Recommended Free Tools
ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
A 200-square-foot studio can feel like a cramped room, or it can work as a miniature suite. In the Saint-Germain-des-Prés apartment profiled by Architectural Digest, the difference comes from making every function legible: entry, cooking, sleeping, bathing, dining, working and storage each have a place, while a restrained palette ties them together.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The renovation, by Studio Ett Hem, offers a useful lesson for anyone planning a small apartment or painting project: preserve character, separate activities without blocking daylight, and use cabinetry to hide the equipment that makes a home function. The published tour is a report from August 5, 2022, not a current inspection of the apartment.
Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchPC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The central idea: make a tiny plan read as several rooms
The apartment is on rue du Cherche-Midi in Paris’s Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. Its owner, a businesswoman who lives outside Paris, needed a personal pied-à-terre for regular work visits and wanted an alternative to impersonal hotel rooms. Studio Ett Hem, founded by interior designer Pauline Lorenzi-Boisrond, treated the studio as a compact suite rather than one undifferentiated room.
#1 Best Overall
- MULTIFUNCTION DRESSER: This vertical closet dresser matches perfectly with other WLIVE storage towers; This storage dresser is great for closets, bedrooms, playrooms, entryways and more
- SUFFICIENT STORAGE SPACE:WLIVE 4 dresser drawers are great for organizing your clothes, blankets, scarves, socks and other accessories; Wood top provides hard surface for displaying lamps, clocks, books, glasses etc.
- STURDY STRUCTURE: Strong steel frame and water-resistant wood top offer stable support and ensure years of use; High-quality non-woven fabric drawers is easy to clean
- 4 Closet Drawers: Features 4 removable foldable drawers; Easy pull handle helps open and close the drawers simply; 4 adjustable plastic feet protect your floor from scratches
- EASY ASSEMBLY: This chest of drawers is easy to assemble with hardware included; Overall dimension: 15.7" L*11.8" W*38.7" H
That decision is more important than any single finish. Lorenzi-Boisrond explained the approach this way: “In small spaces, we are often afraid to create zones, but differentiating functions and installing circulation counter-intuitively expands the space.” The apartment tour appears in Architectural Digest, published August 5, 2022.
Instead of filling the perimeter with unrelated furniture, the design establishes a sequence. You enter through a combined entrance-and-kitchen area, pass a rounded wood-and-glass divider, and arrive at the sleeping zone. A fixed table beneath the window handles both meals and work. A difficult slanted wall becomes a continuous line of doors, including the hidden bathroom entrance. Movement through those zones is part of the architecture, not leftover space between objects.
How the zones are arranged
Entry and kitchen share the arrival zone
The entrance and kitchen are treated as one multifunctional area. This keeps cooking equipment close to the door and prevents appliances from intruding into the sleeping area. The kitchen contains a refrigerator, a two-burner cooktop, a small sink, a concealed microwave and additional storage. The feature does not identify the appliances’ brands, fuel type or dimensions, so those details should not be inferred from photographs.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
A two-burner arrangement is a practical fit for a pied-à-terre where the kitchen is useful but not expected to support large-scale cooking. The important spatial move is not the appliance count; it is keeping the working line compact enough to preserve a clear route into the apartment.
A rounded wood-and-glass divider separates sleeping from service functions
A curved partition marks the boundary between the entrance-and-kitchen side and the bed. Its glazing allows light to travel between the areas, while the wood gives the sleeping zone a sense of enclosure. Storage is built into both sides of the divider, so the partition performs three jobs: it defines a room, carries cabinetry and filters views.
Rank #2
- 1.Gap Storage Expert: 4-Tier Intelligent Height Differential Design：(4.9"W x 38.7"H x 15.3"D）Engineered for modern compact living! With its slim 4.9-inch profile, this organizer fits perfectly into narrow gaps between furniture and appliances. Its core advantage lies in the innovative four-tier height differential design: the lower two tiers provide generous 12.5" , while the upper two tiers feature an optimal 9.2" height . One unit accommodates all sizes, maximizing vertical space utilization.
