How Sliding Pocket Doors And Smart Design Open Up A 45sqm/484sqft Paris Apartment

Having rented the apartment for 20 years before buying it, the owners knew exactly what didn’t work for them: small, enclosed rooms, poor flow and a layout that hid the apartment’s full 12-metre length. Maison Insula’s renovation strips the space back to its essentials, removes partitions and reorganises the spaces and their functions around a single central wall.

The apartment’s new layout allows flow between spaces, restores light, depth and cross-ventilation. Sliding glass pocket doors, integrated storage and carefully placed furniture replace traditional divisions, creating a home that feels open, yet adaptable. Rather than erasing its past, the new design keeps details and traces of it — from fireplace imprints to parquet flooring — allowing memory and modern living to coexist.

Below, we highlight five design details that make this apartment feel more spacious, flexible and connected.

1. A Central Wall Partition That Reorganises the Entire Apartment
2. Sliding Pocket Doors That Open Up Space Without Losing Privacy
3. Slim Entry Cabinets That Discreetly Hide Function
4. Repurposing Furniture as a Flexible Kitchen Island
5. A Vertical Towel Heater That Saves Space in the Bathroom

1. A Central Wall Partition That Reorganises the Entire Apartment

At the heart of Garcia’s redesign is a single, carefully positioned wall that replaces the apartment’s former maze of small rooms. Rather than dividing up the open-plan layout, it reorganises it. Movement between spaces now happens freely instead of along a single corridor, creating multiple paths and perspectives. It also allows the full 12-metre length of the apartment to be viewed from the entrance — something that was previously impossible.

This move transforms the apartment from a series of small rooms into a continuous, flexible space structured by one clear feature.

2. Sliding Pocket Doors That Open Up Space Without Losing Privacy

On either side of the central partition, large sliding pocket doors allow for both open and closed configurations .When fully opened, the doors disappear into the walls, creating uninterrupted sightlines from the open-plan area into the bedroom, whilst also allowing light to travel freely across these spaces. When closed, they provide privacy to the bedroom without breaking the overall sense of continuity. The doors’ sliding feature, as opposed to hinged doors, also frees up valuable floor space — a subtle but impactful detail in a compact home, like Rue Paul Bert.

3. Slim Entry Cabinets That Discreetly Hide Function

In the apartment’s entrance, two tall custom-built storage cabinets each conceal the electrical panel and a washing machine — turning a purely functional necessity into a neat, integrated feature of the entrance. Deliberately slim, the cabinetry avoids crowding this high-traffic area whilst still adding valuable storage for coats and daily essentials. The result is an entry that feels calm and organised, despite handling multiple functions that are hidden discreetly.

This a practical example of how even technical elements can be neatly integrated into an apartment rather than left exposed.

4. Repurposing Furniture as a Flexible Kitchen Island

Instead of introducing a fixed kitchen island, an existing wooden sideboard was repurposed as the kitchen’s central feature. Beyond just a repurposed piece, the sideboard adds warmth and character, whilst tying in a personal piece from the clients’ existing collection of furniture and objects to the apartment’s design.

The sideboard also works to keep the kitchen adaptable. It can serve different purposes in different settings, as well as open up circulation between the kitchen and living space — both particularly useful features in a home where the owners don’t prioritise a formal dining setup.

5. A Vertical Towel Heater That Saves Space in the Bathroom

In the compact bathroom, a vertical towel heater replaces bulkier, horizontal alternatives. Its slim profile frees up wall space whilst maintaining its function, and its upright form draws the eye upward to subtly enhance the room’s proportions. Paired with concealed storage and large-format tiles that minimise grout lines, the overall bathroom space feels clean and uncluttered.

This towel heater is another subtle but considered space-saving detail that contributes to the overall utility and design of a small footprint home.

Through a series of precise, thoughtful interventions, Rue Paul Bert shifts from fragmented and enclosed to open and fluid. By rethinking circulation, preserving traces of the former apartment and its key elements and introducing flexible design solutions, the project reveals how much potential can be unlocked within an existing small apartment space.

Scroll on to explore more images of the project and see how light, movement and memory shape the space throughout.