Space,
space, space...is always at a premium when you live in a small high-rise
unit. I was always grateful to find incredible tips and ideas out
there in the blogosphere and so this is my contribution
to the world of Apartment Therapy worshippers!
You
see, before we’d entered family life and the world of the detached
single-family dwelling, we were the proud owners of a small
condominium unit measuring in at just over 1000 square feet. While the
overall layout was perfectly acceptable, there were a few things that
simply didn't work.
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| Floor Plan - Before |
The
first challenge was where to place the 50" TV.
The ideal location would be
opposite the sofa, but lo and behold there was a large opening in that
wall for access to the Den. Placing it in the small angled wall was out of
the question so our answer was to simply close up the wall opening. This
ultimately cut off direct access between the Den and the main Living
Area, but we gained a perfect spot for the big screen and the second
bedroom gained its own private Den. In small units like this
one, the battle between circulation space (wall openings, doors, traffic areas,
etc.) and wall space is paramount. This was a classic example where
the developer had to choose accessibility over available wall space...we
felt differently and modified it accordingly.
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| After filling in the opening, we had a perfect TV nook! |
Our
second challenge involved the Entry area in the unit. Cramped, tight,
claustrophobic, call it what you will, there was certainly no room
for placing any kind of furniture or even for a seat to put on your
shoes! This was especially frustrating for this pregnant girl who happened
to be in her third trimester! The wall
to the Kitchen defined one side while a set of double sliding doors (to a typical
coat closet) comprised the opposite side. While storage space cannot be
understated, to have this much in this location meant we had to re-think
this. So, out went the sliding doors and voila, we gained
over 10 square feet of much needed space...with room to
move! With this newly gained space I could have done any number of
things...a built-in bench for storage, or a nice entry console table (c/w
mirror and a beautiful vignette) with a sexy stool tucked underneath, I could go
on...however, we decided to stick with the original plan of
functionality...okay, with a little flair. We placed a wooden bench high
enough to sit on with storage cubes for shoes below and wall hooks for hanging
coats. We retained the existing closet shelf and neatly lined up storage
baskets on it for our out-of-season items. Next we treated the
wall with a fabulous graphic wallpaper called Kamini Adriatic in Starfruit (Tiku collection) from Villa Nova and added some sexy new
overhead lights which completely transformed the Entry from blah
to breathtaking. (Lighting is undeniably one of the most important design elements as it can make or break a space: interested to learn a little more about it? Please refer to Interior Lighting, Simplified.)
But I wasn't finished yet! I had a deep
cabinet in the Kitchen which was never used to its full potential. The
reason...I simply couldn't reach back that far! So I had that
cabinet modified to half its original depth and created a new cabinet
accessible from the Entry. By placing a mirrored door for that important
'final check' before heading out, this cabinet provided that perfect
little space to hide those knick knacks such as keys, scarves, hats,
etc. out of sight.
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| Floor Plan - After |
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| Entry - Before |
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| Entry - After |
Please note that no photos existed of this area so the above images were created from 3-D software.
Interested in more small-space ideas? Check out these
brilliant solutions for extremely small spaces, written by Meredith Stebbins for Elle Decor, on
Apartment Therapy Presents: Real Homes, Real People, Real Solutions. You can also check out my post on
opening up spaces without demolishing walls.
