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Before & Afters Interiors Addict Real Renos RENO ADDICT Reno Products

Before & after: cabin in the woods becomes Hamptons haven

We’re so in love with this Hamptons style transformation which owner Michelle was keen to share to show you don’t need a huge home or budget to achieve your dream sanctuary. And gosh, we love the story behind Bloom Cottage almost as much as the renovation itself!

AFTER front exterior

BEFORE front exterior

Police officer Michelle says: “I’ve been a single working parent for 12 years and was saving and working on my career to be able to buy my first home for my daughter and I.”

12 months ago, that dream came true when she bought a cabin in the forest in the Gold Coast Hinterland she has always called home. Fast forward a year and her first home (and first reno!) has been completely transformed thanks to a modest $60,000 budget, a lot of personal hard work and help from family and friends.

“It has always been my dream to have a home in my hometown; a home that my daughter could always call home, and one that would someday be hers. Fortunately, this was owned by a dear family friend who appreciated my dream and sold it to me while it was off market, because he knew it would be as sentimental to me, as it was to him, and that covid was pushing prices up to an unachievable amount.” 

Once it became Michelle’s, the hard work really began and it was a team effort! “My family, friends and partner Luke banded together to help me renovate the house. Uncle Bill is very handy on the tools and he dedicated a couple of months to conquer the big jobs with my father and Luke. 

BEFORE living dining
AFTER living dining

“My parents Lou (73) and Lynda (68) who are retired country folk, worked on the house almost every day, my mother and sister Kristal never without a paintbrush in their hand. My partner Luke and I live apart, however he worked tirelessly in his spare time, every day by my side, teaching himself to demolish and build and turn the house into a special home for my daughter Emerald and I.” 

BEFORE kitchen
AFTER kitchen

The one-bedroom home also has a double-sided loft, which has been turned into a bedroom for 12-year-old Emerald, with a separate area she uses as a dressing room and study. “She adores the new home and her upstairs private loft living quarters!”

BEFORE loft
AFTER loft (one side bedroom and one side dressing room for daughter Emerald

The only tradespeople were the kitchen installers, a local electrician for the kitchen electrics and a family friend who completed the tiling. 

Collectively they tore out the kitchen and laundry, replaced the toilet and vanity, painted the floor tiles, changed all the tapware, replaced all the external and internal doors, sanded the stained orange pine floor boards, painted every inch of the interior, remodelled the staircase balustrades, laid hybrid flooring upstairs in the loft, installed VJ wall panelling in the loft and down the stairwell, built a new front entrance, erected a roof over the existing side deck, refurbished the old rusted fireplace, extended a kitchen wall, removed old curtains, installed window blinds and painted the timber staircase white. Phew!

A kitchen company installed new cabinetry in the kitchen and laundry with new appliances, new wall tiling in the kitchen, laundry and bathroom. They painted the existing floor tiles in the bathroom and laundry, put in new Colorbond fencing, painted the existing blue water tanks black, and painted the exterior of the house and its guttering white. They painted and stained decks and added some exterior window trims.

Outside, there was also some new plumbing, old fencing removed, and the carport and shed repainted. “The land also needed to be partly cleared because it had a lot of old tree stumps, logs and overgrown forest,” Michelle explains. “A friend, Guy, owned some excavation machinery and helped with that.” 

Michelle refurbished mostly secondhand furniture for inside and her father, a retired landscaper, has been busy landscaping. 

It’s fair to say an awful lot was achieved for the money thanks to the generosity of friends and family, for which she is forever grateful. “I budgeted $50,000 and spent more like $60,000. The biggest expense aside from the kitchen, was paying Uncle Bill to work eight hours a day on the big projects, which required skill. My family and friends practically worked for free. I shopped around for the lowest prices, purchasing from companies that supply to tradespeople, including discount warehouses and Bunnings.”

She came a cross a few challenges along the way but never gave up, finding solutions for everything. “Unfortunately it wasn’t plausible to tile over the existing bathroom and laundry tiles and I could not afford a complete new bathroom. The cheapest option was to repaint the floor tiles, which was a challenging task in itself. I initially tried a popular brand of floor tile paint, which was poor quality and peeled quickly when exposed to foot traffic and water. I then tried to rectify the issues by repainting with water-based enamel paint, then oil-based enamel paint, before having to remove all the silicon edging, sand the peeling paint and finally finding a better finish using the same paint I’d used on the exterior, Taubmans Ultimate enamel gloss.”

