Apartment in Paris by Francesc Rife Studio

‘Apartment in Paris’ is the latest residential project completed by the superstar designers at Francesc Rife Studio. Showcasing a clever use of small and awkward space, the designers were challenged to create a more seamless living experience for the residents – a local couple – while retaining the apartment’s original features, including an irregular sloping roof and timber columns.

Located in the Saint Germain district in Paris, the apartment spans two levels and now takes on an open plan design with multi-purpose spaces, built-in features and furniture, and elements that fold away to maximise the small dimensions and angular footprint.

The designers primarily focused on transforming the living space, which now integrates a concealed kitchen with all the usual amenities, along with a washing machine, a dryer AND a wardrobe – all hidden away behind uniform white doors. This allows for a more linear design, and the relocation of the bedroom and bathroom to a more private area, separate to the rest of the home. The lower level also features a small study area, and dining and reading spaces. The upper level, just two steps above the lower, features a custom-designed built-in seating zone finished in natural oak timber, and a flip-television with a lacquered timber surface.

Francesc Rife Studio’s approach to materiality completes the seamless design. The full interior is painted with a greyish-white, fresh with depth and not too stark, and oak timber is used for flooring, shelving and seating. Overall, there is a strong balance between the original features and the new, clean additions. Furniture and lighting from French design legends like Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouve add to the polished and considered outcome, while African sculptures and conceptual installations give a quirky modern bent.

Francesc Rife founded his design studio in Barcelona in 1994, and now leads a team of eight professionals trained in various fields of design, including graphic design, photography and art direction. His projects, national and international, range from interior to industrial design in the commercial and private sectors, and all embody his master of spatial and geometric proportion.