Small Spaces

A Scenic Terrace Adds Extra Light and Living Space To This 323-Square-Foot Apartment

Overlooking the rooftops of Paris, the small home was designed with warm materials and wood to conjure inviting vibes

By Nicolas MilonPhotography by Benjamin Colombel

November 19, 2024

This Parisian terrace is almost as large as the cozy apartment inside.

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A studio on the seventh floor of its building, overlooking the rooftops of Montmartre, has a terrace almost as large as the apartment itself and, of course, breathtaking views of Paris. “You can see the city in the distance from this hilltop, and as the sun makes its way through the sky with it passing clouds, the light becomes more or less bright, the colors change, and the entire scene can look like an abstract work,” says Dev Gupta, architect and cofounder with Olivia Charpentier and Alexandre Goulet of GCG Architects, which has offices in Paris, Nice, and New Delhi. This little rooftop aerie, where the spectacular view steals the show, measures 323 square feet, and then there’s an additional 215 square feet outdoors, the terrace.

The apartment’s dining and living areas look out through a large window onto a terrace, while the sky is reflected in the lacquered wood of a custom niche. The reflections create multiple perspectives and make the space feel larger. On a travertine console from Selency, a transparent Zara Home vase, a pink Casa Cabana vase, and candle holders from Monoprix and H&M Home.

Largely untouched since the 1970s, it had been the apartment of a former dancer in Vegas-style reviews from that decade. “We found period photos and an unpermitted terrace atop the zinc roof—it was like a combination of a terrasse vénitienne [an elevated terrace above a sloped roof] and a wild pontoon boat! The apartment itself had a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room all separated by very thin partitions.” The architects were given free rein when renovating this little belvedere, a satellite of a triplex that the studio had designed nearby. “This is its annex, the guest house of the owners, who entrusted us with its total renovation, from the redesign of the terrace to creating new openings to take advantage of the views. We reimagined the terrace and all of the apartment’s decor and furnishings, everything from the cutlery to the sheets,” Charpentier says with a laugh. The client’s only requirement was a firm delivery date when the keys had to be handed over; otherwise, the architects were on their own.

The designers chose materials that create a soft, warm effect, like Argile Grès Rouge lacquered wood, Rosso Lepanto marble, and a light solid-oak parquet. The niche is a Sepium MT12-22 lacquered American walnut veneer from Marotte x Tabu and houses a bench seat upholstered in Pierre Frey Alizon Canard fabric and a Thèbes ceramic wall light by Léa Zeroil. In front of it, a Heaps & Woods rattan coffee table, Zara Home stemmed glasses, and a Casa Cabana pink bowl.

The GCG team removed everything from this cramped and confused space with too many partitions, freeing up the entire surface area to create a more functional space with storage, a kitchen, and a bathroom. But even with all the internal partitions removed, the space didn’t flow smoothly. The architects decided to place curved internal partitions in front of the apartment’s two blank walls to accommodate storage while also creating a service core that incorporates a shower, air conditioning, and kitchenette that can be closed off behind a sliding door. Everything in the apartment flows seamlessly together and the service area is the only element with right angles.

The rest is all curves and fluid edges. The floors and ceilings are uniform throughout the apartment while the apartment has five windows offering views and lots of light. “The parquet floor continues into the bathroom and kitchen, while the ceiling also extends into those spaces. In this single-volume space with its curved walls, everything feels open,” explains Gupta. “We emphasized this feeling by placing mirrors in the recesses next to the windows. They multiply the variety of perspectives and reflections, in addition to making the windows feels larger. They also help to blur the line between inside and outside.” In the bedroom, the windowsill has been raised to accommodate a marble seat alongside the terrace. One of the windows can be opened and folded away so that, in the summer, there are some 540 square feet of continuous living space instead of just 323.

White stucco walls diffuse a soft and warm natural light throughout the apartment. In front of a travertine console from Selency sits 1970 folding chairs from Spain. The small porcelain stoneware bowl is from H&M Home.

The bathroom unit, pictured here on the left, and the kitchen, in the center of the photo, can be closed off behind an off-white sliding door. They are set between two walls clad in canelé wood that hide discreet storage. The window treatment is Zibi fabric by Dedar.

The bathroom walls feature a Verde Alpi marble mosaic. A scalloped oval mirror from Pamono hangs above a vanity unit in Argile Antique Green stained wood with a travertine top. Abby doorknobs from Doing Goods. Austin Bronze faucets from Devon&Devon.

The shower is also in the same Verde Alpi marble mosaic. In front of it is a Leighton bathmat from Anthropologie. In the niche lined with Sepium MT12-22 lacquered American walnut veneer by Marotte x Tabu is a gold desk lamp from Zara Home.

In the new open plan with its more substantial living room and bedroom, the architects created an effective separation between the two spaces using a large curtain. “The small space required something fluid, not a hard barrier, as we wanted to invite people to follow the walls and shapes of the apartment. The curtain works with the space and doesn’t feel like an obstacle. It creates interesting volumes when it sways gently,” the team explains. The curtain rail and the spotlights are discreetly integrated into the drop ceilings.

The decor exudes a sense of calm. It’s soft and sensual with rounded forms and the contrasts are strong but warm. “One of our goals was to create an apartment where you live and feel like you are in a certain continuity with the outside world rather than removed from it,” says Charpentier. The material palette includes wood in a variety of forms: solid wood on the floor, high-gloss varnished walnut veneer in the niches, and fluted wood on the curved walls. Handcrafted stone is also common throughout the space as well including travertine worktops, marble windowsills, and stone mosaics. Fabrics, like the velvet and embroidery in the entrance hall, bring intimacy and warmth that pairs well with the dark lacquered walnut that has a mirror effect. “And then there are these concave niches and other convex elements. The apartment has curves and it undulates. It’s dense but everything has its place creating an effective aesthetic whole,” the architects explain with a smile.

This apartment tour was first published by AD France. It was translated by John Newton.

The front door disappears discreetly behind a curtain in Pierre Frey Alizon Canard fabric, which was also used on cushions in the living room. On the doorstep, a decorative mosaic by Mathilde Herrero adds an appealing handcrafted touch and creates a gentle transition to the light-colored solid oak parquet.

The curving walls of the unit lead one’s eye to the openings onto the terrace. The bedroom is visible from the apartment’s entrance. The fluted wood in Argile Grès Rouge lacquer and the Sepium MT12-22 lacquered American walnut veneer by Marotte x Tabu are used here and in the living room as well. The sky is reflected in the lacquered headboard niche that serves as a headboard.

With its location on the seventh floor, the apartment is filled with golden sunlight. The apartment’s three different wall treatments are repeated in both the living room and bedroom: white stucco, fluted wood lacquered in Clay Grès Rouge, and Marotte x Tabu Sepium MT12-22 lacquered American walnut veneer. Between the two windows, a large Salaterra Cap Negre floor lamp. In the niche, an Intervalles wall lamp from La Lune Galerie. Blanc de Meudon cotton gauze bedding from Merci. Wide Wool Shibumi Avorio curtains from Dedar.

The apartment's living room and kitchen as seen from the terrace made of ipe wood, which has been completely redesigned and repaired. The windowsill is at terrace level, and the step/seat of Rosso Lepanto marble creates a gentle transition between inside and outside.

The window opening onto the balcony from the living room folds back in three sections and mirrors lining the recess enhance the view. An awning provides welcome shade on summer days. To the right, the matte white stucco walls are visible and, also on the right, a dark bronze 6ixtes Trinity switch.

The terrace is large enough, at 215 square feet, to accommodate a dining area on one side while not obstructing the sweeping views of Paris from the living room.

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