5 Playful Design Details Inside a 32sqm/344sqft Marseille Apartment

Once neglected and disjointed, the home has been reopened to prioritise light, flow and personality. Interior designer Benoit Palas of Maison Palas drew from the playful geometry of La Grande Motte, a futurist resort town along the French Mediterranean and the bold experimentation of 1960s design, stripping the apartment back to its essentials before rebuilding it around light, objects and carefully crafted details.

Below, we highlight five design decisions that bring clarity, craft and a sense of fun to this compact Marseille home.

1. Carved Geometry That Shapes Space and Movement

Instead of doors, carved and curved openings playfully reveal rooms. The first is a small circular cut-out in the hallway – a permanent light source for the once-dark entrance. Naturally light-filled during the day, the PH5 pendant by Louis Poulsen that Benoit deliberately framed illuminates the space at night. An arched opening is a soft transition between the entrance and living area, leading to the most dramatic gesture of all — an expansive circular threshold to the bedroom, framed by bright yellow curtains for privacy, a focal point and, like the others, a passage for light.

2. Simple Materials Used in Expressive Ways

Rather than relying on expensive finishes, simple, affordable materials are used to bring personality and texture into the apartment. In the kitchen, an orange tiled splashback brings a vintage hue, while a vibrant yellow Formica countertop adds warmth, balancing the white IKEA cabinets below — because, as Benoit says, "the rest of the kitchen is colourful enough." The living room borrows from tiling too, but without using tiles at all, just tile cement. Applied directly to the wall, the textured finish catches and shifts with the light — the simplest material of them all.

3. A Balance Between Display and Concealment

Throughout the space, storage is balanced between what is displayed and what is concealed. Recessed shelves and carved niches are a part of the architecture itself, adding both depth and personality through books, objects and precious pieces. In the kitchen, Mediterranean-style niches above the sink show colourful dishes, while everything else, like the dishwasher, is tucked out of sight. In the living zone, a stainless steel kitchen unit is repurposed as wall-mounted storage, with curved niches alongside providing space for a more selective display. The bedroom also has its own concealed storage — a walk-in closet that absorbs the apartment's bulk, keeping the rooms clean and uncluttered for a balance of space and visual calm.

4. A Bedroom That Blends Minimalism With Playfulness

In the bedroom, the simple bed-centred layout allows the custom bed frame to make the statement — Gucci. Wrapping the entire platform and headboard in the luxury-branded wallpaper, protected with layers of clear varnish, the palette radiates vibrancy and warmth. The glow of the IKEA VARMBLIXT reading lamps amplifies this at night, where luxury meets accessible, and minimalist furnishings meet maximalist expression.

5. A Compact Dining Area That Improves Flow

In the kitchen, the dining table is integrated directly into the layout as a fixed, wall-mounted element. Positioned between two windows beneath the statement pendant, the table takes advantage of natural light, while its curved edges soften movement and circulation around the space. A pair of orange sculptural stools is tucked beneath, staying connected to the kitchen's colouring for an in-built setup that lends itself to both the activity of the kitchen and the calm of a meal.

Through carefully chosen moments of expression – be it colour, geometry, material, or all three – Chez Joe shows how a small home can hold both simplicity and character in equal, playful measure.

Scroll on to explore more photos from the project by Lisa Martens Carillo and see how these elements come together across the space.