A stunning 860-square-foot apartment in Paris has been transformed into a light-filled retreat with refreshing color splashes, inspired by 1980s Memphis design and Californian influences. The renovation, completed on the fifth floor of a 19th-century Parisian building, showcases a playful swimming pool atmosphere through strategic use of vibrant colors and open-plan living.

The first major step in the renovation involved restructuring the spaces to maximize natural light and create a seamless indoor-outdoor experience. Interior designers Johanna Lapray and Hugo Lahelec, the founding duo of design studio Acte Deux, connected the street-facing loggia with the main living room. This strategic merger was designed to bring the exterior inside and create a large, light-flooded living space that evokes the aesthetic of a swimming pool.

The design concept centers around a deliberate interplay between interior and exterior elements, with uniform brightness throughout the space creating what the designers describe as a "swimming pool look." The architectural references draw from modernism, Art Deco, minimalism, and a certain severity. "We chose the swimming pool imagery, which has abundant photographic and cinematic references, specifically that of a modernist holiday home in southern France with slightly muted primary colors," explains the design studio.

The inspiration came from an unexpected source - a playful word game in French. "We were inspired by a wordplay: 'What would a kitchen (cuisine) look like as a swimming pool (piscine)? What would it mean to build a 'cuiscine'?" the designers reveal. "This may seem somewhat trivial, but sometimes it's these little things that lead us to design features like the kidney-shaped sink that recalls a California pool."

Different living areas are clearly defined through the material and color palette, featuring solid-colored mosaic tiles that bathe the kitchen in blue and the hallway in yellow. The colors reference the primary colors typical of classical modernism but have been gently softened - a warm vanilla yellow and a blue reminiscent of swimming pool water. "One shade more and it could have looked very elementary, very modernist," notes the studio. "As it is, it's cheerful and at the same time somewhat faded, which gives the whole thing a certain subtlety, even though the look is still quite bold, even Memphis-like."

The rest of the generous living area features oak parquet flooring, deliberately chosen in a rustic variant with knots and natural textures that somewhat recall pine wood. The very wide planks also evoke a vacation home atmosphere. The designers were fortunate that their client was passionate about color, which isn't always the case, allowing them to seize the opportunity while maintaining a pleasant balance.

The interior architects chose a minimalist style characterized by clean lines and large color surfaces. "Even if you don't necessarily see it in the photos, the owner collects all kinds of things, both small and large objects," they explain. "The space was meant to represent a backdrop that absorbs these collections without itself colliding with the existing collections."

One of the most striking features is the sophisticated window treatment system. Subtle Bandalux blinds act like a translucent screen in light pink, bathing the living space in soft, muted light. When the blinds are open, the city and its charm merge with the interior of the living space. The kitchen floor of blue mosaic tiles creates a beautiful contrast with the light oak planks.

The apartment holds surprising elements despite its minimalist look, such as the Michele de Lucchi chairs for Memphis that the owner brought to the new apartment. In contrast are the pink California-style venetian blinds that can literally bring about a change of scenery. "The atmosphere changes depending on whether the blinds are open or closed. It's as if you're changing location," says Johanna Lapray with amusement. "I compare it to the moment when the curtain rises in the theater. When the blinds are open, we're in Paris, in the middle of the city and the hustle and bustle of a busy street. When they're closed, calm returns, in the soft light of a very enveloping pink tone, a timeless atmosphere, like in a vacation home."

A similar transition takes place between the living and sleeping areas. An unusually long hallway of more than 100 square feet curves around the building's inner courtyard, creating a dizzying effect. The hallway leads directly to the bedroom, where a work corner with black fronts absorbs abundant incoming daylight. The lighting mood is as cheerful as it is unusual: light bulbs hang like small islands of light from the ceiling of the long, vanilla-yellow corridor, which ends in a mirror door whose optical effect multiplies the space.

The blue of the floor and that of the kitchen base cabinets is similar but varies greatly depending on the light. The floor and walls are clad with mosaic tiles, while wall lights and bright yellow shelves, combined with blue cabinet fronts, emphasize the Memphis character of the kitchen. Vintage First chairs by Michele de Lucchi for Memphis Milano complete the look.

The blue floor tiles are laid in a pattern reminiscent of a swimming pool, as is the rest of the kitchen design, which features a tubular stainless steel extractor hood. Another charming detail is the underfloor heating, which creates an interesting contrast between the cool style of the mosaic tiles and the cozy warmth felt as soon as you take off your shoes.

Blue mosaic tiles are found not only in the kitchen but also in the bathroom, which is filled with Mediterranean light reflections through the azure-tinted glass of the shower wall. As in the kitchen, which also has a connection to the water theme, the yellow enameled ceramic handles of the faucets work like valves "to take them out of an overly functional context," explains Hugo Lahelec. They harmonize with a vintage mirror by Pierre Paulin.

For the floor, the interior designers chose the same gray mosaic tiles they used for the kitchen backsplash design. There are only three different colors for the mosaic tiles, plus light oak for the parquet and custom-made cabinets in the entrance area. These are arranged in a stepped pattern "to give the impression here too that the entrance area keeps getting bigger depending on the perspective," says Acte Deux.

The color scheme follows a deliberate pattern with horizontal colors for the floors, like gray and blue, and vertical colors including blue, pink, and yellow. Beige grout complements the gray tiles, while gray grout completes the blue tiles. What's special about this 860-square-foot apartment in Paris is that behind the gentle interplay of colors, the severity of lines and surfaces disappears, creating a space that feels both bold and harmonious.