The things she feels were absolutely worth spending a bit extra on were installing hybrid flooring in the loft and lining the walls with VJ board (making it look less like a storage area and more like a living space), as well as creating the new front entrance and doorway. “It made the house look less like a cabin and more like a cottage home.”

And while juggling this all with working as a full-time police officer and a volunteer first responder for the ambulance service was a big task, Michelle says it was more than worth it. “We moved in March and it immediately felt like home. There is nothing more satisfying then leaving the hustle and bustle of the busy Gold Coast and driving back to a quiet mountain home where I can sit on the veranda and have the birds fly up and sit right next to me. It’s a dream come true to be able to purchase a home on a single income and renovate it to make it feel like our own.”

Michelle saved money painting the bathroom and laundry floors when she eventually found the right paint!

Due to rising property prices, she already has some equity in the home but it means nothing to Michelle as she never intends to sell. “It’s important to leave a piece of land for my daughter and generations to come, so they will always have somewhere to return to, if life gets tough.” She learned the importance of home from her parents, who bought 10 acres of land in the area around 50 years ago, starting with a caravan and gradually building a house where they raised her and her four siblings. “At different stages in life, we’ve always been able to return home to the family property, where they still live today, a few kilometres from my new home.”

Michelle and daughter Emerald love their new home

She adds: “One day, I’d love to be able to afford to put a new bathroom in, add on another room and finish things like fencing, landscaping and air conditioning which I couldn’t afford to do. Balancing shift work, parenting and renovating is hard work, but it is achievable.”

What an inspiring story about the importance of home and what can be achieved with hard work and the help of friends and family! 

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Bathrooms Bedrooms Design House Tours Interviews Real Renos RENO ADDICT The Block

From laundry to studio: A former Blockhead’s impressive small space reno

“We got really inspired by small space living trends and how people all over the world have downsized and created sustainable spaces where you have what you need, but not in excess,” says Ash Vos, wife of former Blockhead Simon, when discussing the couple’s latest project, a studio created out of a laundry and existing small bathroom at their Coffs Harbour home.

The new studio

“We lived in the attached house for two years as we designed and planned the renovation and lived in the renovated laundry-to-studio while we did the demo and structural renovations upstairs in the main house,” says Ash.

Lounge room

With increasing house prices, it seems everyone is looking to get the most out of their square meterage without investing too much, and this project is a great example of that. “Most people want to add extra value to a home, or increase its liveable footprint, without making too many structural changes,” says Ash who worked within the laundry’s existing shell to create a highly functional, useful addition to her home.

Kitchen
Kitchen

As for the studio’s initial design vision, it was conceived when the couple first bought the home. Very large in size for a laundry, and with an existing bathroom plumbed in, it was an obvious space to add value. From additional income to a fabulous guest area for family, the small but gorgeous space shows just what can be achieved if you maximise a home’s existing features effectively through renovation.

Our building designer Dan Bowland came up with the idea to build the bed off the frame and that was a little ‘aha’ moment in the design process,” says Ash.
“Our building designer Dan Bowland came up with the idea to build the bed (at rear) off the frame and that was a little ‘aha’ moment in the design process,” says Ash. 

As for the aesthetic, Ash describes it as an Australian take on Palm Springs. “Sort of mid-century modern with lots of colours,” she adds. Intrinsic to the overall feel is the gorgeous solid timber joinery that features throughout; a nod to the hardwood timber floors that came with the original home.

Vanity
The ensuite’s custom timber vanity is beautifully offset by those gorgeous sage green tiles.

“For us, timber is both beautiful and timeless. It’s a natural finish that adds character and stands the test of time,” says Ash who engaged Loughlin Furniture to create the studio’s custom vanity which, with more than adequate storage, makes the most out of the small bathroom space.

Ensuite

Constructed out of spotted gum, the timber finish underpins the natural palette and modern Australian feel the couple were going for. “The spotted gum had the right colours to complement the green tiles, and we were able to customise the size to fit the small studio area.”

Shower

Photography: Ben Adams at Blank Ave Studio

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Expert Tips House Tours

Real homes: Stylist Georgia Duncan’s imperfect apartment with heart

Georgia Duncan may be a stylist but that doesn’t mean her own Melbourne home is picture perfect at all times. And she’s totally okay with that! Living above her favourite coffee spot in the middle of Richmond’s high street, she has surrounded herself with objects that she holds dear while also managing to keep things clutter-free.

And, most importantly, how her home makes her feel is everything to Georgia, who lives there with her partner Jack and their dog. “It is by no means perfect and never will be, but I love it.”

