Making the most of a compact interior
When it comes to smart ideas for small space living, houzz.co.uk is the one to watch. Sara Emslie’s Small Space Living: Space Enhancing Display Ideas For Compact Interiors is brimming with hints, tips and in-the-know nuggets for tricking the eye into seeing a bigger space. Here’s the topline of her top tips:
• Double up display with storage… making the most of every bit of space… often means combining display with storage
• Think big… add a sense of intimacy and cosiness to a small room with a large, oversized framed picture or artwork… the play on scale will add visual impact… and will give a small room a large personality and an instant focal point
• Swap artwork for mirrors… they are light reflective and space expanding… choose mirrors and you’ll appear to have a bigger room
• Put your best bits on display… a small but carefully chosen collection of decorative but useful objects… will add bags of style to a tiny, characterless kitchen
• Think practical… when you don’t have the luxury of space, source items that offer practicality as well as aesthetic charm
• Create a focal point… if a compact interior doesn’t have a fireplace or other obvious focal point, create one using slimline picture shelves and a series of favourite artworks… the unfixed element introduced by using shelves rather than hooks will also create a sense of fluidity in a tiny interior – rigidity can feel tiny
• Embrace the decorative charm of ordinary objects
• Repeat, repeat, repeat… repetition is a great way of adding a strong display element to a small space since it swerves any sense of looking cluttered
Futon Company says: Wow, we love all of these ideas! But what stands out to us is the importance of embracing accessories and choosing pieces which combine practicality with a strong aesthetic.
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