For 10 Years, This Renter Has Created a Cozy, Warm Home in a 195-Square-Foot Paris Studio
A woman of many passions, Alba Pagán is a freelance translator and is enthusiastic for books and culture. And somehow, she’s managed to fit herself, a part-time dog roomie, all of her passions — and a ton of books — into just 195 square feet. And she’s done so for 10 years!
Can't-Miss House Tours Straight to Your Inbox
Keep up with our latest house tours each weekday with our House Tour of the Day newsletter
Alba’s favorite thing about the small apartment, located in Paris’ Montmartre neighborhood, is what she enjoyed about the tiny rental studio apartment right away: “the calm and the light, and being able to live alone,” she writes. “Even though it’s a small space, I love it when I can invite some friends and listen to music, smoke cigarettes and talk for hours, and I used to love sitting in front of the window during COVID to read and feel the sun in my skin.”
Over the past decade, the apartment has adapted both in function and aesthetics, as Alba’s needs have evolved. Items have come in; items have left. She painted the bathroom pink right after COVID. And while there will likely always be some little upgrades she wants to do, she’s happy with how it looks right now.
“I like that everything in it now was chosen by me and that I got to make the space look like this by making tiny changes that adapted exactly to my needs, so in a way it feels very organic and related to my life,” she writes.
The location is incredible, too. “I love the coziness of it, and the contrast between being inside and going outside to such a beautiful and nice neighborhood, always full of people and tourists,” she writes. “I know the people I cross when I go get coffee or walk my dog. There are still very old places like bars and bookshops.”
> Ask a question & discuss this Tour in our Community Forum!
Resources
PAINT & COLORS
- Bathroom — “Millennial Pink” (Good Home, Castorama)
LIVING AREA
- Bed, armchair, bookshelf, wardrobe, desk chair, bank under the window, chest of drawers — IKEA
- Desk — The Masie
- Rugs — Kilim I bought at a brocante in avenue Trudaine, Paris (the colorful one)
- Other rugs — IKEA
- Hexagon mirror — Inherited from my friend Aura
- Lamps — IKEA except the green one, inherited from an ex.
This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.
Share Your Style: House Tour & House Call Submission Form
> Ask a question & discuss this Tour in our Community Forum!