small spaces
. Get Creative With Storage Mary Poppins’ signature carpetbag of tricks is comically roomy, filled with everything from a full-size hat stand to a potted plant to an antique wall mirror. “Never judge things by their appearance,” she tells the amazed Banks children in the movie. “Even carpetbags.” It’s good advice in general, but when it comes to storing a surprising amount of stuff in an unexpected place, that scene is particularly prescriptive. Something like a loft bed staircase that doubles as a chest of drawers, as seen in this London space, embodies the same sense of creativity and sneaky storage spirit. (Check local building codes for requirements on stair handrails in your area.) Other examples might be narrow pullout spice racks tucked between the stove and the cabinets, closet mirrors that open into jewelry boxes or guest beds that fold up into walls when not in use.
Use the right window treatment in the right color. You can boost your light level and make your room feel sunnier. First things first: Abandon thoughts of bulky curtains, unless you can pull them right past the window frame and over the wall. Ditch Roman shades too — they block valuable light from the top part of the window. Shutters are a fabulous choice, but pick ones in a pale or warm color, so the daylight that filters through glows.
No room for a coat closet? A coat rack running the length of your hallway can provide enough hanging space for the family’s outerwear. Choose one with a shelf above to maximize hat and bag storage, and squeeze in a narrow bench (even just the depth of the shelf) beneath to keep shoes neat too. Paint it all to match the wall for a tidy finish.
Add greenery. A number of these galley kitchens have a fantastic window at the end, but those people are plum lucky. If you don’t have a galley with a view, bring in some life with a shade-loving plant, even a small one. If you don’t want to sacrifice the counter space as they did here, consider hanging one from the ceiling or installing a little shelf on the wall for it.
. Give it a striking ceiling. Cheerful lemon wallpaper on the ceiling draws the eye up in this sunny galley kitchen. If you’re a renter, check out removable wallpaper for this design move. Other strategies for accomplishing this include painting the ceiling a different color and adding an eye-catching light fixture.
. Dining table in the kitchen. Eating at a kitchen island is a big trend these days. But when you have seating on just one side of an island, dinner time can feel more like eating at a diner counter. Bringing a dining table into the mix is a great solution if you’ve got plenty of perimeter countertop space.
“Sleeping boxes.” Open floor plans are creative concepts for small homes because they can give the sense of more space. But having your bed feel like it’s in the middle of your living room isn’t exactly ideal. Enter the sleeping box. These cocoon-like modules take up minimal space while providing a room-like feel for sleep time.
Get in a tight corner. When space is tight, an ingenious trio of pullout corner drawers is a lifesaver, helping to solve the problem of lost space in those awkward-to-access base cabinets. If you’re remodeling, think about how you’d use such drawers — for cutlery, towels, pans, dishes? Here, a slimmer top drawer is complemented by the two deeper ones, so all the bases are covered.
Apartment Apothecary Save Email 4. Choose natural materials. Avoid synthetic materials, particularly in a bedroom, as they won’t allow your skin to breathe properly, which can increase body temperature, particularly in a warm bedroom. Switch your bedding to cotton or linen, as natural materials can help regulate body heat and also wick away moisture from overheated skin. shorelarkbythesea.com Save Email 5. Make an ice-water bottle. Take your hot-water bottle out of hibernation and turn it into an ice pack to cool down a bed. Fill it with cold water, place it in the freezer, then pop it between the sheets just before you head to bed. You can also freeze wheat or rice bags to create a portable ice pack to place on the back of the neck while working or relaxing.
Custom design to the space. In this kitchen-dining area the owners have managed to fit in quite a roomy island. The L-shaped footprint of the cabinets to the left could have presented a problem, as there might not have been enough room to pass between the “wall” and the island. To overcome this, the designers cut a corner off the island’s tabletop to provide easier access.
Dedicate a space to artwork. One of the easiest ways to add personality to a space is by incorporating art that speaks to you personally. But finding a place to hang your artwork can be difficult if you live in a small space. If you have more than a few pieces, make the most of the whole height of a wall, as Jones did here behind her sofa. Using similar frames, acquiring pieces based on a theme or hanging the work according to a grid are just a few ways you can make a gallery wall feel unified and organized.
Nearby armchairs and two ottomans normally tucked under the TV can pull up to the table with ease. “This seats four very comfortably, and we have squeezed in six people here,” Brostowski says. To make her mother feel at home, they used her belongings from her house, reupholstering many pieces and trimming a beloved rug to fit the space. The dining chairs are from her mother’s very first dining room, and she has kept them ever since. “I’ve been eating dinner on these chairs my whole life,” Brostowski says. Library lights along the top of the built-ins provide plenty of illumination for working and can be dimmed to change the mood for dinner. “I call this kind of design work a Rubik’s Cube exercise,” Brostowski says. “You have to change it completely, but the challenge is to stay within the box.”
The drawer front flips down to reveal a sliding shelf that can be extended to use as a desk surface or a cafe table. The walnut surface slides straight out and required the builders to swipe a few extra inches from the wall behind the cabinetry for its recess. They used the Top Flex pullout table system from Häfele as the sliding structure for the tabletop. It has a load-bearing capacity of 60 pounds.
