Small But Perfectly Formed

A lack of space definitely doesn't mean a lack of style!

Images 12&6 - Unknown Image 3 - House & Leisure Image 4 - Country Homes & Interiors Image 5 - NY Times

Small Space Big Style

Just shows, big isn't always best!

New Rules for Small Space Decorating - A 1,000 Square Foot Parisian Hideaway in Illionois

 

Lizzie Carney of Euro Trash has this amazing 1,000 square foot bungalow

in Jacksonville, Illinois.  Lizzie is the stylist and designer for the furniture

import firm.  The firm imports furniture from Europe for clients.

 As you can see, Lizzie has impeccable taste.  I adore what she has done 

with her pad.  Gray is one of my favorite colors for interiors.  It would

seem like a drab color but you can do a lot with it.  What a gorgeous 

color scheme - Gray with Coral.  The tufted bed antique French bed

frame, curtains and chandelier really make the room.  Duvet cover 

from Anthropologie.

 

Lizzie in her gorgeous home.

 

 I love that she has shutters on the inside of this room that are in its 

natural wood color.  She upholstered the French Bergere chair in 

luxurious velvet.  The charcoal walls make for a perfect backdrop

for hanging up framed images and paintings.

 

 

 A better look at the space.

 

Her entire home is painted in the same charcoal color.   It really makes

for a dramatic effect.  There's a fun pop of color with the refrigerator

and of course another "to-die-for" chandelier in the kitchen.  The bar

stools are from Ikea and it's so clever that she used a piece of a side

board mounted onto the island as a dining counter top.

 

 Her dining room has a ton of character with an old French wine room 

feel.  It literally feels like you're in the French country side.  Lizzy was

super clever and used her basement as a wine cellar and dining space.

Now that's what I call beautiful and functional.

Lizzie decided to turn the second bedroom into an indulgence... her 

very own dressing room.  I must say that I am totally jealous.  It's

very lovely.  Again as with everything in her home, it's very tastefully

done. 

To recap on the new rules for designing in a small space and Lizzie's tips:

Lizzie's Tips for Designing a Small Space

1.) Old Rule:  White Walls are a must in a small space.

     New Rule:  Dark colors create the illusion of depth in small rooms.

2.)  Old Rule:  Cramped quarters call for clean lines.

      New Rule:  Ornate embellished details give even the tightest spots a sense of grandeur.

3.)  Old rule:  Hidden storage is key to keeping a tiny house tidy.

      New Rule:  Why waste precious basement space on boxes when you could have a dining room    

      and a wine cellar?

4.)  Old Rule:  Get extra mileage of a guest room by having it double as an office or den.

      New Rule:  Turn over the entire room to a single indulgence like a walk-in closet.

5.)  Old Rule:  Small spaces require small or furniture.

      New Rule:  Bitsy often leads to busy.  Instead, opt for fewer, larger pieces.

 Parisian Hideaways
Exquisite Rooms in Enchanting Hotels

 If you like Parisian and French inspired spaces as I do, I highly

 recommend this book.  Even though it is hotels and homes, it

features gorgeously decorated rooms in Paris which is great for

inspiration.

The Flea Markets of France

If you love to rummage in flea markets, this is a great

book that gives a very good introduction and lists the

major in all of France.

So did you like Lizzie Carney's bungalow?  What were

your favorite spaces, items or points in how she designed 

her space?  Do you agree with her tips?

If you like Lizzie's bungalow, definitely also check out

Molly Sim's Parisian Soho pad if you haven't already seen 

it.  Here's a peak:

Photos & Rules from Country Living Magazine

"Domestic Transformer" - One Room: 24 Different Configurations in 330 Square Feet

Talk about ingenuity when it comes to small space living.  I absolutely

love what this architect did with his own space (only 330 sq feet) of 

living space.  Can you imagine 24 different configurations for just one

room?  You absolutely must watch this video if you haven't seen it.  I'd

love to hear your thoughts and the things you thought were ingenious.

I was surprised of the layers of the walls and the location of the guest

bed over the bathtub.  I also loved the media room with the projector

screen over the windows - every detail was so thoughtfully designed.

More Small Space Living Inspirations - Color Me Small!

This small 228 sq ft apartment in Los Angeles is designed by L.A. 

based interior designer Kenneth Brown.  Kenneth Brown is a very

talented and established designer in southern California.

He really shows what you can do in such a small space and how

one can really punch it up with fun colors and patterns.

When you have a tiny space, to keep obstructions to a minimum and

to make a space look more open, Brown advises not to purchase any

furniture with arms.  It's a great piece of advice that visually makes

total sense in a small space. 

Again, this chair has no arms and the console doubles as a desk.

Ken took wall paper rolls and just hung them up on a wall to give 

more visual interest.  It doesn't get simpler than that to give a room

a punch of color.

Keep the shelves skinny and to a minimum.  Here, picture shelves are

used so there is a place to put up photos with the shelves not taking up

much space.

When you have a small space, it's all about function.  Function, Function,

and more Function.  In this case, this ottoman can also serve as storage

space.

A great way to hide away things without needing a door that swings out

is to use curtains.  Ken added a patterned curtain on on the inside for 

additional color - lots of fun!

