Interior Designer Turns Small Dark Paris Apartment Into Bright Open Home, 45sqm/484sqft

LAST CHANCE 🚨 Subscribe to the NTS Sub Club by 19 April 2026, 12pm UTC to get Issue 7 with FREE worldwide shipping! After renting their Paris apartment for over 20 years, a graphic designer couple finally had the opportunity to purchase it and make it their own. By removing most internal walls, interior designer Juliane Garcia of Maison Insula revealed the full 12-metre length of the apartment, creating an open bright, continuous living space. At the heart of the redesign is a single, carefully positioned wall with two large sliding pocket doors on either side that allow the apartment to shift between open and closed configurations. The kitchen now runs along this spine, opening directly into the living area, paired with a repurposed existing wooden sideboard instead of a fixed island. Nearby, a niche formed from old chimney flues becomes a compact library for the couple’s book collection. At the far end, the bedroom sits behind frosted pocket doors, allowing light to pass through while maintaining privacy. 00:00-01:04 Introduction 01:04-01:45 Location 01:45-04:01 Floor Plan 04:01-04:46 Entrance 04:46-05:51 Living Area 05:51-07:02 Kitchen 07:02-08:16 Bedroom 08:16-09:03 Bathroom 09:03-09:42 Conclusion See our top 5 favourite design details from this apartment! https://www.nevertoosmall.com/post/how-sliding-pocket-doors-open-up-paris-apartment #smallapartment #architecture #interiordesign Ep 256 Project Name: Rue Paul Bert Interior Designer: Maison Insula https://maisoninsula.fr/ https://www.instagram.com/maisoninsula Produced by New Mac Video Agency Creator: Colin Chee Producer: Lindsay Barnard Director: Nam Tran Assistant Director: Julieta Duchovny Cinematographer: Matthieu Torres Editor: Jessica Ruasol Music: Artlist.io When I Get Home by Brian Claxton Tamar’s Love Song by Alexander Levin Anguish of Choice by Simon Berggren Share your projects with us- https://www.nevertoosmall.com/submissions Subscribe to our newsletter- https://www.nevertoosmall.com/subscribe Check out our store- https://www.nts-store.com Website- https://www.nevertoosmall.com Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/nvtsmall Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/nvtsmall