Oprah Magazine recently covered a great story of a couple who living in a small apartment. The couple was featured because they created clever and interesting ways to make their small space not seem so small. Take a look at some of their advice, after the jump!
Small Space, Big Ideas
• Fake soaring ceilings. Rooms seem taller when the walls and ceiling are painted a continuous color. Here, an airy white shade camouflages the living area's decidedly un-loftlike 8-foot-6-inch height—especially when contrasted with the dark floor.
• Don't forget flooring. "Another trick we used to make the space feel larger," says Gregory De Peña, "is laying tile diagonally from corner to corner." The tactic highlights the condo's longest axis instead of chopping up the floor plan into individual rooms.
• Embrace built-ins. "Growing up, I had cubbies my dad built, and I loved them,"Gregory De Peña says of his design for this side of the room divider, which serves as both a vast headboard and a place to stockpile his architecture books. It also lends the room a clutter-free appearance.
Related Posts:
• Roundup: Small Space Solutions on AT
• Roundup: More Small Space Solutions on AT, Part I
• Roundup: More Small Space Solutions on AT, Part II
Comments (7)
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view miss jolly's profile
Absolutely gorgeous, yet 249 square feet larger than my own place so I can't really recreate most of this or else it'd look like I was living in a thimble box. Darn! And thanks, miss jolly, you confirmed I wasn't having an inexplicable deja vu.
view *heather leaf*'s profile
busted.
view hmr's profile
I'm with you, *heather leaf*. There space is about 350sq feet larger than mine. I'm lucky to even have enough space for a separate bedroom.
view sparkle's profile
Once again - AT Bloggers don't read their own blog...
view bepsf's profile
Can we see design ideas for your average, run-of-the-mill, cookie cutter apartment or condo that gets minimal light instead of only art deco, pre-war, loft style, floor-to-ceiling-wall-to-wall windows with incredible views that only a small handful actually have? I have hideous 1970's sliding glass patio doors, no natural light, average four-white-walls-and-a-door rooms, and I don't even have molding around my windows. Some of these can be really hard to relate to...
view amiencc's profile
"Fake soaring ceilings. Rooms seem taller when the walls and ceiling are painted a continuous color."
Uh, sorry, no. You misrepresented this one. It's not the wall/ceiling paint color that makes the ceiling appear taller. It's the faux-wall of a different color/finish that stops *short* of the ceiling that makes the ceiling appear higher. The horizontal line at the top of the built-in wood paneling is what does the trick. The continuous paint color only works when this element is present.
view nashdp's profile