When I first walked into what would eventually become our new home, I burst out laughing. Sure, the agent had told us it was a 3 bedroom property but I am convinced he’d used his measuring tape to estimate. The master bedroom wouldn’t accommodate a double bed if you blocked the door to the wardrobe and the lounge room felt like it was meant for people who only had 2 pieces of furniture.
My partner looked horrified when I started chuckling during the viewing but I wasn’t being funny. I was genuinely excited.
Small spaces are puzzles. And I love puzzles.
Compact homes make you think differently about each and every decision. When you have approximately 1200 square feet to play with (which is very optimistic) you can’t afford to buy furniture that won’t do its job or decorative items that don’t provide function. Each and every paint colour, each and every storage item, each and every piece of furniture has to work twice as hard as it would in your average suburban home.
First things first: the lounge room felt cramped because it was actually three separate areas all competing for space. The “dining area” was the tiny corner where someone had optimistically put a small table, the lounge space was facing the wrong direction for the telly and then there was the “no man’s land” beside the kitchen door where nothing seemed to fit.
So I got rid of all the boundaries. Okay, not literally.
The dining table was pushed up against the wall and has since doubled as a console table. I bought one of those tables that can extend to seat either two for breakfast or eight for dinner (although having eight people in our lounge room would undoubtedly classify as being “cozy”). The sofa was then shifted to be facing both the TV and the kitchen to create what the interior mags call “conversation flow” and what I call “being able to talk to my wife while she cooks without having to shout”.
Painting every wall the same colour was the actual game changer. I know what you’re thinking – conventional wisdom dictates that small spaces require light colours to appear larger. However, I chose a warm, deep grey green that spans across the walls of the lounge, up the stairs and through to the hallway. Not only did it not make the space feel smaller, it created a seamless transition between all of the rooms. The boundaries were gone. What was once a series of cramped boxes now felt like one generous space.
Storage became an obsession. An obsession I mean that positively.
The stairs got floating shelves for books and plants. The dead space under the staircase, turned into a miniature office nook complete with a folding desk. Floor to ceiling built ins in the lounge house everything from board games to the hoover – due to them being the same colour as the walls they visually disappear.
In the bedrooms I quickly realised that furniture with legs creates a feeling of more space. We elevated the bed frame high enough to fit storage containers underneath. A traditional wardrobe was replaced with a custom made closet system that uses maximum height. The childrens room has bunkbeds with desks underneath – effectively transforming one small room into a bedroom/study/play area.
The kitchen was harder. It’s a galley style kitchen – which sounds fancy but essentially means a hallway with appliances. The original configuration included upper cupboards that created a tunnel effect, so I removed half of them and put in open shelving. While everything gets a bit dusty, and I have to be more organized as to what I put on show, it was well worth the increased visual space.
Another thing I’ve come to realize is that in small kitchens, every surface must be multi-functional. The kitchen island was originally a narrow console table on wheels that can act as additional counter space, a bar or additional storage depending upon what is needed. The windowsill is now an herb garden. I’ve even stuck magnetised spice racks and hooks for measuring cups on the inside of cupboard doors.
Lighting has also made a huge difference. The house came with those awful ceiling lights that create shadows in the worst possible spots. I’ve added table lamps, floor lamps and LED strips under the kitchen cupboards. Using multiple light sources at different levels creates depth and warmth that ceiling lighting cannot. Also, having dimmer switches in every room – allowing you to instantly change the mood of a room makes it seem larger and more versatile.
But the greatest epiphany I have experienced was when I began thinking about sight lines. In a small house, what you see when you enter the house determines the mood for the rest of the day. I placed a large mirror at the bottom of the hallway so the first thing you see is light and reflection, not the fact that you can see the whole ground floor from the front door. The mirror also reflects the garden view from the rear door and creates the illusion that our house extends further than it actually does.
Some days I go into friends houses that are significantly larger than ours and I feel almost guilty for them. They’ve got loads of space, but each room only serves one purpose. Their furniture is just sitting around looking decorative. They’ve got storage they can’t even get to. Meanwhile, every nook and cranny in our little house works hard and is meaningful.
The children continually invite their friends over, who are amazed at how big their rooms feel. The secret is not the amount of space – it’s ensuring that each and every object has its designated spot and that spot is sensible. If a room is tidy and clutter free, if the colours flow and the lighting is good, and if the furniture fits the space and not fights it, small becomes cozy, not cramped.
