A Creative Couple’s 484-Square-Foot Paris Loft Defines Utilitarian Minimalism

Tucked down a cobblestoned, tree-lined alley in the 11th arrondissement, just steps from the Place de la Nation, a Paris loft has been given a new life. The space, a former artist’s studio turned residence, opens directly onto the street and is crowned by a transom window that floods the interior with natural light.

Interior designer Caroline Pusset, who founded Studio Rœus with her sister, points to the soaring proportions as a starting point for the redesign. “The ceilings are more than 13 feet high, which immediately made us think of treating the apartment as a loft,” she says. “We added a mezzanine in the main room to house the bedroom.” Pusset owns the home with her partner, photographer Thomas Tissandier.

The high ceilings allowed the 484-square-foot apartment to be conceived as a single, cubic volume. Studio Rœus capitalized on the height by adding a staircase to a mezzanine bedroom and installing a desk below that doubles as an extra sleeping area. A vintage Kimba sofa by Michel Ducaroy, with its faded eggplant tones, adds a note of softness under the stainless-steel structure of the bedroom. The effect recalls designs by the French architect and designer Robert Mallet-Stevens. The stainless-steel coffee table is vintage and the pendant light is by Zangra.

The apartment is organized into a series of distinct volumes. At the front, a generous double-height space on the ground floor combines the entry, kitchen, and living area. Toward the rear, a split staircase divides the plan, with an office to one side and a bedroom above. They converted the basement into a large walk-in closet—at the back of which they added the bathroom—reducing the need for storage in the living spaces. Now, the space feels like a spa-inspired retreat. With the addition of the mezzanine and dressing room-bathroom in the basement, Studio Rœus’s interlocking cube design adds valuable room to the original 484-square-foot plan.

You enter the apartment through an open-plan kitchen, which has a loft-style feel, an effect created in part by the use of a floor-to-ceiling off-white paint. Elements like the kitchen island table and the custom storage units seamlessly blend into it. The kitchen is by IKEA with cabinet fronts by Cubro, walnut handles, and a custom stainless-steel worktop. Stainless steel was also used for a niche that houses small appliances. Around the raised island table are Pascal Mourgue’s Lune d’Argent bar stools.