6 Design Tips to Steal From This Small Paris Duplex

Not removed from the Bois de Vincennes on the jap facet of Paris, a considerably dated 484-square-foot condominium was ready to be reborn as an inviting duplex. Its homeowners, a younger couple, had purchased the condominium on the highest ground of an early Twentieth-century constructing with the objective of increasing upwards into the attic area. That is the place Benjamin Godiniaux and his collaborator Lorena Torres got here in, with a design that might add an additional 86 sq. toes to the unit. The architects had been excited in regards to the artistic prospects for the renovation of the small area whereas the shoppers, vogue and design fanatics, needed to additionally guarantee that the sensible necessities of the area weren’t forgotten within the course of. However, above all, they needed a chic area and had been okay with bending among the standard guidelines of inside design if needed. Listed here are among the design suggestions we will be taught from this renovation.

Tip 1: Decrease the attic ground to create a spacious second degree

The conversion of the attic area created a brand new small room on an higher degree.

The mezzanine overlooks the lounge whereas having fun with its pure gentle.

With the addition of a mezzanine degree and a extra open ground plan, the condominium grew to become an grownup duplex, with a dwelling space, a bed room with dressing room and loo, and a galley kitchen. “By reducing the attic ground by a foot, we nonetheless have seven-and-a-half-foot-tall ceilings downstairs—a superbly acceptable peak. We gained numerous area upstairs, with out shedding any downstairs,” explains Godiniaux.

Tip 2: Flip your entry hallway right into a kitchen

Subsequent, the architects turned the doorway hallway right into a kitchen which allowed them to increase the lounge. “We intentionally created a darkish kitchen-hallway, each to hide the cabinets and the bathroom, and to create a distinction with the brilliant, minimalist front room,” Godiniaux says. Within the compact kitchen, we used oak and darkish inexperienced, complemented by mirrors above the worktop and behind the room to visually enlarge the area. Rounded corners soften the general impact.

Tip 3: A minimalist staircase helps to maximise the usage of a small area

A light-weight oak archway, going through two giant home windows, results in the lounge. In contrast to the kitchen, the dwelling space is brilliant and easy. White and oak dominate the ambiance, whereas there are Japandi accents which the homeowners needed. “They chose a lot of the items whereas we took care of the bigger gadgets just like the couch,” Godiniaux shares. He positioned the long-lasting Togo within the middle of the room, surrounded by design items just like the duo of brick-shaped espresso tables and the geometric rug. Reverse, the sculptural staircase rises to the mezzanine. “We positioned it up in opposition to the wall to make use of as little area as potential. The straightforward sheet of metallic seems to unfold till it reaches the bench alongside the wall.” The climb up the steps could also be considerably steep, however the form displays the precedence to the condominium’s aesthetics, shared by each the architect and his shoppers, guided by an impeccable sense of design.

Tip 4: Use a desk with a view as a balustrade

On the mezzanine, a grey bench seems like a pure a part of the condominium’s construction.

The desk within the office-library space additionally serves as a railing for the mezzanine.

Upstairs, “you’d suppose you had been in a home” because of the uncovered beams of the attic-like area. Right here, the highest of the bed room ceiling creates a low bench, one other intelligent trick by Godiniaux’s workforce. The oak desk within the library affords a view from above of the lounge, and on the identical time acts as a balustrade. “These sorts of methods work very effectively in small areas: the desk that doubles as a railing, the kitchen that doubles as an entry hall, the hidden door within the bed room that results in a toilet.”

Tip 5: Mix the toilet and the dressing room into one area

The design of the closet doorways within the dressing room is carried over to the door to the toilet. The portray is by Eric Vigneron.

The bed room, hidden beneath the mezzanine degree, has floor-to-ceiling closets, whose door design was additionally used for the door to the adjoining toilet. When the door is closed, it seems just like the closet doorways lengthen into the nook of the room. When it’s open, you may see the mild curve of one of many constructing’s structural helps.

Tip 6: Mix the bathe and tub in a shared moist room

Godiniaux created a space-saving moist room that’s additionally on pattern. It’s separated from the sink by a Galbobain curtain.

The parquet within the bed room continues into the toilet avoiding the standard break. “The benefit of these shoppers is that they had been open to architectural particulars which may seem impractical at first look. Parquet flooring in a toilet is an uncommon alternative however aesthetically it made sense.” Behind the rounded white wall, inexperienced tiles cowl one wall main as much as the washing space which encompasses a bathe and bathtub. “We handled the toilet like a swimming pool, with this mosaic tiles masking the partitions, ground, and the facet of the tub.” This moist room idea is without doubt one of the high developments for the time being and it’s notably suited to small areas the place it’s laborious to accommodate separate areas for a bath and bathe. From the bathe it’s potential to look out the window with its unobstructed views of the town. “When it’s open, the linen bathe curtain provides the room an evanescent really feel,” Godiniaux says enthusiastically reflecting his ardour for bringing design ingenuity to small areas.

These design suggestions and condominium tour was initially printed by AD France. It was translated by John Newton.