Small Space Design
Even the most luxurious homes have small spaces, and when designed well, these spaces can still be highly functional, not just beautiful.
In fact, sometimes the smallest spaces end up being peoples’ favorites!
For example, we designed a wonderful in-law apartment in a recent project in Upper Makefield, PA. This compact apartment had a challenging roofline and limited space. As a guest suite, it didn’t need size to function well, but it had to be inviting and masterfully done so that it equaled the livable luxury of the rest of the home.
Done without solid design strategy, it could have easily felt cramped, or felt like an afterthought. However, we’re so masterful in spatial use we knew precisely how to maximize the space and as well as what kinds of design detailing to add to make it just as luxurious as the rest of the home.
The result is a bright, light-filled apartment that has everything guests need to be self-sufficient and comfortable, including a kitchen and dining area, and a peaceful, relaxing living room.
Size Doesn’t Matter: Excellent Design Matters
As another example of compressed spaces, some homes, especially historic homes, can have small kitchens. It’s a common design challenge for which we have particular expertise. In a small kitchen wherever possible, beyond strategic space planning, we also use design sleight of hand to seemingly push walls outward to create a sense of expansiveness.
Within the in-law apartment, we used a carefully controlled color palette, specifically sized furniture and open shelves to create a sense of space.
In the living room, we added tall framed wallpaper panels behind the sofa that keep the eye moving toward the ceiling and across the horizontal space. Carefully scaled furniture and carefully placed color and pattern create interest but give the space a feeling of comfortable proportion.
We’ll say it again: the size of a room doesn’t matter; it’s excellent design that delivers wonderful, livable spaces, no matter their square footage size.
Function, Storage, and Comfort
Excellent design can make a room feel more expansive than it is and requires careful, careful space planning and attention to scale. In our design work, we put function first, finding all the places we can add more comfort and more storage.
To achieve this, we’re always working to best leverage the space, whether it’s being creative with furniture, customizing furniture, or looking at unusual but beautiful outside the box options.
Of course, in the end, superb comfort is essential. We want to feed the senses with something so delicious that you literally never want to leave
For our in-law apartment, we chose a vibrant color palette of sapphire and a dusty plum. The kitchen is fresh and welcoming, with its clean lines and comfortable seating. In the living room, the color palette drips into an exciting play of pattern, so the room is at once signature but also stay-a-while comfortable.
Wise design can be used to shrink down a too-large for comfort space (like a 2 story room), or to open up smaller architecture.
Balance. Beauty. Function. These are the 3 pillars for us in all of the spaces we design…even in small spaces.
If you have a space that feels too small or too large…(2 story cavernous rooms!)… let us help you make any room in your home feel luxurious, and…. just right.