How to Love Your Small Space Even More
Get ideas for boosting every room’s function and storage from some of our favorite little homes on Houzz
When we run stories on living in homes with petite proportions, you often tell us, “Small? You should see my house!” Because we aim to please, we’ve rounded up some of the tiniest rooms on Houzz, picking those that pack plenty of ideas and function into a small space. We think that these are indisputably compact. But, more important, do you?
Scale your furniture. This wee living room, which flows into a small dining space, shown in the foreground, has lots of smart tips to pick up.
Furniture is scaled down, so as to give the room the impression of being bigger than it is and to avoid overcrowding. Take the spool coffee table: Not only is it low and compact, but it’s also circular, often a wise shape in small spaces since curves can intrude less into a space than corners.
The side table next to the petite sofa and the armchair are interesting choices too, as each is designed to let light through them, meaning they don’t block space and light.
Check out the clever shelving as well (seen better in the next photo).
Find small round coffee tables
Furniture is scaled down, so as to give the room the impression of being bigger than it is and to avoid overcrowding. Take the spool coffee table: Not only is it low and compact, but it’s also circular, often a wise shape in small spaces since curves can intrude less into a space than corners.
The side table next to the petite sofa and the armchair are interesting choices too, as each is designed to let light through them, meaning they don’t block space and light.
Check out the clever shelving as well (seen better in the next photo).
Find small round coffee tables
Incorporating up-and-over storage, which makes use of otherwise unused areas above a door frame and high-up wall space, is an absolute winner of a way to pack more into a little space without making it feel cramped.
Divide and conquer. Picture, for a moment, walking into this studio apartment before that shelving unit had been built and before the glass screen went up. You’d risk feeling as if you’d arrived home and straight into the dining table. Subtle and interesting divisions of space — especially those that don’t close it off, as shown here — are your friends.
Highlight cuteness. This teeny sink could get swallowed by a vanity, but with the hairpin legs, its petite proportions are really highlighted. The legs also make it look more elegant and important. As already discussed, something may be small, but if you make it really special, no one will be thinking about whether it’s big enough. Instead, they’ll just be admiring it, as hopefully you will also do daily. Distraction as a tool should not be underestimated!
Another great idea here is to have wall-mounted faucets when you have to have a smaller-than-average sink — the last thing you want is deck-mounted ones impinging on the little space you have. Act out washing your face exuberantly before you buy – if none of the water has a chance of going back into the sink, think again. Or design a wet room around it where it won’t matter.
9 Big Space-Saving Ideas for Tiny Bathrooms
Another great idea here is to have wall-mounted faucets when you have to have a smaller-than-average sink — the last thing you want is deck-mounted ones impinging on the little space you have. Act out washing your face exuberantly before you buy – if none of the water has a chance of going back into the sink, think again. Or design a wet room around it where it won’t matter.
9 Big Space-Saving Ideas for Tiny Bathrooms
Go custom. This little home office is clever on several fronts. First off, rather than feeling thwarted by that low, skinny window, the owners simply worked around it. The desk cuts through it, but by painting the desktop and the window frame the same color, the two features work with rather than against each other.
Investing in custom design for a space that needs to be functional is also a good tip to take from here: Just look at how much storage has been packed in and at how deep the desk is. It looks so obvious when you see it now, but the secret of good design is that it’s so often deceptively simple.
Investing in custom design for a space that needs to be functional is also a good tip to take from here: Just look at how much storage has been packed in and at how deep the desk is. It looks so obvious when you see it now, but the secret of good design is that it’s so often deceptively simple.
Lie low. This rooftop garden plays with proportions. Opting for furniture that’s low to the floor gives an impression of more head height. It’s a trick that works more obviously in rooms with low ceilings, but you can see how effective it is at also making this area feel like a welcoming lounging spot.
Another tip to take away is not to scrimp on planting. You may think that crowding the space with greenery will shrink it. In fact, doing so is likely to make you feel as though you’re in a lush, extravagant secret garden. But do choose plants that are easy to prune and handle, and that have soft foliage you can brush past without ducking, diving and contorting.
Another tip to take away is not to scrimp on planting. You may think that crowding the space with greenery will shrink it. In fact, doing so is likely to make you feel as though you’re in a lush, extravagant secret garden. But do choose plants that are easy to prune and handle, and that have soft foliage you can brush past without ducking, diving and contorting.
Ignore convention. No space for that statement slipper or roll-top tub? Are you sure? Of course, having wall space on both sides would be more conventional, as would generally putting a fancy bath in a more generously sized room, but a small bathroom hasn’t stopped these homeowners from going big on their bathing spot. And what better way to make the most of a lush view like that?
Here, a more contemporary take on the idea shows that it’s entirely transferrable.
Note the smart inclusion of two good-size wall niches for storage. These are always good for small spaces since they don’t eat into the floor space at all.
Recess Time: Boost Your Bathroom Storage With a Niche
Note the smart inclusion of two good-size wall niches for storage. These are always good for small spaces since they don’t eat into the floor space at all.
Recess Time: Boost Your Bathroom Storage With a Niche
Build your own sofas. When you can’t find the right sofa for a very small living room, consider copying this idea. The homeowner had her own bench seating built around the room, and beneath the cushions, she’s bagged loads of extra storage to boot.
