Houzz Tour: Small Paris Studio Gets Extra Sleeping Room and Light
A designer transforms his son’s student apartment by incorporating a loft bed and smart glass
Jean-Christophe Peyrieux’s son had just finished high school and was about to start his art studies. Although other parents perhaps would have made do with throwing some cheap furniture in a run-down apartment, the Paris-based interior designer saw an opportunity to put his talents to good use and make his son happy. “I loved working on this project because I was able to optimize the structure to its maximum potential and furnish it in a style we liked. It’s very different from working with the demands of a client, but it’s not necessarily simpler because you have more doubts when you do it for yourself,” he says.
“The biggest challenge was making room for two separate beds because my son wanted to have his big brother over regularly,” Peyrieux says. With this in mind, he used the existing constraints of the space as a starting point for planning the layout. Especially challenging was a bathroom with two small windows that was partitioned off by a thick wall concealing a chimney.
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The studio has only one other window, facing southeast, which is where the sitting area is situated. Since the apartment’s ceiling is about 9½ feet high, Peyrieux was able to place his son’s bed on a loft, or mezzanine, level.
“[It was] impossible to build a structure for a double bed because it would have encroached too much on the living room, but the [3-foot-wide] alcove space allowed us to fit a sofa that [turns into] a second, double, bed. This way, my son has his bed on the mezzanine that he doesn’t have to fold up constantly, and he can have his brother and his brother’s girlfriend sleep downstairs, so they don’t disturb each other,” he says.
Although Peyrieux’s affinity is for optimizing the structure of a space and for electrical plans, he didn’t neglect the decor. The shelving unit and the small furniture pieces are his own designs, made by the Belgian company Steele.
Peyrieux finds ladders very uncomfortable for adults, so he built a real staircase to the loft bunk. The MDF structure also allowed for concealed storage, which can be accessed from the living room.
To the right of the 2-foot-wide staircase are 1-foot-deep closets. “In reality, the storage space is much deeper at the bottom of the stairs because it spans the entire width of the mezzanine, that is, about [3 feet]. So I was able to install a closet, a shoe drawer and a tub on wheels that you can pull out and where you can store the comforter, pillows and so on,” the designer says.
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With about 27½ inches of vertical space above the bed, there’s enough room to sit up comfortably.
At the foot of the loft, the living area includes a full kitchen, a small desk near the window, and a seating area where the designer’s son has arranged his music equipment. The son fell for a ’70s Weltron radio cassette player from the shop where his father sells vintage goods.
The desk was designed by Peyrieux and made by Steele.
A bar countertop marks the boundary between the kitchen and the living room. “I chose a tall table to balance the proportions” of the loft, the designer says.
The table has a wooden top and brass studs, while the chairs are covered with leather in an elephant-skin look. The table and the chairs were designed by Peyrieux and made by Topos Workshop.
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The table has a wooden top and brass studs, while the chairs are covered with leather in an elephant-skin look. The table and the chairs were designed by Peyrieux and made by Topos Workshop.
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Peyrieux loves lighting, which explains the luxurious (especially for a student apartment) ’70s Gaetano Sciolari chandelier, also from Peyrieux’s shop, and the golden wall lamp. “In a studio, only a few pieces of furniture set the tone, so you have to choose them carefully. A central chandelier always brings extra flair,” he says.
To keep the budget within reason, Peyrieux abandoned his dreams of high-end cabinetry and granite countertops. “We chose a matte gray lacquered Ikea model and a painted wooden countertop. To give the kitchen a custom-made look, I enclosed it within partitions and opted for a mirror backsplash. A soffit on the ceiling delineates the spaces and made it possible to install the pipes and spotlights,” he says.
Here is another trick Peyrieux used for space optimization: An extra-flat Ariston water heater is hidden behind one of the wall-mounted cabinets in the kitchen. This type of water heater, which is rectangular rather than cylindrical, saves a lot of space.
Here is another trick Peyrieux used for space optimization: An extra-flat Ariston water heater is hidden behind one of the wall-mounted cabinets in the kitchen. This type of water heater, which is rectangular rather than cylindrical, saves a lot of space.
Peyrieux’s son had bad memories of a previous apartment on the ground floor — typically dark in Paris since the buildings are so close together. He wanted his new little nest to be bright.
He and his father chose an ivory-tinted concrete floor. “The result is really good. The whole place is very bright, and there’s a feeling of spaciousness despite the small size of the apartment,” the designer says. The self-leveling concrete is protected with a matte wax and has an urban look with a slightly artisanal feel.
He and his father chose an ivory-tinted concrete floor. “The result is really good. The whole place is very bright, and there’s a feeling of spaciousness despite the small size of the apartment,” the designer says. The self-leveling concrete is protected with a matte wax and has an urban look with a slightly artisanal feel.
The bathroom would have been difficult to move because one of its walls is load-bearing. Since it made the entrance dark, however, Peyrieux inserted a narrow panel (94½ by 10 inches) of smart glass, which turns opaque at the touch of a button, into the wall, “so as not to lose the view from the entrance and the kitchen while also being able to maintain privacy when needed.”
He says the smart glass really broke the bank, costing about $1,375, but the transforming effect it brings to the studio is undeniable. In all, the project cost about $45,500, including the furniture and decor.
He says the smart glass really broke the bank, costing about $1,375, but the transforming effect it brings to the studio is undeniable. In all, the project cost about $45,500, including the furniture and decor.
To draw attention to this feature, Peyrieux went for a frameless door. “Removing such details helps make the space more fluid,” he says.
Here is the panel from the bathroom side.
The small bathroom is equipped with a shower, tall storage closet, vanity and toilet. Note the minimalist wall-mounted faucet and ceiling-mounted shower head. The latter was helpful since the placement of the windows made a conventional shower head difficult to install.
Another smart detail is the built-in LED strip on one side of the shower ceiling, which provides a soft glow.
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Another smart detail is the built-in LED strip on one side of the shower ceiling, which provides a soft glow.
Shop for wall-mounted bathroom sink faucets
Peyrieux has some advice for those who want to renovate their own studio: “As it’s not possible to move the walls in a small space, you have to give the eye the widest possible sightlines, so it doesn’t feel cramped. Here, from the entrance, you can see through the bathroom to the roofs of the city, and the mirror backsplash also plays a part in making the space feel larger.”
Peyrieux’s son, meanwhile, has joyfully discovered the life of a student and the fun of inviting friends over to his own home — once his schoolwork is done, of course.
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Peyrieux’s son, meanwhile, has joyfully discovered the life of a student and the fun of inviting friends over to his own home — once his schoolwork is done, of course.
More on Houzz
Read other stories about apartment renovations
Find a home professional to tackle any project
Shop for home products
Apartment at a Glance
Who lives here: An 18-year-old art student
Location: Bastille district of Paris
Size: About 215 square feet (20 square meters)
Designer: Jean-Christophe Peyrieux
When Peyrieux got wind that one of his clients wanted to sell a chambre de bonne (a room that in the past usually served as a maid’s quarters) on the fifth floor of a 1930s building in Paris’ lively Bastille district, he jumped at the chance. Peyrieux got a great deal at about $845 per square foot, but the 215-square-foot space was in poor condition and needed a complete renovation. It was a real playground for the designer.