They’ve lived in the 2.5-bedroom 1880s above-shop apartment since 2014, renovating one of the bathrooms, replacing lights and painting throughout.

Georgia’s home studio space

Georgia describes her style as eclectic, calm and in many parts ‘half-minimalist’. “I like to layer pieces within my styling work, however at home, I find I really need the space to be organised and clutter-free! Especially when the same four walls are staring back at me 24/7 (hello 2020)! It is vital that I feel relaxed in my home.”

The studio

She adds: “I am very lucky to have some amazing storage; this is a game changer. I have lots of indoor plants and bringing the outdoors in does so much for your mental health! And I am never without a fresh bunch of flowers; they add colour and vibrancy to an otherwise simple space.”

The 28-year-old surrounds herself with special pieces, some with sentimental value and some which she has collected because she loves and appreciates their design. “My mum passed away when I was 13, and prior to that, every birthday she would give me a keepsake item. Because of this, I have artwork, vintage meat-safes, an antique Japanese writer’s chest and other things.

“I inherited the chest of drawers in my bedroom, which my mum moved out of home with at around 20 years old. My desk is a kitchen table which was my great aunt’s farmhouse table, and my dining table is the one I grew up eating around. Most of my artwork I have had re-framed; new life into gorgeous older pieces inherited from my maternal grandparents and my parents.”

Other favourites include a set of secondhand Cesca dining chairs, her Melbourne made Heimur bed base and an Objekto Paulistano armchair from the days when she worked at Hub Furniture. The Aboriginal art in her bedroom was bought while visiting her brother in Alice Springs.

While the character of the apartment, the first home she’s owned, has dictated how she has decorated, Georgia says she was lucky she already had so many vintage pieces. She loves its high ceilings, fireplaces and spacious rooms.

“The pieces I have added in are all classic, yet fresh and fun, and in many cases, in keeping with what I already own. However, with the bathroom renovation I went all out modern for a harsh juxtaposition. I hope to put a rooftop on soon, and do a similar thing.”

As someone who dislikes driving, living on a high street suits Georgia down to the ground! Being able to roll out of home, to the cafe, supermarket or bar is heavenly! I am also known for my ability to sleep at any stage, so the hustle and bustle below my bedroom window doesn’t bother me.

“I like to think everyone feels welcome here. I have friends all over the city, making my home the perfect central meeting hub. I love being safely curled up in the comfort of my home and knowing there is so much happening just downstairs. FOMO is rare here!”

Georgia Duncan

Georgia studied Interior Design at RMIT but found that styling was her favourite part of the process. “I love everything to do with architecture and design, but it has to be the icing on the cake; the final finishings, styling and sourcing of objects, art, soft and hard furnishings, that I absolutely adore! I work a few days a week from home, and usually on a few photoshoots in one week.

“My home workspace is simple. I need it to be tidy and simplistic so I can spread samples and ideas out everywhere for specific projects and not be sidetracked by other objects and colours. I have a cabinet full of props right next to my desk, and a little reading nook, where I catch up on all my favourite magazines and blogs.”

Along with Jack, a builder, Georgia dreams of one day buying and renovating a ‘shack’ or farm outside Melbourne. “I fancy the idea of growing flowers, a vegetable garden and chooks, but not too much land that we can’t look after. I dream of my own studio, storage for all my props and he dreams of a shed full of all his tools and toys to make the reno happen!”

But for now, they’re more than happy living the inner city life.

Georgia’s tips for making your home FEEL nicer

  1. There is something about natural light. You cannot create it. If you do not have a lot of it, fill your home with mirrors, light objects and warmth in textures and colours. I am so lucky that my home is north-facing in the Southern Hemisphere (this is by no means an accident; it was a must on my list of house non-negotiables).
  2. Where possible, do not purchase pieces that are ’on trend’ and very importantly (if you ask me) invest in pieces you will keep for a long time, not for yesterday and today. And do invest, although I don’t shy away from an IKEA piece as needed! Only purchase pieces you really love. 
  3. In terms of comfort, I do not want to be too obvious, but ensure your home is welcoming (both for you and for when guests are allowed to visit)! I often have a scented candle lit, a fire in winter, fresh flowers, a cuppa or glass of wine on hand and without a doubt can whip up a platter without much notice! 

The current Melbourne lockdown has made Georgia appreciate her home more than ever. “I am so fortunate to have a roof over my head at minimum, and not just a roof but a space I feel both safe and comfortable and also love to be in.

“Do not get me wrong, it has taken me the five-plus years I have lived here to create this. I am a strong believer in creating a home. As humans we move into a house, and over time you turn it into a home.”

