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Blue Streak: An Inventive, Postage Stamp-Sized Flat in the Center of Paris

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Blue Streak: An Inventive, Postage Stamp-Sized Flat in the Center of Paris

April 5, 2019

French interior designer Marianne Evennou has a knack for color. Even for those of us on the Remodelista team for whom grey feels like a bold choice, Evennou has a way of making color look effortless: pairing rusts with pale greens, layering rooms in many shades of the same hue, using vibrant blues like others would a neutral. “Colors for me are like musical notes—they’re all good; you just have to adjust them to make a nice melody,” Evennou told Margot in our piece Home at the Office: Designer Marianne Evennou’s Paris Work Quarters and Pied-à-Terre.

As it turns out, Evennou has the same deft, magic touch when it comes to designing small spaces. Our latest favorite? A postage stamp-sized apartment in the Marais, next to Paris’ famed Marché des Enfants Rouges market. For this, Evennou was charged with creating a sophisticated but usable pied à terre for a Swiss art collector couple and their kids, all in 270 square feet. “It hadn’t been renovated for a long, long time,” Evennou says. “We kept the floor in the living room, with authentic tiles from the 18th century. The rest is not very authentic.” Join us as we take a look inside.

Photography by Marie-Pierre Morel, courtesy of Marianne Evennou.

visitors step into a compact but bold entryway, with dark blue walls, bronze ho 17
Above: Visitors step into a compact but bold entryway, with dark blue walls, bronze hooks, for corralling and displaying essentials; and—another trademark of Evennou’s—an interior window.
the entryway opens onto the main—and only—room, painted in &# 18
Above: The entryway opens onto the main—and only—room, painted in “a sand color,” Evennou says. The small space had to be multifunctional, so she settled on a long, low plywood shelf along the left side of the room that serves as storage, mini office, and stairway, and low seating area on the right.
true to style, evennou worked her color magic, balancing blues with reds and ru 19
Above: True to style, Evennou worked her color magic, balancing blues with reds and rusts, including the original terra cotta tiles. The rattan pendant lights are from Cinq Étoiles.
the graphic mural behind the couch sets apart the living area. the idea, evenno 20
Above: The graphic mural behind the couch sets apart the living area. The idea, Evennou says, is “instead of having a piece of art, creating a patchwork of colors with a very graphic and modern look in contrast with the story of the building. It’s the meeting point between the past and the future.”
tucked under the plywood stairs at the back of the apartment is a petite galley 21
Above: Tucked under the plywood stairs at the back of the apartment is a petite galley kitchen, awash in shades of blue. (The entry is at left, through the blue door.) The mod floor tiles are by Claesson Koivisto Rune via Marrakech Design.
the well fitted kitchen features counters that continue into a solid backsplash 22
Above: The well-fitted kitchen features counters that continue into a solid backsplash, making the space feel larger and more cohesive (see 16 Favorite Solid Marble Kitchen Backsplashes for more ideas). The sink is what Evennou calls a “timbre d’office“, the French expression for a petite, “stamp”-sized sink, and is from Villeroy and Bosch.
a pegboard makes use of the small space and keeps tools, towels, and twine with 23
Above: A pegboard makes use of the small space and keeps tools, towels, and twine within easy reach. The flush-mount light bulbs are from Zangra.
&#8\2\20;i needed to have an office, bookshelves, storage for the kitchen,  24
Above: “I needed to have an office, bookshelves, storage for the kitchen, and a staircase,” Evennou says. Plywood that morphs into shelves, a staircase, and a low desk proved to be the solution. Here, under the stairs, the shelves hold glassware and wine.
the unit continues into low bookshelves and a simple desk. the irregular oval m 25
Above: The unit continues into low bookshelves and a simple desk. The irregular oval mirrors throughout, which help to bring in light and the illusion of more space, are the Morning Mirrors from M Nuance.
evennou defined a tiny desk with a task light above. 26
Above: Evennou defined a tiny desk with a task light above.
note how the tabletop also acts as a step in the staircase, which itself leads  27
Above: Note how the tabletop also acts as a step in the staircase, which itself leads to a sleeping loft.
evennou embraced the tininess of the upstairs sleeping loft, painting walls, ce 28
Above: Evennou embraced the tininess of the upstairs sleeping loft, painting walls, ceiling, and beams alike in a pale green.
minimal art and furniture keeps the space open and inviting, not claustrophobic. 29
Above: Minimal art and furniture keeps the space open and inviting, not claustrophobic.
the bath, also in blue, with another whimsical mirror from m nuance. 30
Above: The bath, also in blue, with another whimsical mirror from M Nuance.

For more of Evennou’s work, see Home at the Office: Designer Marianne Evennou’s Paris Work Quarters and Pied-à-TerreDental Decor in Paris: Le Cabinet Dentaire de Géraldine by Marianne Evennou, and A Parisian Colorist Works Her Magic.

And for more tiny Paris flats, might we suggest:

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