Small spaces are a paradox of design – for many of us, it can seem as if the smaller the room, the more difficult it is to decorate. Cramped rooms often lend themselves to awkward arrangements and harried compromises. However, with the right tools, ideas and attitude, your tiny spaces can be a joy to design. Our hints can help you make the most of your small space, and give your creativity extra room to thrive.
Let in the light with internal windows and mirrors
Introducing internal glazing is an excellent way to make a smaller, windowless room feel much more spacious. It allows light to easily travel around your home without losing the sense of separation – and the peace and quiet – that you get from having distinct spaces rather than a completely open-plan layout. London-based design studio have made excellent use of this approach in this small Georgian villa to carve out a small study area in an internal room.
Mirrors, when hung properly, can make any space look larger. Light on a mirror bounces to dark corners, which creates the illusion of a space double the size. In this tiny mansion flat in Chelsea, decorator Daniel Slowik widened the narrow hallway slightly widened and replaced one of the doorways with a mirrored niche, to give the illusion of a more generous corridor. A similar effect – on a much larger scale – can be achieved by cladding an entire wall in mirror, as Zoë Zimmer has done in her London flat. Gloss paint on the floor and shiny furniture, such as the vintage ‘Cesca’ chairs by Marcel Breuer, further bounce light around.
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Create zones in open-plan areas
A ‘broken-plan’ layout, which involves using partitions to break up a space, can work absolute wonders in compact, open-plan homes. Once again showing his mastery of small-space design, Daniel Slowik’s own flat in Hackney, which he shares with his partner and fellow designer Benedict Foley, is filled with smart solutions. For example, the sitting room and bedroom have been made semi-open plan, with a large opening between them that can be curtained off if and when desired.
Further inspiration comes from this incredibly chic and clever pied-à-terre in Marylebone reimagined by Tom Bartlett of Waldo Works. ‘Working on this scale is a bit like working on a boat,’ says Tom. ‘You get to do lots of little things that make a big difference.’ One such ‘little thing’ was the introduction of felt-covered folding screens in the main living area. He installed one to the right of the fireplace, so that the sitting room and dining room can be separate or combined, and knocked through the narrow bit of wall on the other side, creating a desk that spans both rooms, but can also be closed off with a matching screen when required.
Don’t be afraid of pattern and colour
You may think that when space is limited, pattern would be overwhelming. In reality, it can have the opposite effect, making the space feel lively and cosy, and giving it a real sense of personality. The trick, it would seem, is tonally similar colours. Just take the above bedroom in decorator Cindy Leveson’s flat as an example. A mixture of patterns in soft blues, including ‘Lincoln’ fabric and ‘Sudbury Park’ wallpaper both by Colefax and Fowler, give the rather compact bedroom a classic country-house feel.
A small space is also the perfect place to embrace bold choices when it comes to colour – things you might not be brave enough to try in more substantial spaces. It might be tempting to paint a small room in a pale colour to try to maximise the light, but we think this can often feel like a cop-out. If you have really low light, try a deeper colour to create an enveloping feel, and if you do get some sunshine, embrace bright and cheerful colours that will bring a bit of joy to the room. When working on the above mansion flat, David Bentheim decided to keep the existing kitchen fittings and bring them to life with sunny yellow paint and Morris & Co’s ‘Fruit’ wallpaper in limestone/artichoke. The narrow hallway beyond has been lined in the same design in wine/manilla, creating a very pleasing contrast while ensuring some sense of continuity.
‘Colour drenching’ a room (walls, ceiling and woodwork), in one colour also helps to create a sense of continual space. Don’t be afraid to use a dark colour in small rooms, either. ‘It might seem counter-intuitive, but dark colours should be on the options list for rather dark and unpromising spaces, such as a windowless bathroom,’ says Patrick O’Donnell, brand ambassador at Farrow & Ball. As our friends in the US would say, “lean into” the limitations of your space’.’
Get rid of clutter with clever storage
Anyone with a small flat will tell you that it’s storage, storage, storage that counts the most, and if you don’t already have it, the best option is to build it. The space under the stairs is a classic choice, as Cath Kidston has done in her west London house, with cupboards painted in the same colour as the walls – Farrow & Ball’s ‘Picture Gallery Red’ in an eggshell finish – to help them blend seamlessly with the rest of the hallway.
Kitchens are where we necessarily keep the most stuff in our house, so this can get messy, but plenty of storage will help to mitigate this. We love the combination of cupboards, drawers and open shelving in the kitchen of this Surrey cottage, which were custom made to fit the unusual shapes and angles of this area around the bay window. The fact that the kitchen was installed 40 years ago and has not been touched since is a testament to its excellent practical design.
If you’ve got limited floor space but plenty of height, take your cue from artist Daisy Sims Hilditch’s apartment in Notting Hill. The Neptune-designed cabinets have been built right up to the ceiling, and are accessed by a sliding ladder. Above the cooker, hooks provide a useful spot to hang her most-used pans. No inch of space has been wasted, and the minty green paintwork helps to keep everything looking fresh and bright.
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Invest in built-in furniture
Instead of trying to shoehorn a bed or wardrobe into a small room, seriously consider hiring a joiner to build something bespoke instead. You will end up with furniture that works well in your space, incorporates storage tailored to your needs, and adds less visual bulk than a freestanding version. Building a bed with storage shelves above (and wall lights rather than a bedside lamp) can be a very smart solution for a small bedroom, as Lonika Chande has done in this Chelsea project. Meanwhile built-in wardrobes can be seriously clever things, as we can see from this London apartment by designer Natalie Tredgett, where bespoke joinery conceals not only storage but a fold-down bed, allowing the space to function as a spare room and study.
Embrace the multi-use space
We’re all perfectly used to the idea of open plan kitchens that incorporate dining tables, seating areas and even workspaces, so it makes sense to apply that logic to other rooms in the house as well. We love this room in an Oxfordshire cabin where the bath is tucked into the same room as a traditional iron bed and an antique military chest that serves as a desk. In some ways it might feel cluttered, but in others it gives a sense of generosity and expansiveness that hints at a bigger space. Sleeping, working and bathing all rolled into one, and it never looked so good.
A recent favourite example can be seen in the above house designed by Nicholas Spencer and Sophie von Wedekind. The half-landing on the first floor has been ingeniously transformed into what has been dubbed a ‘think-box’, which appears as if from nowhere with the simple opening of reeded glass doors, which fold back to create a light-filled, sound-proof study-vestibule outside of the master bedroom. A desk chair is stored in a purpose-built cupboard opposite the desk and can be unleashed when needed, making working from home a breeze.
