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3 Tiny Apartment Tips From a Colorful Paris Attic Studio

With inspiration from An American in Paris

At this point, we might as well name Paris the capital of brilliant tiny apartments. Here, for example, is a 270-square-foot 14th arrondissement attic studio that manages to marry small-space design magic with a decidedly vibrant decor style. As profiled in Marie Claire Maison, though the compact home features a contemporary design, it had a more throwback inspiration, namely Gene Kelly's super efficient tiny apartment in An American in Paris (1951). Just like the Kelly's place, this apartment also features a hideaway bed and fold-down table. Below, a few quick takeaways from the project:

  1. Storage as decor, or in this case, mini accent walls—As seen in the kitchen, the bright eye-popping recessed spaces not only help organize a few things, but also play up the apartment's colorful style.
  2. Blend everything in—The living/sleeping space in the photo above (the bed is tucked into the wall above the sofa) manages to look extremely uncluttered, in part because of the way the wardrobe matches up to the two-toned wall to create one continuous white wall. The white shelving and cabinetry hiding the bed heighten the effect.
  3. Own up to your spaces-saving wizardry—Fold-down tables are nothing new, but this apartment really flaunts it. Here, the table's lime green movable "leg" serves both as structural support and an accent element that complements the rest of the decor.

You can see a few more photos of the home here.