This Tiny Apartment Checks All the Boxes With Glass Bricks and Gridded Tile

Inspired by Piet Mondrian, Miogui Architecture fixes up a 141-square foot studio in Normandy with bright primary colors.

Jun 1, 2022 - 00:00

This Tiny Apartment Checks All the Boxes With Glass Bricks and Gridded Tile

Inspired by Piet Mondrian, Miogui Architecture fixes up a 141-square foot studio in Normandy with bright primary colors.

The 141-square-foot studio apartment in Normandy, France, that Miogui architecture designed as a student rental is a sublime display of color and geometry.

When architects Léo Berastegui and Sabine Fremiot first toured this 141-square-foot apartment in Évreux, France, they were struck by how dark, cramped, and decrepit the space appeared. "It was completely dirty and broken-down," Fremiot says. "Everything had to be redone."

The disrepair was daunting—but it was also an opportunity for the duo, who cofounded Miogui Architecture, to create a blank slate for a little design magic. "Our client is a young investor who was buying for the first time," Berastegui says. "He wanted something extraordinary for his tenants."

A curved yellow curtain sections the compact kitchen and bathroom from the living area, creating a flexible floor plan for the apartment. — A curved, yellow curtain can section off the kitchen and bathroom from the living area.
Photo by Philippe Billard

Berastegui and Fremiot’s first order of business was to gut the space and reorganize it. "As we do in every tiny design project, we reduced the size of the bathroom and transferred the space to the kitchen and the living room," Berastegui says. "The bathroom is used very little in a day—the kitchen and the living area are where people spend more time."

To create a flexible floor plan, they hung a sunshine-yellow curtain at a curved angle to section the living room from the kitchen and bathroom. The drapery can be pulled back when the tenant wants to join the rooms, or it can close off the spaces for a cozier feeling.