Architect Pierre Savajol’s 60-Square Metre Paris Apartment with a Trompe l’Oeil Door
“Personally, I want to make it playful; the more playful, the better”, architect Pierre Savajol told Never Too Small of his design approach – at least, when it comes to designing his own space. The founder of Paris-based PS Studio brought this inclination toward play into his recent reimagining of the apartment that he shares with his boyfriend, a fashion designer, in the city’s 19th arrondissement. Complete with a hidden door, a loft accessed by ladder, and a space for a hammock, the 60sqm/645sqft home achieves Savajol’s goal of balancing fun with function in a spacious, timeless environment.
Savajol and his partner’s home is within a former brewery originally constructed in 1905. Though it was converted into a residential space later in the same century, it bears the hallmarks of its industrial past, with tall ceilings, large windows, and some exposed structural beams. The apartment itself had previously been two adjacent units that the owner before Savajol had joined into one; and, though this conversion created a spacious, open floor plan, it left some things to be desired in terms of the layout. The kitchen, for one, was at the opposite end of the apartment from the bathroom, with several dividing walls between them. The bathroom was also in the sunniest area, which as Savajol put it, “didn’t make any sense to [him]”.
European Proportions Meet Japanese Minimalism
Savajol decided to instead remove all interior walls in order to create semi-private, modular zones – including the kitchen and dining room, the living room, an office, and the guest sleeping loft – that can be opened up but also partitioned off when needed. Amid this open-concept layout, the bedroom and its adjoining ensuite are notably separated; hidden away behind the kitchen in a room accessible not only by one standard door but also by another not-so-obvious (in fact, hidden) door. Right in the centre of the kitchen, Savajol added a mobile kitchen cabinet, which, once pulled out, reveals a door replete with the matching kitchen tiles that opens to the ensuite. This sneaky trompe l’oeil detail allows overnight guests to access the shower without having to walk through their bedroom, while maintaining a larger kitchen work surface for day-to-day life.
As novel as the door may be, it’s far from the sole wow factor of this apartment with a high ceiling, large windows, and generous-feeling interior. When it came to the overarching style, Savajol explained that he was “strongly influenced by the proportions of European architecture and the absence of furniture which is common in Japanese minimalist designs”. This is felt most poignantly in the transitional area between the living room and kitchen, defined by two moss green columns: “The perspective between the two columns is theatrical”, noted Savajol. “The lamp takes place centre stage in the middle and gives a spot light that draws you into the dining table”.
The smaller yet no less impactful gestures include features like the yellow and khaki accent wall in the bedroom; the retractable pine staircase leading to a guest sleeping loft; two circular interior windows allowing light to reach dark corners; the coloured ceiling and grout in the bathroom; and the hooks designated for hammock-hanging in the living room (a holdover from Savajol’s time living in Brazil).
Small Space Design in Dense European Cities
There is no doubt that fun – and function – found their way into Savajol’s custom design for his home. It follows his belief that a space should be optimised according to the needs of the owner. Some, for example, may not want a yellow ceiling, but for Savajol and his boyfriend this suits them just fine. For Savajol, this customisation and tailoring of small space is evidence of how it’s possible to live better not just at home but in our communities at large as well: “Making a compact space pleasant is proof that we can comfortably coexist in cities like Paris – the densest in Europe – while maximising our natural and communal spaces”.