- 2.Dual-Mode Conversion: Mobile Station to Fixed Storage：Innovative design meets diverse needs! Equipped with 4 multi-directional casters (2 with locks) for flexible movement as a mobile cleaning cart or supply station. The breakthrough feature: easily remove the casters to instantly convert it into a 2 or 3-tier fixed shelving unit. Combined with its "tall-bottom, standard-top" intelligent layering, it serves perfectly as both a mobile kitchen pantry and a stationary bathroom organizer.
- 3.Adjustable Dividers + Scientific Tier Heights：features customizable dividers for exact item categorization, plus ingeniously designed multi-functional side hooks for hanging cleaning tools, kitchen utensils，End chaotic storage. More importantly, our precision-engineered 12.5INCHES base and 9.2inches upper tier heights ensure everything from 1L detergent bottles to standard spice jars finds its perfect fit. This design eliminates wasted vertical space caused by mismatched dimensions.
- 4.Tool-Free Assembly &Lightweight Yet Durable,：no tools needed—assemble in under 10 minutes! Components snap together securely. built with lightweight materials (weighs only 3.2 lbs) for easy portability, yet each shelf can hold up to 30 lbs total. The unique hollow mesh bottom design prevents water pooling, promotes air circulation, and keeps stored items like cleaning supplies, spices, and toiletries dry,Prevent rusting.
- 5.Whole-Home Versatility: Solve Storage Headaches in Eight Key Areas One cart, endless uses—organize your entire home: Bathroom: Fits perfecly beside the toilet for TP, toiletries, and cleaners. Kitchen: Acts as a gap spice rack, pantry overflow, or utensil caddy. Laundry Room: Corrals detergent, fabric softener, and supplies next to the washer. Small Spaces/RVs: Utilizes tight corners for snacks, office supplies, or tools. And More: Also perfect for bedroom nightstands, craft rooms.
For a small studio, this is a more nuanced choice than either leaving everything open or building a solid wall. A completely open plan can make the bed visible from the entrance and provide no obvious place for coats or kitchen supplies. A full-height opaque wall would create a darker passage. The wood-and-glass solution keeps the visual connection while giving each activity a boundary.
The awkward structural wall becomes a useful elevation
A slanted load-bearing wall could have been left as dead space. Instead, Studio Ett Hem fitted it with a sequence of molded doors. Some doors open to storage; one conceals the entrance to the bathroom. The repeated fronts make the irregular wall read as one intentional piece of millwork rather than a collection of compromises.
Recommended Free Tools
This strategy is particularly valuable in old apartments, where structure and existing services often dictate the plan. Rather than trying to square off every angle, measure the obstruction, then design a continuous face that gives the eye a calm line and gives the owner usable compartments.
The window table combines dining and work
A table fixed to the floor sits beneath a large window. It serves as a dining surface and an office, giving the owner a naturally lit place to work without requiring a second desk. Fixing the table protects the circulation route: there are no table legs to shift, and the surface can be sized precisely to the wall and window opening.
The arrangement also demonstrates why daylight should be assigned to the activities that benefit from it most. Eating and laptop work can share one surface when the rest of the plan supplies separate places for sleep and storage.
Rank #3
- 1.Gap Storage Expert: 4-Tier Intelligent Height Differential Design：(4.9"W x 38.7"H x 15.3"D）Engineered for modern compact living! With its slim 4.9-inch profile, this organizer fits perfectly into narrow gaps between furniture and appliances. Its core advantage lies in the innovative four-tier height differential design: the lower two tiers provide generous 12.5" , while the upper two tiers feature an optimal 9.2" height . One unit accommodates all sizes, maximizing vertical space utilization.
- 2.Dual-Mode Conversion: Mobile Station to Fixed Storage：Innovative design meets diverse needs! Equipped with 4 multi-directional casters (2 with locks) for flexible movement as a mobile cleaning cart or supply station. The breakthrough feature: easily remove the casters to instantly convert it into a 2 or 3-tier fixed shelving unit. Combined with its "tall-bottom, standard-top" intelligent layering, it serves perfectly as both a mobile kitchen pantry and a stationary bathroom organizer.
