Under the rooftops of Paris, Ahcène and Gaëlle discover, almost by chance, an apartment frozen in time. Three old maid’s rooms, reunited over the decades and untouched for over thirty years.
A dilapidated, constrained space, uninhabitable … and yet immediately desirable. Mansard roof, triple exposure, weathered red floor tiles, views over Parisian rooftops: despite the scale of the work required, the charm is unmistakable. “Everything had to be redone, but the potential was obvious,” they confide. It was a daring move!
Aware of the scale of the project, the owners quickly called on Atelier Boteko, recommended by an architect friend. “When we discovered their work online, we were immediately seduced. Then the meeting confirmed our intuition: their sensitive approach and their vision of the project made us want to work with them. “
Originally, the apartment was neither functional nor really habitable. The entrance opened into a narrow, winding hall that led directly to a very small kitchen. Access to the courtyard bedroom was via this same kitchen, while a bathroom reduced to a simple shower stall completed the layout. On the street side, two small partitioned rooms fragmented the main space. Everything seemed cramped and constrained. The challenge was clear: completely rethink the layout to create a fluid, comfortable one-bedroom apartment, with a real entrance, a large living room opening onto the kitchen, a generous bedroom and plenty of storage space. Rather than struggle with the modest surface area, Léa Casteigt and Alessandro Baiguera of Atelier Boteko chose to work in spatial sequences, revealing the spirit of the place – that of a typically Parisian rooftop cocoon, compact but endowed with genuine spatial and material qualities.
The new living area is organized around a deliberately understated kitchen, custom-built from white-painted wood. Both practical and functional, it blends into the background to serve as the backdrop for the living room. In contrast, the central island is the centerpiece of the project: designed in solid unfinished beech, it structures the space and defines, on the window side, a dining area bathed in light. The entrance hall has been redesigned to accommodate built-in storage and now opens onto an office area, located in the former kitchen. A subtle way of optimizing every square meter while clarifying each space’s use. The bedroom unfolds like a suite, opening onto an adjoining bathroom. The bathtub sits beneath the windows, offering a direct view of the sky and surrounding rooftops. The style is sober and timeless, with no superfluous effects, creating an almost hotel-like atmosphere, soft and enveloping.
In the end, the apartment reveals a calm elegance based on balance and precision. “Atelier Boteko was able to play with the charm of the space, preserve the light and even let more of it in,” confide Ahcène and Gaëlle. Two clearly defined spaces – day and night – well-considered perspectives, ample storage and an amplified sense of space. It’s a no-nonsense project, where every decision seems obvious. And above all, an interior designed to be lived in, for a long time to come.
