The Chez Valentin Apartment in Montrouge, France is pretty small at only 50 m2 but the condo owner still wanted to have an impendent bedroom somewhere in the space. Emmanuel Combarel Dominique Marrec Architects met the challenge by suspending a white cube from the ceiling to create a completely separate and independent bedroom within the open space below. Centrally located, the bedroom acts as a room divider between the dining area and the living area. Made of a metallic structure, covered with wooden panels, the cube as well as the floor, walls and ceiling have been painted with a white polyurethane resin.
The creative use of the space seems fitting when you consider it was once an artists studio. The homeowner has paid homage to the apartments past life with an interior design of bold and artsy pieces. The painting above the headboard wall connects the interior space of the bedroom to the large red pendant over the dining table. If extra seating is needed in the room, the floor of the open bedroom acts as an elongated bench – just the perfect height for sitting.
An additional table could be brought in to create an extra long dining space that maximizes the use of all the chairs as well as the bedroom floor.
The lounging side of the condo is located beneath the bedroom floor. Here colourful modern chaises are side by side within the space defined by the suspended bedroom. A pair of stairs flanks the chaises, one leads up to the kitchen, and the other to the dining area. A bookshelf lines one of the walls and the dropped ceiling created by the bedroom above offers a cocoon of intimacy and quiet reflection that is countered only by the bold colour blocking on the chaises.
Floor plan of apartment showing the central location of the suspended bedroom and how the rest of the apartment flows around it.
Elevation of apartment showing the various floor levels and the suspended bedroom.
A completely different furniture arrangement in the living area uses two sculptural chairs in black rather then the colour blocked chaises. Additional shelving is on the wall below the suspended bedroom.
A black and white checkerboard table is available for studying or game playing.
3D elevation of apartment showing the suspended bedroom being used as extra seating.
Emmanuel Combarel Dominique Marrec Architects
