WATCH: A 25sqm Doorman's Room Turned Into a Four-Storey Home

There are times when spaces that are tailored-fit to meet the dwellers' needs are better than working with ready-for-occupancy units. In what was once a doorman's bedroom and cellar, architect Jérôme Vinçon helped his friends Michel Craca and Gaelle Potel create an abode that makes use of every centimeter in their tiny apartment in Paris.

Vinçon crafted four floors connected by a boat-style staircase—on the top floor is an open bathroom that's suspended above the kitchen. It's followed by the living area, a snug sleeping space, and a subterranean floor. To make the most of the apartment’s sole source of natural light near the main living space, Vinçon left the bathroom open with a semi-transparent shower to create the illusion of a sunroof. Lastly, given Craca’s profession as a chef, the architect decided to build a professional cooking corner just a half-floor below the living room so it can also benefit from the window. 

Vinçon spent years studying small spaces and once lived in a tiny room in Le Corbusier’s modernist convent near Lyon and was inspired by Le Corbusier’s “theory of the dimension of the body of man” in designing this haven. Thanks to his careful considerations, Craca and Potel were able to live in their Parisian flat comfortably even after having a baby. They have since moved into a bigger home. 

Main photos from: TreeHugger. 

Sources: Kirsten Dirksten on YouTube, Fair Companies and TreeHugger.