For more on Georgia Duncan

Follow her on Instagram

Photography: Emma Pegrum | Styling by Georgia, assisted by Emma Hirst (Phy Design).

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Design Expert Tips House Tours

Office nook designs: 8 great space-saving examples

While lockdown got us all talking about working from home, home office and study nooks had already been an increasingly sought-after feature for some time. With many of us living in smaller spaces these days, creating a home office that doesn’t take over an entire room, is a great option. Here, we round up some great examples.

Photos: Sue Stubbs

Interior designer Kate Maguire designed this space (above) to be a part of the joinery in the family room of her own Sydney home, as they don’t have a separate office space. “It is tiny but mighty and functions very well, though it doesn’t usually look this tidy! I use it every day, as I work and study from home.” 

Previously Kate, of Kate Maguire Interiors, had a hutch desk in the same room, but admits it didn’t look or function half as well! The joinery was part of a larger renovation, making the home a lot more functional in general.

Kate’s expert tips for creating your own office nook:

  • Think about how you plan to use the space and make sure you consider everything. Not pictured is my big ugly A3 printer, which is essential for my work, so I had to make sure that the desk area would be big enough for me to work comfortably and still have space for the printer to live. 
  • Consider the placement of powerpoints and IT equipment. This will help to keep the space tidy and clutter-free.
  • Shelving with baskets, as well as drawers, helps to give everything a place, which again makes it much easier to keep the space tidy.
  • Task lighting will help to make the space more comfortable to work in.

Apartment dwelling forced interior decorator Briar Stanley, of Sunday Collector, to get creative with storage in a previous home, where she created this office nook:

Photos: Jacqui Turk

When renovating the kitchen, she had the extra cupboards added for all her work samples. They sat alongside a handy desk nook with pocket doors that hid away the clutter when she didn’t want to be thinking about work.

Fellow apartment dweller Ellie Jeffery, says her husband thought she was slightly mad when she suggested this office nook when they renovated their laundry!

“I’ve been watching a lot tiny house tours on YouTube and I love the concept of having multiple uses for a room or piece of furniture. It makes perfect sense, particularly when you live in Sydney and real estate is so expensive! So when we decided to redo the laundry, I thought it would be good to make it as versatile as possible. A study nook just made sense.”

Ellie lives on Sydney’s Upper North Shore in a two-bed apartment with her husband, young daughter and another baby on the way. The office nook was completed just as lockdown began. “It was great timing. I will definitely be using it going forward. I usually work a day a week or so from home.”

The financial controller has also set up her dining room to do double duty as a playroom, making their home work for their growing family. “Having watched all the amazing things you can do with a tiny house, I definitely don’t think it’s necessary to dedicate a whole room to one use. One of the working from home tips I see frequently is to pack away at the end of the day. It’s so easy to do that with my study nook and it does help me switch off.”

Belinda Rosenbaum painted the mural in the study nook for her girls, below, which was created by cabinetmakers J and K Badewitz:

“Our little house in Merimbula (a holiday shack in its previous life) is pretty tight on space so this was like adding a whole new room!”

Shelley Boyd’s home office (below) is tucked under the stairs. “It’s a great use of dead space which has been turned into a room of its own. My advice for utilising spaces like this is to introduce storage options so that paperwork and mess can be moved out of eyesight. Lighting is also important for both practicality and atmosphere. My space has lots of natural lighting as well as a statement desk lamp.” 

The Boyd Blue owner says: “I am inspired by bold colour, texture, tone and hand crafted finishes and my office is filled with samples, inspiring images and an array of knick-knacks I have collected from various travels across the world. My fur babies Hugo and Daisy are never far away and I love the company they bring.”

The last three examples below, are by Brisbane interior design duo Anju Designs, who are experts at getting the most out of smaller homes.

Incorporated into the custom joinery with floating shelves, this study area works beautifully adjoining the kitchen and dining area, and provides a generous workspace in a two-bedroom apartment:

The architecture of this bedroom allows for the perfect little study nook. A small space with lots of natural light, and great use of an area that otherwise would have had no purpose:

This study nook utilises a walk-through space adjacent to the kitchen which leads through to the laundry. The built-in shelving provides ample storage space but by keeping it open, the area still feels light and spacious:

So, if you thought you didn’t have space for a home office, it may be time to think again!