The Bar (Crate and Barrel) serves a dual purpose as the TV stand as well.

Wouldn't have thought to use a bar as a TV stand - but why not indeed?

In the small dining area, armless faux bamboo chairs are used.  You can

also throw seat cushions with color and pattern on if you want.

500 Ideas for Small Spaces

Easy Solutions for Living in 1000 Square Feet or Less

Here's another great book for ideas when it comes to living 

in small spaces.  I hope you enjoyed the tour of this small

228 sq feet apartment.  Amazing what you can do in such a

small space.

Photos from Better Homes & Garden

Small Space Living Inspirations - A 431 Sq Ft Apartment in Paris

This magazine article was originally published by French magazine

Cote Maison and picked up by Apartment Therapy.  It's a fantastic 

example of small space living.  We're talking a family of four and 

a dog living in a 430 sq ft apartment.  Amazing isn't it?  We never

think about it living with space is definitely a luxury.  A luxury that

Americans are used to but not necessarily all places in the world have.

 

Your average apartment for a family of 4-5 in Hong Kong is around

400 sq ft.  This isn't because they just happen to love living in small

spaces - there isn't any available land and square footage is seriously

expensive.  Most families simply cannot afford more space.  There's

a saying in Hong Kong that real estate is worth its weight in gold by

the square Inch!  The above bedroom very cleverly utilizes the tiny

closet-like space very well.

Every available amount of space in the apartment 

is  used. Isn't this cubby in the ground great?

A Tibetan tapestry hangs in the doorway.  The cupboards

and built in storage space is from the ground to the ceiling.

Here's the kitchen area with a dine in table.  

Notice the stairs going up to another room.

Those same steps are actually built in drawers.  Now this is what

I'm talking about.  The Japanese also design in this incredibly 

functional way as your average living space for a single person in 

Tokyo is often no more than a small room.

What a lovely dining and living space.  The windows almost extend 

from floor to ceiling.  I just love the exposed brick like floor.  Hanging 

curtains from floor to the ceiling creates the feeling that the room and 

ceiling is higher than it actually is.  Also using clear furniture like the 

glass table is a great way to expand a space visually.

Here's the other side of the room which also leads into the kitchen.

The living and dining room double as the master bedroom.

The bed you see is a Murphy bed which is folded into the wall.

 

Here is the floor plan to this incredibly functional space.

You can see the dotted lines where the Murphy bed pulls

down for the living/dining room to become the Master 

bedroom.

Apartment Therapy's Big Book 

of Small, Cool Spaces

I recently purchased this book which I love!  What's great about

Apartment Therapy's book Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces is 

that it showcases real homes and apartments that are small and 

what owners and designers have done with their space.  I highly 

recommend it.  

As of late, there seems to be a trend to downsizing and 

living with less space.  What are your thoughts?  Less is

more?  Or more is more?

All photos from Apartment Therapy and Cote Maison

Photos by Alexandre Bailhache

Turning a Closet into a Desk

When it comes to ideas for utilizing space, I think the idea of

turning a closet into a desk is a fantastic one.  I especially love

this design from Country Living.  The color scheme is absolutely

gorgeous and I adore the wallpaper in the background.  What a 

great way to give the space a punch with a pattern on the wall.

Wall paper is from GrahamBrown.com

This was what the closet looked like prior to the redesign.  

You'll notice the doors on this closet are very standard to

many modern homes and track homes.

In this design, this wonderful paint was used on the inside 

of the doors and it would make sense to paint the ceiling and

walls inside the closet (with the exception of the wallpapered

wall.)  I love that the designer used a pegboard (Home Depot)

for the inside of the closet door.  Framing the pegboard with 

molding makes it look polished and chic.  

I love that a miniature chandelier was used in the design.  Why

not indeed?  There are so many glamorous lamp pendants out 

there, why not use one to punch up the design factor.  

LampsPlus.com is a great resource along with many other 

stores.

In the design, a pair of very standard file cabinets are used.

This set of cabinets are from Staples but any file cabinets

of this size from Ikea or elsewhere would work too.  You

can choose stationary cabinets or add on rollers as it is in

this case for movement.

In this design, durable Krylon paint with a Satin finish

was used to spray paint the filing cabinets a similar color

to the paint used on the inside of the closet doors.  It's such

an easy way to customize and spruce up off the shelf office

furniture.  Make sure you choose a suitable spray point for

metal finishes in this case.

The table top is a very simple matter of MDF board cut to fit

the length of the file cabinets.  You can paint it any color you

want and in this case white is used to match the color of the

shelves above the desk (Ikea shelves are used in this design.)

Adding a fun rug under the chair gives a further

punch of color and really makes the area feel

like an office space.

The wicker office chair is also from Ikea.  I love how the doors open

 up to serve as the "side walls" of this office space.  It makes the space 

feel cozy.  

The beauty of this space is that it's designed with completely off the 

shelf products with much of the customization done with paint.  This 

allows anyone to really turn a closet into a gorgeous desk space quite 

cheaply.  The DIY elements of this design are simple enough that 

anyone (including me which I'm not very handy) can do it.  

Photos from Country Living