- 3.Adjustable Dividers + Scientific Tier Heights：features customizable dividers for exact item categorization, plus ingeniously designed multi-functional side hooks for hanging cleaning tools, kitchen utensils，End chaotic storage. More importantly, our precision-engineered 12.5INCHES base and 9.2inches upper tier heights ensure everything from 1L detergent bottles to standard spice jars finds its perfect fit. This design eliminates wasted vertical space caused by mismatched dimensions.
- 4.Tool-Free Assembly &Lightweight Yet Durable,：no tools needed—assemble in under 10 minutes! Components snap together securely. built with lightweight materials (weighs only 3.2 lbs) for easy portability, yet each shelf can hold up to 30 lbs total. The unique hollow mesh bottom design prevents water pooling, promotes air circulation, and keeps stored items like cleaning supplies, spices, and toiletries dry
- 5.Whole-Home Versatility: Solve Storage Headaches in Eight Key Areas One cart, endless uses—organize your entire home: Bathroom: Fits perfecly beside the toilet for TP, toiletries, and cleaners. Kitchen: Acts as a gap spice rack, pantry overflow, or utensil caddy. Laundry Room: Corrals detergent, fabric softener, and supplies next to the washer. Small Spaces/RVs: Utilizes tight corners for snacks, office supplies, or tools. And More: Also perfect for bedroom nightstands, craft rooms.
Hidden storage is doing the heavy lifting
The apartment’s calm appearance depends on putting bulky necessities behind doors. Lorenzi-Boisrond described the principle as: “Everything you don’t need to see but need to have” is here.
- Cabinetry is integrated into both faces of the wood-and-glass divider.
- The molded doors along the slanted wall conceal ordinary storage and the bathroom entry.
- Cabinets under the roof slope hide the hot-water tank, washing machine and radiators.
- Some service areas are closed with cabinet doors, while others use brass grilles for ventilation and access.
- The bathroom and heating system are concealed within the millwork rather than left visually exposed.
Concealment does not mean eliminating access. A tank, washing machine or radiator still needs clearance, ventilation and a way to be serviced. The lesson for a renovation is to draw those requirements before choosing door widths or paint finishes. A beautiful uninterrupted cabinet run fails if a technician cannot reach the equipment behind it.
Why the color and material palette feels coherent
The finishes are varied, but they are not random. Existing architectural elements supply the starting points: original 19th-century floor tiles and a small black fireplace were retained. Around them, the renovation coordinates dark-veined marble, brass, wood, blue paint, colored banquette fabric and pink accents.
Dark surfaces provide an anchor
The project uses Black Saint Laurent marble with gold veining. Against pale daylight and reflective glass, the dark stone gives the kitchen and other hard-working surfaces visual weight. Brass details pick up the marble’s warm veining, while wood prevents the composition from becoming entirely glossy or metallic.
For a painter, the useful principle is to anchor a small room with one deep tone, then repeat its warmth or coolness elsewhere. A dark element can make neighboring colors appear clearer, provided it is balanced by daylight and lighter surfaces. The feature identifies the marble and several suppliers, but it does not publish a complete paint schedule or exact color codes.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Rank #4
- 【QUICK ASSEMBLY, EASY FOLDAWAY】This storage ottoman from the SONGMICS MAZIE Collection has a foldable design that allows quick setup in seconds by simply inserting the bottom panel. Easily fold and store it under the bed or in a closet when not in use
- 【AMPLE STORAGE】Measuring 15"D x 43"W x 15"H (38 x 110 x 38 cm), this storage bench offers a 35-gallon (131 L) volume. Its removable divider keeps your books, clothes, and blankets neatly sorted, or stores larger items like bed sheets
- 【STURDY AND DURABLE】Built with premium MDF panels and reinforced with metal corner guards on the lid, this ottoman is strong enough to support up to 660 lb (300 kg), making it a reliable seating or storage solution that will stand the test of time
- 【ELEGANT DESIGN, ENDURING COMFORT】This ottoman boasts a chic linen-look surface with an elegant tufting design, adding a stylish touch to your space. The double-layer fabric and high-resilience foam ensure lasting comfort for relaxation
- 【VERSATILE USES】This folding ottoman serves as a storage box, a footstool, and even a coffee table! It fits seamlessly into the living room, bedroom, entryway, or dressing room to meet various needs
Blue, pink and upholstery add controlled color
Blue paint appears alongside colored banquette fabric and pink accents. Because the apartment already contains black tile, dark marble and brass, these colors are used as coordinated notes rather than a collection of competing feature walls. The upholstered benches add softness and a place to sit without introducing another large piece of furniture.
