small space – The Interiors Addict

Compact living: 5 clever designs for small spaces

By Cherie Barber

Compact living is the buzzword of the moment. As cities like Sydney and Melbourne get ever more crowded; affordable granny flats, studios and smaller apartments are becoming more popular than ever. It’s all about extracting the most from any space, whether it’s a home office, kitchen, living area, or even a ramshackle garage. When you’re designing for maximum economy of space, it’s about making sure there is zero wasted space.

Here are five examples where I’ve used design innovation to fully capitalise on limited space.

1. Floating wall with storage

I designed this gyprock floating wall in the master bedroom of my previous home. On the wall facing the bed is a wall-hung television, with all the wiring neatly concealed inside. On the other side is a huge storage rack for shoes. Neat, eh?

2. Hallway kitchen

In this small studio the entrance hallway was dead space that, quite frankly, the owner couldn’t afford. My solution was to rejig the layout and shuffle the kitchen from its existing spot into the hallway. This provided the added bonus of freeing up internal space within the studio.

3. Raised sleeping nook

I then used the spot where the kitchen originally was to create a raised sleeping area with built-in robes, essentially turning the studio into a one-bedder. There’s now absolutely no space in this small apartment that doesn’t get used.

4. Gran designs

Here’s a two-bedroom granny flat I added to a property in Sydney’s west. This was three years ago, before the explosion in Sydney’s house prices. Fully completed, the granny flat cost $72,346, and way back then, was rented out for $330 per week. You can’t argue with that return on investment!

5. Under stairs display shelf

The space under a traditional staircase is quite often dead space. Even if it is a cupboard, the awkward triangular shape makes for restrictive storage options. However, build in bookshelves or an open display case, as I did for this renovation in the US, and the shape suddenly becomes an artistic asset.

Cherie’s final 2.5 hour free training workshops for 2017 will be held in Sydney and Melbourne on November 11 and 12. To secure your place, click here.

— Cherie Barber is the director of Renovating for Profit, a company that teaches everyday people how to buy and renovate properties for a profit.

Compact bathrooms can equal design sensations with Duravit

A lack of floor space doesn’t have to mean a crammed, design-lacking bathroom. The creative use of the available space can transform even small guest bathrooms and toilets into big bathroom brilliances.

In tight spaces, the focus should be on the base elements and their arrangement. Duravit advise an efficient layout can be achieved with a narrow-edged handrise basin, or with an extra-short projection and side-mounted tap fitting. Oblong shapes, such as those in the Vero and 2nd floor series, are particularly well suited to smaller rooms. They fit in any corner and are more compact than semi-circular basins of the same size.

When space is scarce, wall-mounted toilets with a shorter projection are a good idea. As for all the germaphobes out there, Duravit offers an antibacterial ceramic glaze as a nifty addition to their reduced length toilets. For guest rooms, Duravit’s innovative OpenSpace B shower enclosure simply folds back against the wall after use, significantly increasing the room to move.

A loving attention to detail, design flourishes and smart storage can all help increase the utility of the available space. Limiting the materials used to just a few creates a clean, stylish effect. Thoughtful touches such as soap, a brush and lotion round off the picture and turn the guest bathroom into the pride of the house.