Small space challenges can be fun when you think of them like a game of Tetris, fitting pieces together in just the right way to create a functional whole. Anyone who has strolled through an Ikea showroom and marveled at how they cram every square inch of a 120-square-foot apartment with furniture and storage knows it?s all about smart use of space combined with visual tricks that fool the eye into thinking a room is bigger than it really is.
A truly gifted interior designer might be able to find ways to achieve this effect using all vintage pieces and found objects in a rainbow of colors, but most of the time, making a small space livable requires a surprising amount of restraint. Sticking to a limited color palette can help keep space-challenged homes and apartments from feeling cluttered and overwhelming, and modular elements, like those found at Ikea, definitely make it easier to design your own arrangement of furniture and storage elements to fit the dimensions of your interiors.
But nothing is quite so effective as custom built-ins for maximizing small spaces, and this apartment in Bordeaux, France is a prime example. Located on two levels of a narrow stone building in the heart of the historical center of the city, the space is undeniably tiny, but the owners wanted a solution that would feel bright and airy, with all the functions you?d expect in a larger home.

Architecture firm L?atelier Miel teamed up with Michaël Martins Alfonso to design two opposing living r...