Quark continues its encounters! Discover the interior of Sophia and her demanding relationship with storage. She lives in a small apartment in Paris. You will discover all his planning tips to make a small space a warm and functional place.
Can you introduce yourself ?
My name is Sophia and I am 27 years old. I started by studying interior design. I finally reoriented myself in training as an assembly and cabling agent in electronics. My job is to assemble components on electronic boards . This environment has nothing to do with my first aspirations. But, interior design and architecture still interest me! Saving space in our home is really important. We had a real interest in optimizing our space given the size of our accommodation.
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I have been working for a short time on social networks where I share topics around fashion, lifestyle and decoration.
Where do you live ?
I live in Paris with my companion in a small apartment. But that does not prevent it from being pretty thanks to several clever layout ideas . I decided to create my YouTube channel to be able to share my small space planning tips and inspire as many people as possible.
How did you feel during your move?
Our apartment was empty when we arrived. There was only the sink in the kitchen and a few shelves above it. I had to arrange everything from A to Z and create a lot of storage . It was a real challenge for me. But I absolutely loved doing this! I think I took up the challenge well and the whole apartment is very functional.
How did you find your layout and decoration ideas? How was the process?
I started by taking each measurement to identify the available spaces. Then I started looking for furniture that matched the dimensions. Our living room is not very big. I divided it into two distinct zones thanks to a library which has double function .
A corner is dedicated to meals and TV, and another to a cocooning space for sleeping. The library is multifunctional. On the bedroom side, it will serve as a bedside table. On the dining room side, it allows us to store dishes and other practical objects. I optimized the storage so that we don't feel oppressed in the apartment.
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The decoration and layout ideas came to me thanks to IKEA. I was inspired a lot by their worlds. We can easily find furniture and adapt it according to our needs. In addition, IKEA is not very expensive !
I love modular furniture . We are approaching tailor-made solutions and yet the price remains affordable. You can easily adapt the furniture to your daily life. For example, I needed a space for dishes and a discreet space for important papers . So I chose a glass solution for the dishes. This allows us to quickly locate objects. I wanted to invest in objects with a good value for money.
In your opinion, where should you start when you want to redevelop your space?
I visualized what we wanted in our apartment through drawings. I made scale plans to see if the furniture fit, this allowed us to project ourselves. As soon as things went wrong, I started again. I'm lucky, my companion is a handyman so he was able to make the arrangements as I had imagined them. These were small jobs. The apartment was fine on its own.
He made a folding table. It's super convenient. It serves us both as a work surface and as a dining table.
The kitchen is very small. What I advise is to put shelves in heights and to use the spaces available on the wall, they can serve as storage . The Pegboard is really a perfect solution in this kind of situation. The panels hang directly on the wall. There are plenty of practical accessories to store your kitchen utensils .
I find it's easier to start from scratch. It's more complicated to plan when the apartment is already furnished. I recommend drawing plans indicating the square meters and delimiting the dedicated spaces. I also recommend multifunctional furniture. Sofa beds can be used in the living room area, but also in a bedroom to save floor space.
How to organize a small space?
We have tidying up rules with my companion. We have a very large cupboard at the kitchen level, originally it was a dressing room. We have therefore divided it into several parts. I use a zone for my clothes. The rest serves as storage for the kitchen. My companion puts his clothes in a chest of drawers that serves as a TV cabinet. Each has its own storage space. We optimize the available space as much as possible.
What advice would you give someone to keep them motivated through their tidying up process?
The advice I would give to a couple is to find an agreement for two ! Especially when it comes to everyday objects. I usually put my clothes on hangers. My companion is very different. He folds his clothes and puts his things in drawers. You just have to find solutions that work for everyone.
Find the rest of Sophia's interview by Quark in a week!
https://get-quark.com/blogs/createur-d-interactions/inspi-by-sophia-2
Interview by Imane Charkaoui
