Ingenious Small Space Ideas Seen in Flats on Houzz
Living a good apartment life often means being extremely savvy with space. What can these homes teach us?
If you live in a small home, chances are you’ll want to make best use of the available space. And where better to look for smart solutions than in flats, where a little bit of clever design can make a massive difference, turning a collection of cramped rooms into a supremely functional, free-flowing home.
Here on Houzz, you’re spoilt for choice. Better still, the architects and designers are on tap to spill the secrets of how they maximised a petite footprint.
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
Here on Houzz, you’re spoilt for choice. Better still, the architects and designers are on tap to spill the secrets of how they maximised a petite footprint.
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
The glass has the same opening-up effect in the narrow hallway, too.
See the full tour of this period property.
See the full tour of this period property.
Trick the eye with mirror
It’s an oldie but a goodie – installing large mirrored doors on a wardrobe to bounce light around and give the illusion of more depth in a small room. Painting everything white, when you have this amount of daylight, can also really maximise the sense of space.
Positioning the mirrors opposite the window was a key decision that architect Amos Goldreich of Amos Goldreich Architecture made to give this previously dark and cramped bedroom a bright, airy feel.
Find the right person for your project by searching the Houzz Professionals Directory.
It’s an oldie but a goodie – installing large mirrored doors on a wardrobe to bounce light around and give the illusion of more depth in a small room. Painting everything white, when you have this amount of daylight, can also really maximise the sense of space.
Positioning the mirrors opposite the window was a key decision that architect Amos Goldreich of Amos Goldreich Architecture made to give this previously dark and cramped bedroom a bright, airy feel.
Find the right person for your project by searching the Houzz Professionals Directory.
The space inside the wardrobe was planned meticulously. “I worked very closely with the homeowners to design [the interior],” Amos says. “I took note of all their needs in terms of storage and included a mix of drawers, hanging space and shelving.”
Looking at the ‘before’ photo here, it’s easy to see how the space is now used much more efficiently.
Check out the other clever ideas in this small flat.
Looking at the ‘before’ photo here, it’s easy to see how the space is now used much more efficiently.
Check out the other clever ideas in this small flat.
Say yes to shallow storage
“The only way to make a small flat look tidy is for everything to have a place,” says Ebba Thott of Sigmar, who redesigned this home on the top floor of a Victorian house.
At the top of the stairs, she designed these generous, built-in cupboards that contain everything from golf clubs to coats and the vacuum cleaner.
“The only way to make a small flat look tidy is for everything to have a place,” says Ebba Thott of Sigmar, who redesigned this home on the top floor of a Victorian house.
At the top of the stairs, she designed these generous, built-in cupboards that contain everything from golf clubs to coats and the vacuum cleaner.
Here, on the floorplan, you can see the position of the cupboards, which flank the walls of the entrance without making it feel cramped.
“We played with the perception of depth here,” Ebba says. “The cupboards are only 37cm deep. They look bigger than that, but you don’t need a 60cm-deep cabinet for efficient storage, you just have to be clever.”
See the whole makeover of this apartment.
“We played with the perception of depth here,” Ebba says. “The cupboards are only 37cm deep. They look bigger than that, but you don’t need a 60cm-deep cabinet for efficient storage, you just have to be clever.”
See the whole makeover of this apartment.
Gain a bedroom
Now this is the ultimate space-making feat: conjuring up an extra bedroom. That’s what designer Katy Stevenson Bretton of Katy SB Design pulled off in this third-floor flat in an ex-local authority building.
The designer spied the opportunity to add a second bedroom by moving the kitchen into an open-plan living and cooking space.
Now this is the ultimate space-making feat: conjuring up an extra bedroom. That’s what designer Katy Stevenson Bretton of Katy SB Design pulled off in this third-floor flat in an ex-local authority building.
The designer spied the opportunity to add a second bedroom by moving the kitchen into an open-plan living and cooking space.
Bedroom 2, seen here on the floorplan, was originally the kitchen. Katy converted the main space into a kitchen and living room combined.
“There’s a large peninsula for dining,” she says. “The whole space suits how people want to live nowadays.”
See the whole flat and its other space-boosting solutions.
“There’s a large peninsula for dining,” she says. “The whole space suits how people want to live nowadays.”
See the whole flat and its other space-boosting solutions.
Lose a bathroom – gain two shower rooms (and a utility)
This two-bedroom, 1970s Dublin flat was once dark and short of the impressive washing facilities (for humans as well as clothes) it now has.
This two-bedroom, 1970s Dublin flat was once dark and short of the impressive washing facilities (for humans as well as clothes) it now has.
Architect Eva Byrne of Houseology saw the potential for creating the two shower rooms the flat’s owners wanted. She chopped the original bathroom in half and cleverly reconfigured the hall, as seen in the ‘before’ and ‘after’ floorplans here.
Eva also created this satisfying mini utility area inside a cupboard.
Nose around the rest of this compact apartment.
Tell us…
Which of these small space ideas could help you make more of your home? Let us know in the Comments section.
Nose around the rest of this compact apartment.
Tell us…
Which of these small space ideas could help you make more of your home? Let us know in the Comments section.
A lack of natural light is often the key cause of a room feeling poky. Consider, then, the power of a well-placed internal window.
In this two-floor Victorian flat, a solid wall originally separated the kitchen from the hallway, but architect Daniel Rees of REES Architects opened this up with an internal window and glass-panelled door. “It makes the kitchen feel bigger, as you can see part of the stairs,” he says.