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Grand Designs Live
William's Tips for Small- Space Living
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Don’t assume that the current layout is the best option. Just because it worked for the previous owner, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t change it to suit your way of living.
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Try to limit the amount of materials and colours you use. We opted for white walls and bare floorboards throughout to achieve the maximum sense of space. The bathroom was given a slightly different look to make it feel very separate from the living space, but we stuck to a similar colour palette and used one type of mosaic tiling.
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Go for furniture that is slightly raised off the floor – if you can see underneath it, the space feels bigger. Likewise for the bathroom, wall-hung fittings are ideally suited to compact spaces.
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Think long term – a well thought out layout squeezing in a second bedroom could add thousands to the value of your home.
Hide the hi-tech
Audio-visual equipment can dwarf a room, so it can be a good idea to buy furniture that allows you to hide away your hi-tech buys. Flat-screen televisions are less obtrusive, and you can now buy speakers which are concealed in the walls or disguised as paintings. Try Artcoustic www.artcoustic.com
Clutter clampdown
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Build it Built-in storage is a godsend in a small space, so incorporate as much as possible into the architecture of your flat.
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Consider a wall of built-in cupboards, perhaps at the end of a room, or even forming a dividing wall between two rooms.
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Exploit your dead space: put triangular shelves in an unused corner, a cupboard underneath a basin or storage above the fridge. We’re used to under-stair closets, but how about in-stair storage? You could build in drawers, accessed from the riser with a kick-opening mechanism, or treads that flip up to reveal boxes underneath.
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On display While clutter can make a room look smaller, there’s no need to conceal all your possessions. Don’t be scared to use your things as ornaments. Books can be beautiful, and shelves can easily be fitted into odd nooks and crannies, combining storage and decoration. Ceramics and glassware are obvious options to display, but pans and kitchen utensils can also look great hanging on the wall.
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Flexible furniture Storage can be hidden away in furniture too. You can buy divan beds with in-built drawers, low tables with shelves underneath for magazines and books, and hollow stools that open to reveal storage space inside. Your bed could even fold down from the wall – try The Wallbed Workshop for a range of designs www.thewallbedworkshop.co.uk.
