Sex and the City in Paris?
From Sex and the city. Courtesy of HBO.
When I saw the apartment in the 14 arrondissement, I saw hope. The reason I decided on this very small studio, was that I immediately had a vision for it. The studio holds the possibility to combine cosiness and the need to hustle in one vibe. One of the things I registered immediately was how the simplicity of the square room could invoke a cool but simple way of living. This studio would be able to capture the environment of Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment from Sex and the City. The studio’s lack of fanciness is somehow what carried the option to realize this very specific SATS inspired vibe and lifestyle. So, enough of this mystery, let’s start the actual plan on ‘how to do’ ‘Sex and the City’ in Paris. In summary, this apartment could secure a safe down-to-earth setting – and therefor make it easy to actually do whatever I wanted to - and in this way, create the foundation for the life I wanted for myself.
From Sex and the city. Courtesy of HBO.
What is the essence of Carrie's apartment and what life does it portray?
From Sex and the city. Courtesy of HBO.
I view Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment as a simple, nothing-too-fancy-place with her table in front of the small window as the center and essence of the apartment. The floorplan doesn't have a real living room and the kitchen, even though hers is quite big, isn’t used at all. It’s an apartment to relax in, to breathe without feeling like you have to live up to something, and a place to hustle from.
From Sex and the city. Courtesy of HBO.
Now as we all know, the apartment in SATC is actually a really fine apartment. In reality, there is a big gap between it and my studio apartment where you walk directly into the kitchen, if it even qualifies as a kitchen. I have no walk-in closet and to be frank, I could never transform a small corner in my studio to a chill seating spot compensating for the missing living room. But I still enjoy the concept behind Carrie's apartment, and the way things are composed. To me, it gives off the vibe of an artistic, chill, non-prestige way of living - a place that portrays the modus of just being. A sort of a happy-go-lucky, unhinged approach to life.
I imagine that the main idea of the floor-planning and of Carrie's apartment and it’s priorities, stams from the main idea, that from there on, you have the city as your place to go out, to investigate and experience.
From Sex and the city. Courtesy of HBO.
From Sex and the city. Courtesy of HBO.
With the vibe of Carrie's apartment established, it's time for the strategy of implementation. Where SATC is a series with a full-blown budget, I have a small budget and an even smaller studio, so how can one make a realistic version of the SATC-Carrie apartment? My strategy was the following: colours, many pieces of furniture and personality. My apartment is supposed to be a place to relax and work. The idea was, by using bolder colours the room would hopefully open up. It is about creating a good atmosphere – maybe even in the direction of a cave feeling. But how do you make an apartment cosy: colours and textures. So this strategy to transform nothing but a box to a SATC-univers, could go either two ways. It could have the anticipated effect; by ignoring the small size when making decorating choices it could make the studio seem bigger– or the opposite.
From Sex and the city. Courtesy of HBO.
One last important factor, to be incorporated in the design of the studio, is that the studio needs to have a lot of functions, if not be multifunctional in almost all aspects. The studio is 15 m2 in total. In Carrie's apartment there is stuff everywhere. But the stuff is furniture and things that she actually uses. Her place is not strippede or minimalistic in any way. Therefore, the last strategy for the studio, was to add many pieces of furniture. The idea was that it could elevate the place in a way where it feels “used” and functional - and working as a distracting factor of the place being very small.
For me the biggest priorities have been: a folding table attached to the wall where you can sit two people and which can also work as a desk. A bench with storage for pillows ect, that also doubles as seating for guests. A bookshelf and big closet for my clothes and art supplies. Before I got the apartment I made a sketch of its floor plan and design solution. This was the sketch:
On top, the color scheme and textures would be:
There is still a long way to go, but I am confident with this floor-plan and implementation of the vibe of SATC, this studio will transform into the most cozy, comfortable and chic place. Just as an realistic SATC-apartment would look like in Paris.
From Sex and the city. Courtesy of HBO.
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