Start from circulation, not the furniture
In a small space, you place the aisles first and the furniture second. A shop open to the public has to keep an accessible route clear of any obstacle at least 1.40 m wide, down to 1.20 m at a pinch point (arrêté of 8 December 2014). The structuring aisles, the ones leading to the till and the essential services, are at least 1.20 m.
These widths are not up for negotiation: they decide whether the place can open. Better to set them first and draw the storage into what is left, than the other way round.
Go up in height
When floor space runs out, height stays. Shelving that climbs, wall display cases, a stockroom on a mezzanine or above the doors all reclaim volume without eating into the passage.
Bespoke work earns its keep here: a unit drawn for one exact wall uses the full height, where a standard unit leaves a gap at the top and overhangs at the bottom.
Hide the storage
In a small shop, visible stock eats the selling area. You tuck storage where the customer does not see it: under the counter, in the depth of the banquettes, behind flush doors that blend into the wall.
A bespoke counter often does three jobs at once: take payment, store, display. It is the piece that earns the most per square metre.
Work the light and the lines
A small space feels bigger when the eye travels without hitting anything. Continuous horizontal lines, lighting that washes the walls rather than only the floor, and few tall units in the centre open the room up.
Keep the centre clear and press the storage against the walls. The customer sees a room, not a cluttered corridor.
What bespoke changes in a small space
Standard furniture is drawn for average dimensions; a small unit rarely has them. A fit-out contractor starts from the real walls, the corners and the sloped ceilings, and builds for them. That is where you win back the centimetres that separate a cramped unit from a shop that breathes.
We survey the space, set the regulation aisles, then draw each piece for the exact room it has. Nothing is left to chance, because there is no room to waste.
