Chambre de bonne

A chambre de bonne is a type of French apartment consisting of a single room in a middle-class house or apartment building. It is generally found on the top floor and only accessible by a staircase, sometimes a separate "service staircase". Initially, these rooms were intended as the bedroom for one of the family's domestics, and the name originates from the colloquial name for such maids: a "bonne à tout faire". Today, chambres de bonne are usually the cheapest rung on the Parisian letting market, and are primarily rented by less well-off workers and students. They are also in high demand among workers who wish to maintain a small room or postal address in a big city, especially Paris.