It’s no surprise to hear that our homes are getting smaller and smaller. Just look to Ikea’s recently launched SUNNERSTA for proof; a £99 stand-alone – and rather flimsy looking – kitchen unit, depressingly designed for the kind of mini ‘studio’ living that renders even a proper kitchen too large. This is the reality city dwellers are having to consider as rents and house prices sky-rocket.
But while our living spaces are shrinking, our tendency to collect ‘stuff’ hasn’t diminished one iota. Which is leaving us with a logistical nightmare when it comes to trying to squeeze our lives and belongings into flats the size of a biscuit tin. Space has become the holy grail of modern living, with extensions, basement excavations and loft conversions at an all-time high. But if you haven’t got a spare 100K plus knocking around, don’t panic. Click through to discover seven quick fixes to fake your way to a more spacious home.
This article was first published October 26, 2016
Shelf Life
Creative shelving is the latest ‘statement’ piece in the realm of interior design (yes, really). It might not sound sexy, but it’s damn practical, and if done right, will make your pad look all the more organised. Looks to awkward nooks and crannies to utilise ‘dead’ space; around doors, between alcoves, under pitched ceilings or in unused fireplaces – it’s amazing how much you’ll be able to tuck away.
Photo: Courtesy of Lauren Rubin Architecture/David Gilbert, Alyssa-Kirsten and Billy Siegrist
Play nooky
Built-in seating has several advantages, the first, most obvious one being you can utilise tight spaces where tables and chairs just look weird for seating that looks like it was always meant to be there. Secondly, you can use the under-seat area for more storage, and thirdly, it eliminates a tangle of seat and table legs, which can look cluttered and take up visual space. If your DIY skills aren’t up to scratch, get a pro in – seating nooks have to look sleek and well finished (and be stable enough to sit on, obviously.)
Photo: Courtesy of Susanna Vento/Riikka Kantinkoski
Bar none
There’s barely enough room for the kettle and the nutribullet to coexist in the kitchen, let alone a table and chairs for those of us in city homes. A counter top, however, might just be do-able. Look for unused wall space, or areas where you could extend the work surface to accommodate a bar stool or two. Besides, sitting at the bar’s always much more fun anyway.
Photo: Via @luckypennyblog
Hot desk
Paperwork, files and other essential ephemera that you need to hang onto ‘just in case’ – what do you do if you haven’t got a home office or study? This tiny work space has the answer, cleverly using a cupboard space as a self-contained desk area. Follow suit in your own home and clear out an empty cupboard – you can leave the door on if you’d rather not see your work stuff. Alternatively, fixing a shelf to the wall somewhere out of the way provides a perch substantial enough for a laptop – give your new work area a lick of paint to ‘zone’ it off from the wider space.
Photo: Courtesy of Adrienne Breaux
Earn your stripes
Vertical stripes are known to add height and horizontal stripes add width – a bold monochrome effect like this transforms a pokey space into a dramatic statement with a lofty feel. A full-on scheme is perhaps best suited to small areas such as bathrooms and downstairs loos, so to use this optical illusion in other rooms, take a more subtle approach – one or two stripes running around the skirting board or along the ceiling trick the eye into believing there’s more space.
Photo: Courtesy of Nacho Polo/Andrea Savini
Mirror, mirror
The most straightforward way to create an illusion of space in a room is by using reflection – this could be with the use of shiny materials such as mirrors, metallic surfaces or even just fabrics, paints and wall-coverings. Take this kitchen designed by interior design studio Templeton for example; by using mirrored metro tiles in place of ceramic ones, the space is twice as bright and open. Try backing shelves with mirrors or using reflective materials for splashbacks and kickboards for a similar effect.
Photo: Courtesy of Templeton
Hide and seek
Faking more space needn’t mean you can’t forgo a splash of colour. In fact, painting your walls top-to-toe in a single shade can give the effect of larger proportions provided you paint everything on the wall in the same colour. Painting skirting, radiators, and even shelves and storage will help them to recede into the wall, letting the eye travel undisturbed over the space. This effect works best with an intense, darker colour – try navy, charcoal grey or a hot red. Fortune favours the bold.
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