top is really easy to clean and maintain, but the fronts

09:42here are a bit trickier because it's matte black. So we have to often, yeah, just smooch. Apart from that,

09:51it's pretty easy and the terrazzo is really easy to maintain. Here is my fridge and freezer. And then

09:59a dishwasher. Trash cans and some utilities. A drawer for my utensils and my cutlery. Pots to cook.

10:07My blender and other kitchen stuff that I use a bit less often. And then we have a slider here

10:12that is just really handy for all of our spices, our salt, our pepper, and our oils. More storage for

10:21our everyday plates and bowls. Here is where we store our food. It was hard to find a small enough

10:27microwave to put in here. I knew I wanted it here, but I hadn't realized that microwaves were actually

10:34quite large and it was going to be hard finding one that fit. More food storage, but that's more for

10:40the mornings. For a small apartment, there's quite a bit of storage. I'm not a big cooker, but it's nice

10:47to have that comfort nonetheless. I love to design integrated fixtures, integrated kitchens, integrated

10:55wardrobes in my projects. But often, that's where the budget lacks a little bit in the end. And so

11:00I often refer my clients to my kitchen when I explain them that I, as an architect, have an Ikea

11:07kitchen

11:07at home. And then we just use a carpenter for finishes and fills bespoke. They're really reassured.

11:15The black unit that is at the center of the apartment, so house is the kitchen on the living

11:21room side. And on this side, it's all wardrobes. You can see the special cupboard here, which I designed

11:27for my partner, Valentin, who's a flight attendant. When he comes back home or when he leaves to work,

11:35he can change outside of the bedroom and not mess with my sleep and the other way around as well

11:41with

11:42our very different schedules. He can slide the bedroom door shut. He preps in the bathroom and then

11:48he can just open his cupboard. In here, he has his luggage and his uniform. The entryway is right here

11:56with the big mirror, so it allows him to check that everything is fine before he leaves. We've been

12:02dating for 10 years before I bought this apartment, so I knew how it worked. This is our everyday clothes,

12:09everyday things that we use. All of this black unit is also made like the kitchen with Ikea cabinets and

12:16Ikea France. So we spent quite an amount of time to figure out how we would do the interior fittings

12:22and what we needed. And so we have some hangers for coats or shirts, drawers for socks and underwears

12:30and just my belts, stuff like that. Open shelves for everyday t-shirts, pants, each kind of clothes has

12:38its own particular place. The storage above is more long-term, stuff that we really only get out once a

12:48year.

12:50I had that headboard built in and we have all of our luggage in here, so our luggage, our rucksacks.

12:57We just have to take the things that we have on exposition here out of the way and then we

13:02can take our luggage out

13:03and just go on holiday. And it allows us to put some lamps, some books, some artwork or this cone

13:11that I was gifted by my friends for my 18th birthday. The kitchen of the previous apartment used to be

13:18here using this window and there was a wall here. So the water heater was naturally in the kitchen

13:25and I could have moved it but it would have been expensive and I had a tight budget so I

13:29decided to

13:30take up the challenge and integrate that water heater into the bedroom. I also made this Mikado

13:36shelf by myself. It's a DIY project and I think it's really nice, it's fun. This bed is from a

13:43German

13:43editor Fritz Hansen. The raised bed is really useful because you can store things underneath. So we have

13:49some box storage here which we use to store our linen and shower bath towels and stuff. It's easier for

13:57us

13:57to have it stored in these boxes and not in cupboards which we prefer to use for our clothes.

14:07The bathroom is stuck behind this door. It doesn't have any natural light or natural ventilation

14:13directly to the outside so that's why I designed this window here to get some natural light from

14:18the bedroom into the bathroom. Even though there is a frosted glass here when you have guests over

14:24or for other reasons you want extra intimacy and so we added that blind here which you can just lower

14:31easily quickly and then pull it back. I made this vanity and this tabletop work with that nice curb

14:38out of natural wood. It also integrates the washing machine right underneath and our bag for our dirty

14:45clothes that need to get washed. So it's really easy to have everything tucked away.

14:50Here I used some leftover tile from the flooring and the walls to build a little tray just for

14:57these little items here. It helps have everything up in a in a tidy place. I also integrated a huge

15:04mirror to really maximize the light and the volume. I actually tested buying just a small circular mirror.

15:12I was like okay no that that doesn't work. I want the big mirror. On this side of the bathroom

15:18we have

15:19the hanging toilet. I took the opportunity with the depths of the hanging toilet to put built-in

15:29cupboards here which are very useful to house our Dyson, our ironing board and all of our household tools

15:38and cleaning supplies. That side above the toilet we have all of our beauty products, perfumes. It's actually

15:46a lot of storage in here which is very useful in this small space. The fact that we have this

15:52storage

15:52here allowed us to have less storage around the vanity. My partner really likes to take baths. He likes

16:01to relax when he comes back home after long trips and so I chose to keep a bath in here.

16:08I use it only

16:09you know once in a while in winter when I'm sick or like really cold when coming back from work

16:13and

16:14I need a hot bath but otherwise I hardly use it. I use it as a shower. You can see

16:19the thin metal string

16:23that we use for our shower curtain and that is the flu for all of the plumbing and so it's

16:31easily hiding

16:32the shower curtain when we don't need it. In the bathtub area we have a small shelf here. It allows

16:38for nothing to be left around the bathtub again to have a nicer experience.

16:46I went through many different designs at the beginning and it was quite a process to choose

16:52the design that I built but I'm really happy with what I did and I think it works quite well

16:58for us.

16:59I like that it's easy to maintain and easy to clean. It's also a very flexible living.

17:07Yeah, I designed the space to feel good and to be able to feel relaxed in.

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