How a Tiny London Loft Fits a Lot of Living Into 500 Square Feet
What happens when an architect and a stylist meet, fall in love, and tackle the renovation of a 500-square-foot London apartment together? Some really beautiful details—and some really clever small space solutions.
The innovations begin in the entry hall, which passes between the apartment’s bedroom and bathroom on its way to the main living space. A typical approach to modern remodels of older spaces is to the make the ceilings as high as possible, but in this case the couple chose to drop the ceiling down a bit in just this particular spot. This gives you a feeling of release and spaciousness when you get to the main living area, and also creates a storage space above the hallway’s ceiling that’s accessible from the bedroom.
The kitchen, which occupies two walls of the main living room, is particularly unobtrusive thanks to a custom built-in that conceals the refrigerator. Cabinets fronted with reeded glass mimic the airiness of open shelving, but with less of the visual clutter. The pale, pale pink color on the kitchen walls is actually an unpainted plaster, treated with a matte finish to preserve its natural color as much as possible.
The studio space is a little nook off the kitchen, lined on two sides by Elfa shelving. The lowest shelf forms a desk: this is where the couple work during the day. On weekends, the studio space serves double duty as a guest room. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the studio is raised up from the rest of the apartment just a tiny bit. This step conceals a mattress, which can be pulled out and placed in the studio space to accommodate guests. There’s also a curtain that can be drawn over the alcove for a little privacy.
So there you have it — a bedroom (a sliver of which is shown above), bathroom, kitchen, living area, and studio space/guest room, all in only 500 square feet. It’s all very trim, and very stylish, and all excellent proof of what good design can do, even in a very little space.
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