Small Space Design Ideas in a Paris Duplex by Heju

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How to introduce a full-size stair that’s both unobtrusive and artful? Presented with two floors in an 1830s Paris building that needed to be knit together, architects Hélène Pinaud and Julien Schwartzmann of Heju came up with the idea of elevating the steps above the kitchen—with a counter that extends out to become the stair landing.

The spaces called for such derring-do: each floor is 50 square meters (538 square feet) and there was a lot to fit in. The downstairs had always been used as living quarters and was last updated in the 1970s; the upstairs remained an unfinished garret, once a carpentry workshop, accessed by the building’s communal stair—scroll to the end for a glimpse of what was.

Heju was tasked with updating both levels for a newly married couple in their fifties. The transformation required “a huge amount of structural work,” say the architects, whose playful take on minimalism we’ve been following just about since they graduated from the National School of Architecture in Strasbourg in 2015 (Heju is a combination of their two names). Join us for a look at the craftsmanship and cohesion they introduced both upstairs and down.

Photography courtesy of Heju.

Lower Level: The Living Quarters

located in a five story building on rue faubourg du saint antoine, the apartmen 17 — Above: Located in a five-story building on Rue Faubourg du Saint-Antoine, the apartment has an open-plan first floor (see floor plans below). The built-in shelves are composed of plasterboard finished with limewash: “we wanted them to look like a wall, as if they’ve always been there,” says Hélène. The sling chair is Ferm Living’s Desert Lounge and the circular side table is from India Mahdavi’s collection for Monoprix.

The metal-framed windows are new additions that look like the originals but are high performing. The radiator cover is tinted ash, a material that reappears as the stair railing, and the floor is polished concrete.

the archways create niches for displaying art and objects. the lower cabinets a 18 — Above: The archways create niches for displaying art and objects. The lower cabinets are made of Baltic birch, which the designers used for storage on both levels. Note the carved recessed handles; they’re applied vertically here and horizontally in the kitchen.

The white limewash on the walls throughout is Papier Washi from the Heju Collection for French paint company Ressource.

a first look at the ingenious stair solution—the pale pink lower steps a 19 — Above: A first look at the ingenious stair solution—the pale pink lower steps are made of wood coated with waxed concrete. The Mags sofa is from Hay and the coffee table is by artist Baptiste Lanne.

the kitchen has an ethnicraft table and vintage danish moderne niels otto molle 20 — Above: The kitchen has an Ethnicraft table and vintage Danish moderne Niels Otto Moller Model 75 chairs. The hanging light is from Dutch interiors line HK Living.

The lacquered wood cabinets in the back conceal the fridge and pantry and serve as a divider—behind them is the entryway, closet, and powder room, with room to circulate on both sides.