Ensure that you design benches to be deep enough for slouchy TV-watching comfort, and invest in good-quality, thick cushions, which you can get made at a foam-cutting shop. This is furniture you’ll spend a lot of time on, so before you go ahead, make it your mission to seek out and try out every bench seat in your area — in cafes, friends’ homes, shops — so you can figure out what you do and don’t like.
Ensure that you design benches to be deep enough for slouchy TV-watching comfort, and invest in good-quality, thick cushions, which you can get made at a foam-cutting shop. This is furniture you’ll spend a lot of time on, so before you go ahead, make it your mission to seek out and try out every bench seat in your area — in cafes, friends’ homes, shops — so you can figure out what you do and don’t like.
Super-size the kitchen table. Those stairs on the right lead up to the bed, and yet this small studio in Russia feels airy and spacious. The large window with a generous sill certainly helps, but what’s clever is the way that island has the feel of a generous, rustic kitchen table — and yet it functions as an island, housing a cooktop and a sink, as well as providing places to sit.
Lessons learned? Get creative with your kitchen island ideas, and seek out an induction cooktop that won’t remain hot when not in use to make sitting around it more relaxing and safer. Consider, too, how you could extend the space in front of your window. Could a console-type table just below the sill double as worktop? Could you put a glass shelf halfway up the window for something that won’t spoil the view, such as glasses or pots of herbs?
Lessons learned? Get creative with your kitchen island ideas, and seek out an induction cooktop that won’t remain hot when not in use to make sitting around it more relaxing and safer. Consider, too, how you could extend the space in front of your window. Could a console-type table just below the sill double as worktop? Could you put a glass shelf halfway up the window for something that won’t spoil the view, such as glasses or pots of herbs?
Create a false wall. If you have the luxury of the space to push your bed forward enough to install some meaningful storage behind it, this could be a solution. The beauty of this idea is that it doesn’t add visual clutter; you have just a nice false wall to enjoy.
Behind it, plan your storage extremely carefully. It might be tempting to leave the area as a chuck-it-all zone, but how will you feel sleeping close to such mayhem? It would be worth getting a professional involved since this isn’t an easy space to make useful — long and narrow doesn’t make for ideal clothes accessibility. One option might be deep drawers along at least some of the area, or a combination of a horizontal hanging rail or two at the back plus slim shelving for shoes along one side. Obviously, the farther forward you can push your bed, the better storage you’ll achieve.
Behind it, plan your storage extremely carefully. It might be tempting to leave the area as a chuck-it-all zone, but how will you feel sleeping close to such mayhem? It would be worth getting a professional involved since this isn’t an easy space to make useful — long and narrow doesn’t make for ideal clothes accessibility. One option might be deep drawers along at least some of the area, or a combination of a horizontal hanging rail or two at the back plus slim shelving for shoes along one side. Obviously, the farther forward you can push your bed, the better storage you’ll achieve.
Embrace close-together furniture (but do it right). Sure, a larger living room would give you plenty of space to walk around the footstool and the sofa here, but how necessary is that space?
As long as you have room not to have to duck or weave uncomfortably, you have enough. You simply don’t have a huge living room — and that’s OK, as this clean, serene and inviting one proves.
If you’re filling a long, narrow room with a sofa along one wall, fit in an L-shaped design to help reduce any corridor effect. If that isn’t possible, play around with other ideas to visually do the same; for example, a big framed print or a large plant against the end wall will break up the long lines.
Again, let’s hear it for all-white for small interiors. That is a key factor in this airy result.
As long as you have room not to have to duck or weave uncomfortably, you have enough. You simply don’t have a huge living room — and that’s OK, as this clean, serene and inviting one proves.
If you’re filling a long, narrow room with a sofa along one wall, fit in an L-shaped design to help reduce any corridor effect. If that isn’t possible, play around with other ideas to visually do the same; for example, a big framed print or a large plant against the end wall will break up the long lines.
Again, let’s hear it for all-white for small interiors. That is a key factor in this airy result.
Scrap the shower door. Trying to fit a shower into a very small room? Rather than being thwarted by not having space for a nice shower door, consider a wet room.
If you can fit in a walk-in shower like this one, self-contained except for the lack of a door, rather than one that’s just open within a square room, then do. There’s something that feels good about stepping out of the shower, rather than just stepping toward the sink from beneath the shower.
If you can fit in a walk-in shower like this one, self-contained except for the lack of a door, rather than one that’s just open within a square room, then do. There’s something that feels good about stepping out of the shower, rather than just stepping toward the sink from beneath the shower.
Make more of your island. Cabinet doors are useful, sure, but when you don’t have the clearance to open them, perhaps they’re not an option. Open storage can be very useful in little rooms.
Use the closed storage you do have for everything bulky and ugly, and commit to keeping your open shelving well-ordered and color-coordinated (not only with the kitchen, but also with the rest of the room if you are in an open-plan space).
More: Read other stories about living in small spaces
Use the closed storage you do have for everything bulky and ugly, and commit to keeping your open shelving well-ordered and color-coordinated (not only with the kitchen, but also with the rest of the room if you are in an open-plan space).
More: Read other stories about living in small spaces
This could look cramped and messy but instead looks airy and designed. Here’s why.