Tour a Colorful, Contemporary 700-Square-Foot Paris Rental

This 700-Square-Foot Paris Rental Proves Bold Colors Can Completely Transform a Home

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Bedrooms

Square feet

700

Sq ft

700

Amel isn’t a professional magician, but she sure is a master of illusions. For instance — she took this neutral-colored rental with an awkward layout in Paris and turned it into one of the coolest, contemporary apartments I’ve ever seen, filled with clever DIY tricks.

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Credit: Leela Cyd

“My orange TV unit isn’t really one — it’s just vintage IKEA eket boxes I collected over time. I added an orange board on top to make it look massive, but it’s really just for displaying my decor and giving my TV wall some extra dimension,” Amel reveals.

Credit: Leela Cyd

Other ways she’s manipulated the space? She was able to visually define an entryway that was otherwise wide open to the living room. She was able to camouflage a built-in existing in the space. She had ombre wallpaper installed in the dining area. And she took a basic white IKEA kitchen and turned it into a bubblegum pink dream space.

Credit: Leela Cyd

One thing in her home that people always ask about is her gradient pink wallpaper.

Even though it wasn’t exactly love at first sight when Amel first saw the 700-square-foot unit for rent in five years ago, she was grateful when she found the space five years. “But at that complicated moment in my life, I was simply grateful to find a bigger space for my daughter and me — finding a flat in Paris is no easy task,” she begins.

Credit: Leela Cyd

She's quite proud of her work in the entryway. "At first, I really didn’t like that it was completely open to the living room, and I was looking for a way to define the space without losing the flow of movement. With striped wallpaper and paint, I was able to transform it into a real feature," Amel writes.

Amel’s biggest goal for the home was bringing warmth and character. “Slowly, mostly through thrifting — a passion my father passed down to me — I transformed the apartment into a home that truly reflects who I am,” she writes.