A small space optimized and designed as a loft in the heart of Paris

A small space arranged like a loft

In the Montorgueil district on the floors of a very old Parisian building, a young thirties set his sights on apetit duplexFor its first acquisition. ""The apartment was in a catastrophic state, between the hungry floor and the impression of having been squatted, it was a very dilapidated shambles»Recalls Pauline Lorenzi Boisrond the first time she visited the premises with Maxence Lesueur, the partner of her interior architecture agency Studio Ett Hem. Missioned by the new owner, they will have to start from scratch to rethink the 50 square meters spread over two levels that make up the place.

Two Bassamfellows bar stools from the Triode gallery sit around the island of the kitchen area. Modular suspensions are inserted between the beams, and the wall lamp comes from DCW Éditions. An open niche in the wall opposite the sink brings a feeling of opening.

A Square Box

Make this space a versatile place, both adapted to its personal use and conducive to receiving guests for dinners and friendly meetings. This is the wish expressed by the owner for his futurecocoon. In order to incorporate these different features, architects must optimize the slightest square centimeter by designing each custom element. However, very quickly, they confront the reality of a top floor with wooden beam with level disparities and irregularities. ""Walls, floors and ceilings must have been given to square to recreate the boxExplains Pauline. It is then a question of fluidifying the circulation as much as possible in the face of constraints such as dispersed posts and chimney ducts sneaking between the walls, making them immutable. Each opportunity to open or arch is seized, even in the kitchen where the importance of receptions is taken into account. AplantEquipped with an efficient hob and an integrated hood becomes the heart of this friendly space around which a dining table and a worktop are deployed. The result? A harmonious circulation made up of passages between the living room, the kitchen and the dining room, a little like a smallloft.

From the dining room, the rounded angles of the stained oak passage recalls those of the library.

On the shelf, a kaws figurine sits above a Hay table lamp.

At the rounded angles

In order to instill an atmosphere of sweetness with each corner of the limited space, the rounded forms have been favored. ""We sought to avoid protruding corners, even in the use of concrete for the bench whose angles are slightly rounded for more sweetness.»From wooden dressings toshelves tablets, the joinery also follow this quest for harmonious curves in order to allow you to move without being stopped by pointed angles. Same principle in the choice of furniture: the coffee table from Popus Editions completely round, that ofdining roomin organic concrete and the chairs, both welcoming and elegantly rounded, reinforce the idea of a desire of architects to counter this presence of wall obstacles. The choice of materials aims to be solid, full of character: concrete, black metal and dark wood are competed for the show. A pendulum between sweetness and firmness, a bit like the holder of the premises.

In the living room, a vintage Togo armchair contrasts with the velvet in the clear bench velvet where a lindell & co cushion of Chiara Colombini punctuates the space.

The folded metal of the staircase and the oak tinged with the wardrobe are delimited by a net line.

Spanning several levels

When the stake is to optimize space, it is crucial to consider volume as a precious resource to be exploited by playing with levels. Naturally, when the module in question to optimize is astairs, the development of different levels goes without saying. ""When we have widened the hopper from the Japanese steps to nest such a staircase, the lost space had to fill a triple functionality. I love creating levels, then the concrete linear which constitutes the second step of the stairs extends into a bench in which drawers nestle and eventually transform intowelcoming soft cushions »continues the architect. And as if to accentuate the multiplicity of its uses, the staircase seems to decline its materials as you engrave it: a travertine block as a first step, followed by concrete, then tinted oak concealing skillfully hiding under the steps, to finish with the black folded metal fly, counterbalancing the organic side of the three other materials.

Upstairs, the bathroom area is open to the bedroom.

On the wall, a work by Jules Wittock (Galerie Isabelle Laverny).

Upstairs

Upstairs, the need to include abathroomAnd a room in the limited space arouses a reflection which cannot compromise the crossing side of the apartment. Rather than opting to close the two spaces, a block of concrete on several levels which recalls the staircase now houses the cupboards on one side and the shower on the other, with a basin and a double -sided mirror. To maximize the space, theheadboardhas been thought of so as to exploit areas under the crawlers: it can switch, allowing to easily store little used objects. In addition, deep drawers have been integrated under the bedside tables, offering an additional storage space, which is still adorned with tinted oak, not to lose anything from omnipresent coherence. A successful background renovation for this small spaceunder the attic.