How to turn a poorly designed studio into a practical and charming two-bedroom apartment

Here is the duo of amazing architects: Chloé Martineau and Maisa El Fakir, who created their agency Ouvrage in 2019, based in Paris and Bordeaux. “Well thought out, durable and beautiful. Renovation of a studio in the golden triangle of Bordeaux. Completely rebuilt, it has become… a two bedroom apartment with added charm. Because for Chloe Martinot, who explains in detail how her agency achieved this feat, “it’s important to give the place a soul, even when everything is being transformed. This includes looking for beautiful materials and restored or antique furniture.”

The room

“The problem with the studio is that you have to fold and fold your bed every day. Don’t be harsh! Therefore, the creation of the room was the first request of our client. He fell in love with this studio located at the end of rue de Cheverus, enchanted by its volumes, the carpentry and the beautiful rose window on the ceiling. So he wanted to preserve these historical elements. but adding privacy, comfort and functionality.To meet his request and create a real sleeping space, we chose to install a large wooden glass roof that was made with custom, delicate joinery that stops a meter before the ceiling so as not to crush the rose window. The separation is light and above all it allows the light from the living room to penetrate into the bedroom. The choice of light colors also makes it possible to increase the space. On the floor, a beautiful oak parquet has been preserved throughout the apartment. »

Kitchen/dining room

“The whole kitchen island has been redone. At first it was too wide and impractical. Therefore, we revised its ratio to the centimeter and thus gained the storage space. Everything is straight and we made new molds to maintain the visual continuity with the existing ones for: Ikea solid wood desk extended to create a dining table with two AM-PM high chairs and a cabinet in the base. The wine cellar can even be integrated next to the refrigerator.We are still in Bordeaux. The kitchen fronts come from Plum. For the color, we chose fern green, which can be found on the paneling. The limitation of organizing such small spaces is that you have to be extra calculating and precise in your choice of materials is. they must be of good quality, but their volume is also central, because a few extra centimeters change the circulation. This well-designed kitchen-dining area also allowed us to save the space of the living room.

Warehouse and library

“The other challenge with this apartment was obviously maximizing the storage space. We ended up keeping 80% of the existing storage. There were bookshelves and an old bookcase with stunning period woodwork. Everything was just repainted. We even left the faux stained glass on one of the closet doors, which provides a break in color.In front of this library, in the kitchen, an old indoor fireplace serves as storage. A large tromo mirror preserved above enlarges the space and reflects light. The budget of 1200 EUR/m should be kept^2: for renovation, but without compromising the quality of the materials. Therefore, we chose to reuse. For example, the remains of the kitchen worktop were used to make the kitchen shelves.

The bathroom

“In the old configuration, all the entrances were obviously in the same room. Now you can access it through the master suite. Here, we chose to reuse the old furniture to create a new washroom. Despite such a small space and huge budget constraints, we still we got a satisfactory result. »

Contact: oeuvre.eu