Paris Houzz Tour: A Crash Pad Reworked for a New Life
This makeshift pied-à-terre becomes home sweet home thanks to a few decor tricks and an optimised layout
This management consultant in her fifties bought a studio in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, where she lived for part of each week. The space is on the eighth floor and faces the inner courtyard of a building dating to the 1970s. It had recently been renovated, so all she did was refresh the floor and put in a mattress and a small sofa. However, when her personal life got complicated, she decided to leave her house outside the city and move into the studio permanently. That’s when she suddenly had to start thinking about the layout and decor.
She had managed home renovations in the past, but rethinking a small place for comfortable everyday living is a different story. She quickly realised she needed help and contacted an architect, who then directed her to interior designer Aude Groshaeny.
She had managed home renovations in the past, but rethinking a small place for comfortable everyday living is a different story. She quickly realised she needed help and contacted an architect, who then directed her to interior designer Aude Groshaeny.
Before. The apartment was already reasonably laid out, with the plumbing for the kitchen and bathroom at the entryway and an about 215-square-foot (20-square-metre) living area, which opens up towards a balcony and a clear view over the inner courtyard and the city roofs. The apartment also came with several good-quality custom-made cabinets.
When she first bought it, the owner simply installed oak laminate flooring and popped her mattress on top. For the living room, she bought a sofa and an armchair.
When she first bought it, the owner simply installed oak laminate flooring and popped her mattress on top. For the living room, she bought a sofa and an armchair.
Layout before renovation
After. “The owner came to me with a budget of 20,000 euros [about US$22,000] to optimise the space, with the bedroom area being the priority,” says interior designer Aude Groshaeny. “She also wanted a proper dining area for possibly inviting guests over, and also sought to bring some light into the kitchen, which looked like a dark hallway. Storage was the final problem.”
Layout after renovation
Before. The owner had already decided she didn’t want to use a sofa that would have to be unfolded into a bed every night, preferring to lay a mattress on the floor along the kitchen wall.
After. “It was a priority for the owner to have a real bedroom in the living area. She shared her idea of using openwork panels and immediately realized that she wanted to incorporate beautiful materials. We saw that her budget wouldn’t be enough, so she decided to extend it,” the designer says.
3D render
The bathroom, which can be accessed from the entryway (not visible in this render), was in very good condition and wasn’t changed. The kitchen, which had been fitted recently, also remained in place. Groshaeny’s biggest task was to create a pleasant, about 5-by-6 ½-foot (1.5-by-2-metre) bedroom area in the living room, partitioned with geometric openwork panels.
The bathroom, which can be accessed from the entryway (not visible in this render), was in very good condition and wasn’t changed. The kitchen, which had been fitted recently, also remained in place. Groshaeny’s biggest task was to create a pleasant, about 5-by-6 ½-foot (1.5-by-2-metre) bedroom area in the living room, partitioned with geometric openwork panels.
Before. The original kitchen looked like a narrow hallway with no natural light. Groshaeny saw an openwork cocoon as a great opportunity to brighten the space.
After. Removing part of the wall between the kitchen and living room allowed her to place openwork panels on three sides of the bedroom. Today, natural light from the balcony door filters right through to the kitchen.
“The kitchen was not essential for the owner. Most of the time she just uses it to make coffee or warm up some food. Still, we placed a pane of glass on the kitchen side of the partition to prevent grease and odours [from getting into her room],” the designer says.
To get a more spacious feel, Groshaeny added about 8 inches (20 centimetres) of ceiling height by removing the old air conditioning system and the ’70s panelled drop ceiling that had concealed it.
To get a more spacious feel, Groshaeny added about 8 inches (20 centimetres) of ceiling height by removing the old air conditioning system and the ’70s panelled drop ceiling that had concealed it.
All of the work on the ceilings was carried out by contracting firm Elm Bat, while carpentry firm Hopfab made the custom woodwork. “I spotted them long ago on Houzz because of their creative projects, which have a contemporary feel. But I was waiting to have a major project to offer them. They didn’t disappoint! Without them, my drawing couldn’t have come to life.”
Find a local carpenter on Houzz
Find a local carpenter on Houzz
The bedroom area, which sits to one side of the living room, is the heart of the apartment.
