The holy grail of interiors? It has to be creating a sense of space, so let these top tips help you make most of your small home

Whether you’re contending with a flat (or even a house) with tiny proportions or just one small room in a bigger abode, there are many ways to cheat a sense of space. From picking a smart colour palette and clever multi-functional furniture to making dramatic structural changes, these ideas will help put you on the road to living large.

Go back to basics

One of the oldest – and easiest – tricks in the book for enhancing the sense of space is going for an all-white scheme. And not just on the walls, but on the flooring and furniture, too, in order to avoid creating large breaks in the visual plane. If that’s too stark for your taste, try introducing one or two subtle and complementary shades with accessories – or even a few shots of bold colour like the books in this bedroom.

The amount of natural light a space gets also determines how you perceive its size, so consider using a paint that contains light-reflective particles, available in most DIY stores. This will help to subtly boost a sense of openness by increasing the amount light reflected around the room.

Embrace hideaway heroes

Flexible furniture is definitely a small space’s best friend – and this bespoke unit pushes the notion to the max. It doesn’t just provide a home office, with its handy fold-down ‘desk’ and adjoining cupboard. Nope – it’s so much more than that. Just take a look at the next image to see how it maximises space in a titchy studio…On the other side of that foldaway desk is a drop-down bed – when not in use, it simply folds up into the grey recess, and the panel to the right (containing the desk), closes up like a door to conceal it (scroll to the next image to see the closed-up unit).

So this custom-made piece of furniture has not only given the studio a work area, but also a ‘bedroom’. And the attention to detail is amazing – just look at that built-in shelving, which is perfect for storing bedtime reading.

Here’s the unit closed up. When the homeowner is entertaining, the drop-down desk can be used as a little drinks bar.

Think clearly

If you don’t have the budget (or the need) for a big piece of bespoke furniture like the one in the last image, another smart (and straightforward) option for petite rooms is clear acrylic furniture. You can buy anything from chairs to consoles and bedside tables in transparent acrylic, and all of them will create the appearance of more space.

The open design of this console means extra seating or storage can be popped underneath it, too, without crowding the room.

Aim high

If your ceiling is high enough, a mezzanine is a clever way of maximising the footprint of a home. Perhaps you have a one-bedroom flat and want a proper place to accommodate overnight guests? Well, making use of vertical space could be a solution.

This mezzanine was incorporated into the living space by lowering the ceiling of the bathroom below. It’s a hard-working second level, as the mezzanine barrier is packed with storage, too.

Free your floor

The previous example illustrated a radical way of taking advantage of unused vertical space, but even a simple decorating choice, such as lifting as many things off the floor as possible, can have a powerful effect.

Choose wall-mounted shelves over a floor-standing bookcase, and opt for wall instead of floor lamps, which will also help draw the eye upwards, making your room feel airier. Going for a sofa and/or chairs with spindly legs adds to the effect, helping you keep the maximum amount of floor space visible. In other news, this table also deserves a round of applause. Notice its fold-down sides and storage drawers – simple space-saving furniture at its best.

Choose a double act…

As already mentioned, a piece of furniture that does multiple jobs is a small-space saviour. These hard-working units provide both storage and a place to perch for a morning cuppa. In fact, it’s a mini breakfast station, with coffee-maker and mugs close to hand.

Another space-enhancing feature of this compact kitchen is the glazed door. Being able to look through it into further surroundings tricks the eye into thinking the room is bigger than it actually is. Magic. Here’s one more small home hero that does double duty – the humble bench. Not only does it provide extra seating while still being streamlined, but you can sneak some storage underneath, too. Win-win.

or a triple act

This beautiful piece of furniture has enabled a relatively narrow room to sleep three comfortably. And it’s not just a bed – it has bookshelves at the far end and drawers in the base, too.
Matching the floor with the material used to make the beds was a well-thought-out decision, as it ups the room’s streamlined look.

Say yes to mirrors

The reliable yet often underestimated mirror should not be forgotten in the quest for creating a sense of space. In a really tight room, why not consider getting a bespoke design that will run right across one wall? It works brilliantly here.And if you think that 3D geometric floor is breaking the rules when it comes to decorating a compact bathroom, think again. In fact, it draws the eye across the length and breadth of the space, helping to open it out.

Make openings

Blurring the lines between different rooms or areas in a compact home can help it feel larger. In this two-bedroom flat, an internal window in the wall between the kitchen and entrance hall optimises the feeling of space. Here’s another example of how creating an opening maximises airiness. Cutting out part of a dividing wall has allowed the kitchen to flow into the neighbouring dining/living area, giving the cook space a more open feel. The additional daylight and visual depth also benefits the dining/living space, making it feel larger, too.

Create a room within a room

If you live in a studio flat, you might just want to put up walls to make a separate room. However, to maintain a sense of space, it might be better to create the illusion of a distinct zone. Here, it was done by adding a peninsula unit and different flooring to define the kitchen area.

Box clever

Saving the best for last, the owners of this 46 square metres studio in New York have aced small-space living with what their architects describe as an ‘intricately sculpted, wood-panelled central service core that contains the kitchen, bathroom, storage and sleeping loft’. Even the steps up to the bedroom contain drawers for clothes and shoes. Impressed? Click on the photo to see more pictures of this genius space.