Parisian Living - the Art of Making it Work in 0 Meters Squared

It is only by renting your own apartment in Paris (or perhaps New York) that you actually realize how valuable space can be.  Just to give you an example, Copain and I live in a one-bedroom apartment that measures 29 meters squared - teeeeny.  And it's not cheap either - sigh.

In Parisian apartment buildings, we live right on top of our neighbors and are often (malheureusement) privy to what happens chez eux.  As a result, space is not the only big commodity - so is privacy. Parisians have had to get creative to make it work!

On my way back from a millefeuille break this afternoon, I caught some great Parisian creativity in action...

When you don't have a balcony AND you live in a shoebox...why not lock your bike to your window ledge?

A tree may grow in Brooklyn, but a forest grows in Paris...

A few things Copain and I have had to do since our move from 56 to 29 meters?

• Install hooks in our shower to hang our mop, broom etc
• Install a shelf in the toilet for cleaning supplies
• Stack our suitcases on top of our closets - feng shui? what's that?
• Prop up our bed on risers for prime "under the bed" storage space
• Cram our hollow storage couch with extra blankets and pillows and whatever else will fit
• Purchase a vertical silverware holder - the horizontal one took up the entire bottom kitchen shelf
•  Become experts at eating on the couch (no room for a dining room table!)
• Restrict ourselves from purchasing any additional housing supplies - otherwise we might have to start locking things to our window ledge.

The upside - 

• We can clean our house top to bottom in under 1 hour.
• We are rarely there - we enjoy Paris instead :-) - check out my millefeuille, enjoyed on Boulevard Voltaire, for proof!

Bam! Délicieuse!