The small but gorgeous flat of Agathe Perroy

I tell you why I thought this wonderful little flat (42 m2) was worth mentioning...It's because when Interior Designer Agate Perroy saw it for the first time, it was in fact 2 small flats with one based on the ground floor and the other on the top floor of the small nineteenth century house.
Now, given that we are all avid readers of interior magazines, I suspect most of us can actually see the potential of a place even if it has small, dark rooms, wallpapers from the 70s, green tiled bathroom and people with two-heads living in it.
You know that you can just break down a few partition walls, paint the walls in white and change a few dark rooms into a welcoming, spacious space but Agate's mind saw well beyond this and worked out a way to link these two small flats together...so how did she achieve this gorgeous place?

First, to open up the space she knocked down a few partition walls, then removed the false ceiling to gain more height and discovered perfectly preserved oak beams (look how gorgeous they look!). With the agreement of the owners from the other flat on the ground floor, she took over the communal stairs and integrated them into her new space. The stairs now provide a visual separation for the two rooms (bedroom & kitchen/living) she created at the top of the flat.
In the bedroom (pictured above), the bath sourced from a scrap heap, is now facing her bed. On the right, between the windows, she uses vintage metal racks from a milk company to display her toiletries.

When it came to decorating her home, Agathe made good use of the treasures she's discovered in family attics (the quilts were found at a her grandmother's house), junk shops or on construction sites. In her bedroom, Agate stores seasonal clothes in boxes once used to ship bananas (you can find a similar fabric wardrobe at Habitat and Banana boxes in Brick Lane). Banana boxes wouldn't look great everywhere but because this room is spacious, airy and tidy, it works nicely and add a touch of colour and exotism.

In the dining area, the oak table also serves as the office, and is lit by an industrial suspension light. Agate hang bags of spices brought back from India on the wall and uses a galvanized metal hanging garden planter to display her favourite photos and objects. She also found the plastic dining chair in the street (one can still found cute things in the street).

In the the kitchen, Agathe had the work area made to measure from exotic wood — the oven is tucked away on the side and the hot plate is also used as a cutting board. A butcher's hook is used to suspend pots while on the wall are two vintage Jieldé lamps (brand new ones are available from Caravan in the UK). She just added a splash of colour with an African oiled rug on the concrete floor. So I don't know what you think but I love it...I think it's full of charm and full of light.
(c) photos: Marie-Claire Maison