The article’s project credits name Argile Peinture and Farrow & Ball among the paint makers, but no specific shade or current product specification is established. If you are adapting the look, test large samples in the actual room at morning, midday and evening; a blue that looks quiet in a showroom can read much stronger beside black stone or warm brass.
The bathroom changes texture, not the overall discipline
The bathroom is described as triangular. Its walls use zellige tile, its floor uses limestone slabs, and radiant heating is installed underfoot. The irregular footprint is accepted rather than disguised, while the mix of handmade-looking tile and stone gives the smallest room a distinct identity.
Small bathrooms benefit from limiting the number of competing grout lines and metal finishes. Here, the material shift differentiates the bathroom from the painted living area, while the concealed entrance keeps that change from interrupting the main circulation path.
A room-by-room reading of the reported specification
| Area or element | Reported detail | Spatial purpose | Painting and finish lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entrance and kitchen | Refrigerator, two-burner cooktop, small sink, hidden microwave and storage | Concentrates service functions near the entry | Use a compact, coordinated finish rather than many appliance colors |
| Divider | Rounded wood-and-glass partition with storage on both sides | Separates sleeping from arrival and cooking while admitting light | Pair an opaque warm material with glazing to create definition without a dark wall |
| Structural wall | Slanted load-bearing wall fitted with molded doors; one door hides the bathroom | Turns an awkward angle into a continuous storage elevation | Paint or finish repeated fronts consistently so the wall reads as one plane |
| Window work surface | Floor-fixed table used for dining and office work | Shares one footprint between two daily activities | Keep the surrounding wall visually quiet so daylight remains the focus |
| Roof-slope storage | Cabinet doors and brass grilles conceal hot-water tank, washing machine and radiators | Removes bulky services from view while retaining access | Coordinate grilles and hardware with the palette instead of treating them as afterthoughts |
| Bathroom | Triangular plan, zellige wall tile, limestone floor slabs and radiant heating | Uses the irregular footprint as a defined, compact room | Let texture provide identity when there is no room for decorative furniture |
| Historic elements | Original 19th-century floor tiles and a small black fireplace retained | Preserves the apartment’s age and visual reference points | Choose wall colors that support existing materials before replacing them |
How to adapt the strategy in another small apartment
The Paris project is custom work, not a kit that can be copied dimension for dimension. Its decisions can, however, be translated into a practical sequence for a studio renovation or repaint.
Best Value
- Stylish Wood & Metal Combo: The attractive wood top paired with matte black alloy steel brings an industrial yet vintage charm to your home. It not only serves as extra storage but also elevates the decor in your kitchen, laundry room, or bathroom.
- Design for Narrow Spaces or Gaps: this 4-tier slim storage cart(7.1 inches in width) is designed specifically to slide into narrow gaps—like between your washer and dryer, fridge and cabinet, or countertop and wall. A smart solution to make use of every inch of your home.
- Versatile Slim Rolling Cart: This organizer fits a variety of needs: spices and cooking oils in the kitchendetergent and dryer sheets in the laundry room, or even makeup, crafts, office supplies, and drinks. It keeps everything organized and within easy reach in any room.
- Durable, Rust-Resistant Construction: Built from premium powder-coated steel and durable particleboard, the frame resists rust and water. The mesh shelf design prevents water accumulation, making it ideal for humid environments like bathrooms and laundry areas.
- Easy to Assemble & Move: Comes with four 360° swivel casters and a sturdy metal handle, so you can easily roll it in and out of small spaces. Includes heightened diamond guardrails to keep items secure. Assembly is quick and simple, thanks to clearly labeled parts and instructions.
- Measure fixed constraints first. Record structural walls, window openings, radiator locations, plumbing stacks, ceiling slopes and door swings. Mark the service clearances for every appliance before drawing cabinets.
