Studio with a mezzanineStudio with a mezzanine

A small studio in an old building, with four-metre ceilings and two tall windows. The owner works from home, so sleeping, working and having friends over all had to find their place within thirty-eight square metres.

The height made it possible to lift the bedroom onto a mezzanine above the kitchen and hallway. Below are the living area with a desk by the window, a single-run kitchen and a bathroom with a shower. The stair to the mezzanine doubles as storage: drawers in the treads, a wardrobe under the flight.

To avoid breaking up a small volume I used only three materials: pale plaster, birch plywood and green tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. The original parquet was restored. Lighting is wall-mounted and pendant, with no recessed spots, so the ceiling and its plaster cornice stay untouched.

The studio reads as larger than its floor area because the eye never lands on a cupboard: all storage is hidden in the mezzanine and the stair.

Materials

• birch plywood
• lime plaster
• glazed tiles
• restored parquet
• linen and wool