Earlier this year, we took one of the biggest steps for our little business: we got our first official studio space. It had been a dream for many years and if you are curious to know why we even went in this direction, you can read our first post about it here.
What we haven't explained about this project is the actual vision for our space and how we brought it to life. So allow us to walk you through our gorgeous space…
The criteria and non-negotiables
When we started thinking about a space, we created a little list of our priorities for it. We just found it after digging around, so let's see what we have checked off the list.
Here is what we initially wanted:
- Close to line 2 in the West end
This one is a ✅, as we found a space located in the West of the Junction, area we barely knew and now cherish
- 800 - 1000 square feet
✅, our space is actually right in the middle, with 900 square-feet
- Natural light
Score, as we have a corner unit with unobstructed view ✅
- Love a good industrial but not dilapidated-looking and not only bricks
❌ but it was actually a blessing, which we will elaborate below.
- Avoid first floor for privacy and safety
✅ We are on the second-floor
- Easy street parking & accessible via public transit
✅ That was one of the nicest surprise in this area. Bus stop is right across the street and there is free street parking all around. The sweet spot between city and residential vibes.
The following were not must but appreciated:
accessible (elevators): ❌ We only have one flight of stairs, but stairs nonetheless
outdoor space: that's a HUGE ✅✅✅ as we scored a gigantic terrace that you will see below.
A/C: ❌, sadly.
Overall, we managed to get many of the tings we wanted, and this list truly helped us when we had to decide between 2 particular candidates.
The visits and first vision change.
We started the visits in September 2023, and honestly, nothing stood out until the end of November, when we ended up with not 1 but 2 pretty sweet spots, same rents, just very different styles.
The first one was indeed an open space with an industrial look, which we initially wanted. It is a pretty common type of space in the industry and it didn't even cross our minds to have an apartment layout. But when we stepped in our current unit, we both had butterflies.
There was this charm to it as it was renovated but the building is from the 20's, and some features just took us back home to France for a minute. Then we saw the huge patio which is truly a gem to find in this city.
After spending a couple of days sitting on it, we realized quickly that we were already projecting ourselves in it, with ideas that were very proper to this space, so it was a no-brainer…
2 photographers, 2 minds and 3 rooms.
A huge asset to having an appartment layout that we didn't think about is that it gave us the opportunity to both express ourselves in the decor.
While Fanny and I are obviously very similar and had the same idea for the foundation of the space, aka our Parisian-inspired look, we do differ on some aesthetic choices.
I was in love with a romantic, lighter tones bedroom vibe and Fanny was dreaming about a darker, moodier room, so we decided to take one room each, and have the common ideas for the 3rd room. Lucky for us, the space was very bare, which made it easier to fully customize it.
This is how our Séjour (living-room), Salon de Jour (Day Lounge) and Salon de Nuit (Night Lounge) were born. Here is a little presentation of them all, with random anecdotes we don't want to forget!
Le Salon de Jour aka Day Lounge
This room was imagined as a "getting ready room”, where you just wake up with the sun, look beautiful, relax with a latte made by your lover while reading your favourite novel.
This room humbled us hard on the moulding creation. We had absolutely no knowledge on how to build anything like this and thank the Irish gods because one of their leaders came to our rescue to bring us back to earth and get to work. (This is also when we found out that using a nail-gun makes you feel pretty powerful).
Le Salon de Nuit aka Night Lounge
This one was thought to be when you lounge before hitting the town or when you are coming back from it. Make yourself a Martini, put on your favourite vinyl and enjoy the sultry vibe around you.
Fanny has a mini panic attack after painting 3/4 of the room in this green. I remember hearing “I think I hate it” from the other room. It was thankfully short-lived, because everyone stepping in this room is raving over the rich green she chose!
Le Séjour, aka the living-room
We wanted some warm, rich tons for this room, with a distinct Art Déco twist, golden touches and a terracotta wall. It also had to be functional, as we use this room for our meetings and reveal sessions.
We found this fire mantle for $15 on Facebook Marketplace, from a vendor who just wanted to help us out with a piece he loved, and we are forever grateful for him.
La Terrasse aka the patio
This was the last section we created, firstly because we moved in in winter, but also because we weren't too sure what to do with it, until our recent trip to France. We saw the wisteria trees that are so familiar to us in the summer and decided to turn our outdoor space into a provencal oasis.
We went to the massive park to find branches to use to build our tree and between making sure they were bug-free and the weird looks we got from people, it was an adventure!
And now, altogether!
We just had a little virtual tour video done, with some more recent updates, and you can now pay us a little visit!
It has been such an accomplishment for us to pour our hearts and souls into this space. It's constantly evolving, we have a million more ideas and we can't wait to keep sharing its evolution with you.