- List activities rather than rooms. Write down sleeping, cooking, eating, working, bathing, dressing, laundry and storage. Give each activity a primary location, even if one surface serves two of them.
- Draw the circulation route. Leave a continuous path from the entry to the bathroom and sleeping area. Test the route with cabinet doors, chairs and appliance doors shown open; a plan that works only when everything is closed is not functional.
- Choose the lightest effective divider. If the bed needs privacy, consider glazing, open shelving or a partial-height element before a solid wall. The goal is visual separation without turning the entry into a tunnel.
- Turn irregular geometry into a repeated face. A slanted wall, boxed pipe or low ceiling can become a line of equal doors or panels. Repetition makes an awkward condition look deliberate.
- Design service access into the elevations. Note which panels lift off, which doors need ventilation and where filters or valves are located. Use grilles where equipment requires airflow rather than sealing it behind airtight cabinetry.
- Assign the best daylight to shared work. A fixed table near a window can support meals and laptop work. Keep its depth and chair clearance compatible with the circulation path.
- Build the palette from what cannot change. Sample paint beside retained tile, stone, fireplaces, flooring and metal hardware. Select the wall color only after seeing those fixed materials together.
- Limit the number of major colors. One dark anchor, one dominant wall color, one warm metal and one or two upholstery or accent colors can create variation without visual noise. Repeat each chosen color in more than one location.
- Paint in removable, serviceable components. Cabinet doors, grilles and trim should be labeled and removable before painting. Use the coating system appropriate to the substrate and bathroom humidity, following the manufacturer’s preparation and curing requirements.
- Protect historic surfaces. Clean and repair original tiles or a fireplace before deciding they need replacement. A surviving feature can provide more character than a new decorative finish and can guide the rest of the palette.
Painting details that matter in a compact plan
Sample for contrast, not just color
In a small room, adjacent surfaces are seen at close range. Compare a proposed wall color against the darkest existing element, the brightest window light and the warmest metal. Check whether cabinet fronts should match the wall, sit one step lighter or become a deliberate contrast. The Paris apartment’s repeated doors work because their rhythm is visually controlled; unrelated color changes would weaken that effect.
Use sheen to distinguish surfaces
A single color can serve several functions when sheen changes are intentional. Walls may need a finish suited to their substrate and cleaning needs; cabinetry and metal grilles may require different products; a bathroom wall has different moisture exposure from a sleeping area. Do not assume one paint product is appropriate for every surface merely because the color matches.
Paint around daylight and glazing
Glass in the divider spreads light, but it also reflects nearby colors. Test samples on both sides of a partition and view them through the glass. A color that looks neutral on the kitchen side may pick up the warmth of wood or the darkness of marble when seen from the bed.
Keep access panels visually quiet
When radiators, a washing machine or a hot-water tank are hidden behind millwork, the surrounding paint should not draw attention to the service doors. Consistent alignment, restrained hardware and carefully prepared surfaces matter more than decorative motifs. Brass grilles can remain visible as functional details while matching the project’s hardware language.
What the feature does—and does not—establish
The published tour documents a specific renovation and identifies its principal materials, layout moves and design rationale. It does not provide independently measured performance data, a complete budget, appliance model numbers, exact paint formulas or evidence that the apartment’s condition is unchanged today. The reported 200-square-foot area describes this apartment; it is not a general minimum or a statistic about Paris housing.
The feature also says the designers aimed to preserve and reuse as much of the existing unit as possible, while noting that parts of the building were in poor condition. That combination explains why the result feels both historic and highly tailored: original tiles and the fireplace remain reference points, while new millwork resolves structure, storage and building services.
The transferable lesson
The apartment feels larger not because it contains fewer needs, but because those needs are organized. A translucent boundary gives the bed a territory, a fixed table prevents furniture drift, a difficult wall becomes storage, and a restrained color scheme lets old surfaces and new cabinetry belong to the same composition. For a painting project, the most durable takeaway is to plan color together with circulation and access. Paint can clarify a zone, but it cannot rescue a layout that has nowhere to move or store the things daily life requires.
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallCrashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteQuick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
