At the foot of Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, interior designer Viviane Chil-Hagopian reimagined a once fragmented apartment into a calm, open home tailored to its owner’s love of reading and music. Combining three disconnected spaces, the redesign focuses on flow, integrated storage and timeless materials.
The space originally felt disconnected despite its generous natural light, but by enclosing the corridor and removing internal barriers, the designer created a single, open-plan living, dining and kitchen area.
Custom furniture and integrated storage play a key role in the design. A warm palette of dark wood, limewash walls and textured finishes creates a timeless backdrop.
Integrated pieces combine multiple functions into single elements, such as a bookshelf that doubles as a sofa extension, reducing clutter and improving circulation.
A bespoke furniture piece wraps around the sofa, combining bookshelf, side table and bench seating in a singular piece of furniture, extending toward the dining area and reducing the need for extra dining chairs.
In a compact open-plan space, separating living and dining areas without adding walls can be a challenge. The bespoke furniture piece helps to define the living and dining zones without interrupting circulation.
When floor space is limited, the next place to look is up. A long, built-in bookshelf runs along the dropped ceiling, creating storage above eye level without interrupting circulation below.
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A large glass dining table offers a simple but highly-effective solution, as its transparency allows the eye to travel uninterrupted across the open-plan space, maintaining a sense of openness.
Changes in material can help signal different areas or zones within an open-plan space. The use of Greenwood tiles introduces warmth and texture, grounding the living, dining and kitchen areas and creating a subtle visual distinction between functions.
In the bedroom, a low platform bed with built-in bedside table lowers the visual weight of the room.
Together, these design decisions demonstrate how thoughtful furniture, material choices and spatial awareness can transform a complex layout into a calm, cohesive home, supporting the client’s daily rituals — reading, listening to music and living comfortably.
Open-plan spaces require careful consideration to create a sense of separation without interrupting circulation.
Viviane Chil-Hagopian’s design shows that with careful planning, a compact space can feel open and generous.
