November 27, 2013

IKEA Small Spaces – Living Together in a Small Apartment

Ikea advertisement in Paris subway.

On an apartment renovation in Paris, it is not unusual to have a chambre de bonne or maids room that is part of the project. This room is usually on the top floor and is many times very small. In this video they have a number of great ideas like keeping a couch off the wall in favor of movable chaise lounges, a dual use table on wheels and a projection TV screen that comes in the form of a roll up blind attached to the ceiling. If you are looking small space design ideas we hope we helped you out. 😀

Posted in IKEA, Renovation in Paris
Tagged Apartment, France, Furniture, Ikea, Ile-de-France, Paris, Square metre
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November 22, 2013

IKEA Small Spaces – Fitting a Laundry Room Into a Small Bathroom

When renovating in Paris you get to see your share of small spaces. This bathroom is only 2.7 square meters. It looks like it is 1 meter wide by 2.7 long or in inches that would be something like 3 foot 4 inches by just over 8 and half feet.

Wow! Now that’s small.

The designer does a great job maximizing the space using cabinets from IKEA. If you have a small bathroom these design ideas are definitely worth noting.

The laundry cabinet with the holes in the doors for presorting laundry is a great idea.

Also, the moveable dry rack is outstanding. The only thing with the video is the captioning is a little much. Just press the little ‘cc’ a the bottom right of the video and they go away.

Great job IKEA.

Keep up the good work.

Posted in Bathroom, Before and After, Cabinetry, Design Ideas, IKEA
Tagged Bathroom, Bathroom Accessories, Business, Construction and Maintenance, Home, Ikea, Materials and Supplies, Paris, Square metre
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November 21, 2013

Kitchen Design Ideas

A small kitchen – technical drawing. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a home or apartment renovation kitchen designs can be challenging, especially in Paris where the space you have to work with can sometimes be so limiting.

In this video they have a few things we found interesting.

The wall mounted wine racks get a thumbs up. This is a stylish option when contemplating storage solutions in a small kitchen design.

The rolling cart and moving the appliances of the counter tops are also great tips.

And they also touch on something that is rarely addressed.

Different people have different cooking styles. For instance men sometimes approach the kitchen like a construction site and spread out all over the place.

If a couple enjoys cooking together but their styles clash, giving each their own area is also a very good idea!

Posted in Drywall, Kitchen, Renovation in Paris, Tips and Tricks
Tagged Business, Design, Home, Home and Garden, Home improvement, kitchen, kitchen design, kitchen designs, Paris, Shopping, Tips & Tricks, wine racks
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November 15, 2013

Smart Small Space Renovation

Metro de París (Photo credit: Maldark)

The average price of a home or apartment in Paris is 10,000 euros a square meter. Just outside of Paris the price drops dramatically but as far as the city of Paris itself, a renovation of the this size would be of a home worth millions and millions of dollars.

We forget how lucky we are as North Americans where simple working class people from Vancouver can live in a space that in other parts of the world are the domain of the rich and well to do. God Bless North America! 😀

But even if you have a small place here in Paris this fun before and after video gives some great tips.

The mirror at the front entrance is a great idea because it reflects the light through out the house..

They do a nice job of having a basic color theme that they continue throughout the home with accents in the bedroom and the family room.

And from a construction cost stand point they made a good choice by replacing the bathroom with an island for the kitchen. This saves on the cost of rerouteing the plumbing which in certain situations can get painfully expensive.

Good job guys!

Posted in Bedroom, Before and After, Design Ideas, Kitchen, Property, Renovation in Paris, Tips and Tricks
Tagged apartment in Paris, Eiffel Tower, France, God Bless America, Ile-de-France, London, Paris, Paris apartment, United States
2 Comments

November 12, 2013

IKEA’s Living Billboard Bathroom Advert In Parisian Campaign

IKEA EXPEDIT (Photo credit: tomas carrillo)

Yesterday someone somewhere in the world Googled “ikea paris france shower public” and ended up spending some time on our Paris Renovation Apartment and Home Improvement blog.

Is that cool or what?! 😀

The above video was first in the search results. IKEA actually created a ‘living Billboard’ at Gare St. Lazare.

They created fully functional bathrooms and rose them up like billboards. Then they hired actors to interact with the space to showcase how a small room can be maximized using IKEA furniture.

In Paris, your apartment along with your bathroom can be painfully small as opposed American standards.

So you gotta love IKEA.

And you gotta love WordPress.com.