Project Van Life in Paris’s Belleville Neighbourhood
“I wanted this place to be a permanent road trip”, Adrien Dupuy, a Paris-based interior and product designer, told Never Too Small of his 32sqm/344sqft home. Inspired by van life and several trips he’s taken living on the road, Dupuy, who is also the founder of furniture company PLATO, used his woodworking expertise to turn his apartment into “a liveable piece of furniture, a place where everything had its place”.
Dupuy was already renting in his building when this unit became available for sale. Nestled in the dynamic Paris neighbourhood of Belleville, the building itself was constructed around the end of the nineteenth century and was first a department store before being refurbished into a residence in the late ’70s. Each shop was converted into a small apartment. “I believe my particular apartment used to be a fabric store”, Dupuy told us. It appeared to him that the place hadn’t been renovated in at least a couple decades and had likely been done on a low budget given the low-quality materials. Dupuy decided to start from scratch, removing all interior walls and finishes to give himself a totally blank canvas.
Personalising Every Square Inch
With the van life in mind, Dupuy considered every square inch of his place and spent a lot of time trying to imagine and anticipate how he would actually live in the space. Certain priorities were clear: He wanted a nice kitchen, a shelf for his motorcycle helmet, and only a few pieces of furniture so that it would be easy to clean. A highly customised and well-considered plywood “box” or joinery unit made these design priorities realities. Using a CNC machine to cut its pieces to size off-site, the box was assembled in the apartment with little need for adjustments (a trick Dupuy notes really helped keep a dust-free construction site).
The joinery unit is 100 percent plywood and contains the kitchen and bathroom below and a mezzanine bedroom on top. Every other inch is filled by either the ladder staircase, open shelving, and closed cupboards – where, of course, more motorcycle helmets (among other things) are safely tucked away. While the joinery really defines the contours of the space, it is Dupuy’s personal style and touches that truly make it his own. A small niche with key hooks lines the entry, while California blinds for privacy and “a ’70s motel vibe” fill the window. A refurbished coffee table is topped with the same yellow glass as the shower screen – “so I can look tan all year round”, joked Dupuy.
An Urban Landing Pad
For someone like Dupuy this space offers the perfect place to rest up before heading back out to enjoy all a city like Paris has to offer. It also represents a glimmer of hope for a future, a possible landing pad in the city for a time when he might be living closer to nature: “Paris has a lot to offer, with many opportunities to go out, experience new places, and see friends. In the future, I might want to live closer to nature but I’m already happy to know that I’ll have this place to enjoy the city I love and enjoy every inch of my little cabin”.
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