Furnishing Small Spaces
By on Apr 23, 2008
By Sylvia Son and Carolyn Son
If you find yourself with less than six hundred square feet, you might not be able to fit a grand piano in your living room. But as long as you know how to use your space, there's very little you can't do with a small area.
One of the first things you have to do is prioritize. Even though it's tempting to buy everything you want, all that does is create clutter.
Margot Bolin and Jessica Cote from Style at Home suggest using fewer pieces of furniture and fewer accessories to reduce visual clutter. "Basically, the less furniture around, the more space you will have. So, it's either the big comfy couch or the wall-sized entertainment centre, both cannot exist in the same room if you only have a few square feet to work with."
Once you've decided what you want, there are some things you should keep in mind before you buy a couch or dining room table.
Natasha Douglas of Oni-One suggests that for condo owners with limited space one of the most important things you should look for is furniture with multiple functions. "There are beds designed with shelves in the base that make wardrobes and dressers redundant. You can also find dining room tables with retractable sides that when they are in, turn the entire piece into a compact buffet."
Sectional furniture takes the idea of multi-function to the extreme. Think of them like building blocks for adults. There are sofas you can take apart and form separate chairs when you have company. You can even create your own unique sofa if you have different base pieces. If you're interested in having more room, a coffee table can be divided into two end tables.
If you're going for multi-functionality in your furniture, try to choose pieces with wheels at the bottom as this can save your floors from scratches.
When you're looking for a
, Douglas suggests looking for one that isn't too deep or too tall. "You're not going to miss the inches when you're sitting on it, and because of its size, it's easier to maneuver around."
Douglas suggests buying pieces that do not touch the ground, since they do not "break-up the floor visually and add to the clutter." You can also use the space underneath raised pieces of furniture for extra storage or for nesting pieces of furniture - tables that can be slid under other tables, or cabinets that fit comfortably under desks.
Historically, furniture stores have not focused on the needs of condominium owners but recently big name stores have been stocking furniture and accessories aimed at this previously neglected market. All of the big department stores have a few pieces that will work well in a condo, and even smaller specialty stores like Pottery Barn and Oni-One have furniture designed specifically for smaller spaces.
Like in mosaics, arrangement matters. Instinctively, you'll probably want to push the furniture up against the walls, but the interior designers at Cecconi-Simone believe that doing this only makes the room feel smaller. By placing the furniture away from the walls, you give the feeling of more space.
Colour matters as well. One trick you can use is to paint all walls the same colour. "Small spaces can't have too many colours," says Douglas. "Too many shades and accent colours break the condo up and make it feel compact, whereas using only one colour for the walls creates a sense of flow and space." If you're really up to the challenge, you can even try and match the colour of the walls to the furniture so as to make the furniture blend into this flow.
If you keep a few of these things in mind, you'll find that even if you're working with a one-bedroom condo you still have all the space you need.