The cabinets on the right conceal media equipment, office equipment like the printer and a pullout file drawer. The grilles provide ventilation for the electronics. They mounted the TV on a false panel and ran the wires behind it. Take a close look at the drawer underneath the TV, as its secret will be revealed next.
Work a desk. When the glass-topped dining table Laurie Sadove bought for her 500-square-foot apartment in New York City’s West Village took up too much space in the living room, she decided to return it and buy the smaller desk version instead. Measuring about 2 feet shorter and 1 foot narrower than the dining table, the desk fits the space better, can accommodate a dinner party and cost less than the dining table. “I love having the ability to have a meal at the table or to be able to catch up on work,” Sadove says.
The island serves as a great spot for friends who want to stand and gather around the bar for drinks or wine tasting, or if Jen and Bryan want an intimate dining spot. But for occasions when they want to sit down with friends and look out into the yard, the wood island top was designed so that it can swing out and accommodate six for dinner.
Casual club chairs and a vintage coffee table provide a midcentury modern vibe. Tennant layered a 1920s Deco-inspired rug on top of a sisal rug to “expand the footprint” of the living space. The rug’s muted colors and floral pattern soften the space. When the client entertains, he pulls in chairs from the dining table for additional seating.
In the original layout the front door opened immediately into the living room. Tennant created a foyer, shown here, by adding a column and an interior window with frosted glass. A built-in cabinet with drawers stores keys and other items. Tim Barber Ltd Architecture Save Email The frosted, ribbed glass in the window creates a delayed reveal as you come around the corner. The mirror in the entry reflects light and is “practical, so you can check yourself before you leave the house,” Tennant says. A reading nook includes a wall sconce and a burl wood side table infused with acrylic. “I wanted to bring in a little bit of sparkle,” Tennant says. “The table feels masculine, but the acrylic gives it glamour.”
The previous owners left the spacious kitchen in good shape, but the Martins wanted to add their own custom touches. A whitewash was added to the original brick fireplace wall to make it blend with new white cabinetry. “I just wanted something real clean and white,” Kim says. “I thought the art would pop a little more.”
like glass cupboard
Utilize racks and rails. In a compact space with a regular-height ceiling, a wall-mounted frame for drying clothes can be a convenient alternative to the traditional ceiling-mounted design. Heated options are also available, making the business of drying clothes quick and efficient.
Don’t forget to look up. Make the most of a utility room with a high ceiling by fitting a hanging clothes rack. In this galley-style scheme, the use of a pull-down rack ensures the room isn’t rendered useless when clothes are being dried.
A skylight and clerestory windows give the loft bedroom a modern treehouse feel. A gray-stained PSL, or parallel strand lumber, ceiling beam breaks up the stark white walls and ceiling. The same stain was used for the exterior wood on the patio.
The three-quarters bathroom with radiant floor heating is located behind the kitchen, below the sleeping loft. Clerestory windows bring light into the space, which also has a surprisingly spacious step-in shower.
The house packs a lot into a small space and does it with an excess of style. This was the challenge faced by Tomecek. “Fitting all of the typical ‘home comforts’ into 450 square feet of living space is both a challenge and opportunity,” Tomecek says. “While it required every square foot to be well thought out, it also made the elimination of excessive or unnecessary spaces an easy task.” Despite the proximity of the kitchen to the living area, clever use of furnishings such as the scaled-down sectional and compact multifunctional island make the space appear larger than it is. White oiled European oak flooring throughout the home keeps the rooms bright.
A pot rail, also called a utensil rack, is a versatile kitchen gadget that accommodates a lot more than just pots. This thin metal pole or strip with S-hooks allows you to hang almost anything that can lay partially flat and has a hole in its handle (for the hook). Think cutting boards, measuring cups, potholders and most cooking utensils. Found in the kitchen section of most home or hardware stores, and with varying lengths from 18 to 36 inches, pot rails can usually fit the space on the side of a cabinet, in a small nook or above the stove.
Much has been said about homes having grown too large, and sometimes an open plan in a large home can seem cavernous. Take a cue from midcentury modern homes by building a smaller home that still feels spacious. This contemporary home in Seattle combines kitchen, living and dining into one relatively small space that is intimate and flowing.
. Stairs with storage. If you do want the comfort of a full set of stairs, you can use the staircase for extra storage. Storage doesn’t need to be limited to built-ins or cabinets. Make use of the hidden empty space in less obvious places, such as shelving under stairs or understair cabinets or drawers.
3. Retractable bed. If you have limited floor space but relatively high ceilings, a retractable bed can be a smart solution. In this clever tiny house, the bed is raised and lowered remotely so the space below can be used for other purposes during the day. This option may be chosen if a ladder is impractical due to mobility issues, or if you just don’t like ladders. While retractable beds aren’t the cheapest option, they do add significant comfort and practicality to small spaces. When this bed is needed, the remote-controlled hoist and track system that’s built into a full-height storage wall lowers the bed down to rest, turning the living room into a bedroom. There’s no folding or packing away involved either
. Burl wood is elegant. When used as a veneer on furniture (like the chest of drawers shown here), burl wood has an elegant, refined look. An antique burl wood desk, chest or armoire would make a stunning focal point in a traditional space.
cookie sheet storage
sofa type love seat for dining/living area
Storage: A custom pullout holds hair products and cosmetics. A makeup mirror hangs at the perfect height for one of the clients.
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