The wooden openwork panels were placed on about 35½-inch-tall (90-centimetre-tall) plaster supports. “It’s raw pine on the living room side and white-painted MDF on the kitchen side. As I wanted the panels to be flush with the 72-millimetre-thick [about 3-inch-thick] wall, the uprights were cut from massive pine pieces. To avoid it looking too regular, like prison bars, 11-mm-deep (about 4.5-inch-deep) niches were added to animate the setup,” Groshaeny says.
The wooden openwork panels were placed on about 35½-inch-tall (90-centimetre-tall) plaster supports. “It’s raw pine on the living room side and white-painted MDF on the kitchen side. As I wanted the panels to be flush with the 72-millimetre-thick [about 3-inch-thick] wall, the uprights were cut from massive pine pieces. To avoid it looking too regular, like prison bars, 11-mm-deep (about 4.5-inch-deep) niches were added to animate the setup,” Groshaeny says.
The bedroom is accessed through two 29-inch-wide (74-centimetre-wide) sliding doors attached to a rail at the top. “They make it possible to get out from either side of the bedroom, which can be quite practical,” the interior designer says.
Spotlights have been integrated into the dropped ceiling over the headboard, while an about 6-inch-deep and 36-inch-high (16-centimetre-deep and 92-centimetre-high) enclosed shelf offers open and closed niches that double as night stands.
The about 24-inch-high (60-centimetre-high) bed is supported by a slatted frame. Two roller drawers fit inside to store bed linen and extra blankets. “They are 110 centimetres [about 43 inches] long and have been calculated to the last centimetre so that, when opened, they fit under the grey cabinets opposite the door to the bedroom area,” Groshaeny says.
Once the problems of the bedroom area and kitchen lighting were resolved, Groshaeny moved on to the next challenges: the dining area and storage. “We kept the original cabinets – which were well designed – as much as possible, particularly at the entryway and the floating cabinets in the living room. We used shallow, 16-centimetre-deep [about 6-inch-deep] cupboards to extended the line [made by the support] of the openwork room to form an L up to the glass doors. Dishware is stored here. To make it visually lighter, the carpenter created faux drawers by cutting grooves in the MDF and then painting them. We finished off the look with leather handles and wallpaper.”
It took some time to come up with a plan for the dining area. “It had to be pretty and, especially, easy to handle because the owner did not want something that would be cumbersome to open and stow,” Groshaeny says. “We thought about several mechanisms before going with this table, which has feet that unfold like the wings of a butterfly. Guides at the top bring them to a stop, and it’s not necessary to manually support the top while opening it as the whole thing supports itself throughout the process.”
Since she’s not held back by a student’s restricted budget, the owner treated herself to two iconic TS chairs by Roger Tallon. These are a reissue of the original folding chair from 1977. She bought them at Sentou for about US$260 (240 euros) each. She doesn’t regret it because a small space always makes a bigger impact if it has one or two famous pieces of furniture.
“It was an ideal project that appealed to my favourite part of my profession: a little hard work instead of a hardcore renovation, allowing me to focus on space optimisation and aesthetic creativity.”
Detailed budget (including all taxes):
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“It was an ideal project that appealed to my favourite part of my profession: a little hard work instead of a hardcore renovation, allowing me to focus on space optimisation and aesthetic creativity.”
Detailed budget (including all taxes):
- Custom-made woodwork (Hopfab): About US$18,200 (16,500 euros)
- Contracted work (Elm Bat): About US$13,200 (12,000 euros)
- Decor: Roger Tallon chairs, about US$525 (480 euros) for two, bought at Sentou; about $110 (100 euros) for the around 33 feet (10 metres) of 21-inch-wide (53-centimetre-wide) wallpaper from PaperMint
- Interior designer fees: About $6,200 (5,600 euros)
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, save the story, and join in the conversation.
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Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: A 55-year-old management consultant
Size: About 323 square feet (30 square metres)
Location: Paris, France
Completed: July 2019
Duration of work: Five months
Interior designer: Aude Groshaeny of Décodage Création
Contractor: Elm Bat
Woodwork: Hopfab
Budget: About US$38,000 (35,000 euros)