Design Magic Makes This 137-Square-Foot Parisian Flat Look Larger Than It Is

Sometimes, good things really do come in small packages—just consider the 137-square-foot Parisian apartment that architects Sabine Fremiot and Léo Berastegui, of Miogui Architecture, designed for a couple in their fifties. "We met this couple while completing another project in the building," Fremiot says. "They bought the apartment as an investment, and then approached us after seeing our work."

The compact unit—one of several in a 1930s building that was once a hotel—looks down on the streets of Paris’s 20th arrondissement. "The price per square meter isn’t too high in this area," Fremiot says.

For however scenic the neighborhood is, the dwelling itself left much to be desired. "The existing apartment was banal," Berastegui says. "The bathroom and the wardrobe were too big for the space, the kitchen was little, and there wasn’t much light."

The architects’ first order of business was to harness more sunlight for the apartment. They knocked down the bathroom walls and recreated the living/sleeping area, enlarging the space to encompass the window that previously belonged to the bathroom. "It was important to give the maximum amount of space and light to the main room," Berastegui says.