6 Small-Space Tips from Batiik Studio in Paris
Photography by Bertrand Fompeyrine, courtesy of Batiik Studio
In the chic 9th arrondissement of Paris, architects Batiik Studio found a project that allowed them to do what they do best: create exceeding clever layouts and built-ins to solve the myriad woes of tiny apartments.
Here are six small-space ideas we like from one of their ingenious projects: an apartment for a single professional who wanted to use the space to cook, work, sleep, and entertain—in only 235 square feet.
The smartly laid-out apartment, with plenty of built-ins.
1. Design for more than one purpose
A single modular built-in serves as a bed, sofa, and dining table. When the fully extended bed is rolled halfway beneath the kitchen platform, it becomes a sofa. Once the bed/sofa is pushed away fully, the plywood divider between kitchen and living room becomes a dining table.
2. Let light through
The plywood counter that divides the kitchen from the living room is perforated with diagonal stripes, to let light through and “reduce the feeling of partitioning,” said the architect.
3. Build a closet and pantry in one
There wasn’t room for a separate wardrobe and pantry, so the architects designed a single, full-height plywood corner cabinet to hold both kitchen overflow and clothing.
Batiik designed a plywood storage chest that functions as a coffee table.
4. Put the furniture to work
Batiik tucked a tiny shelf beneath one of the existing windows, which serves as an office space for the homeowner.
5. Where you can fit a chair, you can fit a desk
The bathroom walls are painted dark blue, “to emphasize the only closed space of the studio,” said the architects.
6. Use color to define space