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](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-entry-733x1100.jpg)
![the entryway opens onto the main—and only—room, painted in &# 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-main-room-733x489.jpg)
![true to style, evennou worked her color magic, balancing blues with reds and ru 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-living-area-733x1100.jpg)
![the graphic mural behind the couch sets apart the living area. the idea, evenno 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-mural-733x1099.jpg)
![tucked under the plywood stairs at the back of the apartment is a petite galley 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-kitchen-stairs-733x1100.jpg)
![the well fitted kitchen features counters that continue into a solid backsplash 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-kitchen-sink-733x1100.jpg)
![a pegboard makes use of the small space and keeps tools, towels, and twine with 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-kitchen-pegboard-733x1099.jpg)
![\2\20;i needed to have an office, bookshelves, storage for the kitchen, 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-stair-shelving-733x1100.jpg)
![the unit continues into low bookshelves and a simple desk. the irregular oval m 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-office-733x1099.jpg)
![evennou defined a tiny desk with a task light above. 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-office-desk-733x1100.jpg)
![note how the tabletop also acts as a step in the staircase, which itself leads 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-stair-shelving-2-733x1099.jpg)
![evennou embraced the tininess of the upstairs sleeping loft, painting walls, ce 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-bedroom-733x1100.jpg)
![minimal art and furniture keeps the space open and inviting, not claustrophobic. 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-bedroom-2-733x1099.jpg)
![the bath, also in blue, with another whimsical mirror from m nuance. 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/marianne-evennou-blue-paris-apartment-bathroom-733x1100.jpg)
For more of Evennou’s work, see Home at the Office: Designer Marianne Evennou’s Paris Work Quarters and Pied-à-Terre, Dental 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:
- The Modern Garret: An Inventive Remodel in Paris, Tiny Ikea Hack Kitchen Included
- 9 Small-Space Ideas to Steal from a Tiny Paris Apartment
- Steal This Look: The $4K Parisian Kitchen from Two DIY Experts
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