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Art Expert Tips Styling

Fashion illustrator Kerrie Hess’ small space decorating tips

Small-space decorating doesn’t have to be hard! Australian illustrator Kerrie Hess shares her secrets on styling the cosiest of spaces to make your home the most inviting one yet! Say hello to a newly refreshed abode and goodbye to cramped and uncomfortable with her simple styling tips!

Create height

A great way to add instant style and space is with a wall gallery. A definite statement piece, a wall gallery draws the eye upwards and will give the illusion that your ceiling is higher than it really is. When styling your wall gallery make sure you plan it out, especially if you are hanging art in a smaller space. I always find laying the framed artwork on the floor and moving the art around until I’m happy with it is the best place to begin. During this process you will be able to see what art complements each other and place them accordingly. When spacing the artwork on a smaller surface area make sure to keep white space between the frames. This will make the artwork appear larger than it is. If your frames are very light and you forgo glass, you can use picture hanging adhesives to secure the frames. When choosing a colour scheme, stick to light or neutral colours that connect to the rest of the room. Hues of pink are great for adding a feminine touch!

Think multi-purpose

When decorating a smaller space think of the items purpose. If I can think of two multipurpose reasons for an item of furniture I will buy it. Ask yourself questions like, what functions does this item have? Can I store items in it? Can I move it to different areas of the house if need be? An ottoman is a great example, use it as a coffee table or extra seating in the living room all at once!

Forgo the coffee table

Cumbersome furniture such as coffee tables chew up space. Instead opt for stumps, ottomans, or side tables as a substitute for larger items. Not only will this make the room feel less confined and poky, but it will stop you from hoarding unnecessary items in the living room. If losing the coffee table is out of the question, choose a design with a glass top. This will let natural light bounce off the surface and will fool the eye into thinking there is more space than there actually is.

Keep colour palette neutral

When decorating keep your accessories in a colour palette that is light and neutral. This will dramatically expand your space. Think pastels, beiges, stones and light greys. To add impact, get creative and mix up fabrics and textures on rugs, cushions and seats. This subtle detailing will add interest and ensure all the colours don’t blend into one. 

Choose one large statement piece

Believe it or not placing one large item of furniture into a room can often make it appear bigger than it is. More often than not cramming lots of little items into a room can make it feel crowded. So instead of creating lots of separate nooks with several pieces of small-scale furniture, try filling a large portion of the room with one item. For example fill 80 percent of the living room with an oversized sectional lounge. Add a small side table and you have a warm and inviting space. Opting for a sectional lounge will allow you to change up the space as you please.

Kerrie’s illustrations have featured in Vogue, Tatler and Harper’s Bazaar. She has illustrated countless fashion windows, billboards, book covers, silk scarves, cushions and packaging around the globe. She is also the author and illustrator of style book Shoestring Chic. Kerrie has lived in London, Hong Kong and Paris and is now based in Brisbane.

Shop Kerrie’s prints online.

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Designers Expert Tips

Shaynna Blaze’s 7 commandments for faking space in apartments

By Shaynna Blaze

With urbanisation and smaller living spaces on the rise, clever interior design and decoration that creates the illusion of more space has never been so important. While a smaller space may have its challenges, there are many ways to fake space with colour, which will make your apartment feel like a castle.

The size of an apartment and the abundance or lack of natural light plays a major part in your colour palette selection. Likewise, the direction your apartment faces as well as the era your apartment reflects will all influence your options.

Most people put off painting their house as they look at the whole picture and get overwhelmed before even starting. With an apartment, you can feel a sense of achievement quickly, as you only have to work with the interior, so the amount of time and money is significantly reduced. However, the same rules apply to apartments as they do houses – it is all about planning and preparation.

My seven commandments for apartment living:

1.    Aesthetically speaking

The secret is to use rich colours to extend the visual width of a room. For example, a great way to get impact in a kitchen is to use a rich colour on the walls and use the same colour for the cabinets, creating a completely new personality. To achieve this, I like working with rich emeralds, aubergine and ink blues, and partnering them with metallic tones, granite or colours rich in earth tones, partnered with rustic timbers and exposed brickwork.

Paint colour: Taubmans Pleasant Hill

2.    Tonal vs contrast

Smaller apartments call for simplicity but this doesn’t have to mean boring. Keep your palette for doors, trims, ceiling and cornices in the same colour family, and then select one main colour for the walls. When you get to the bedrooms you can be a bit more playful, but I recommend the same colour palette, with minimum contrast so it does not feel like a ‘jolt’ when you walk into the room.

Paint colour: Taubmans Rose Nude

3.    Impactful over oppressive

Apartment living does not need to be about white and stark colour palettes, however too many contrasting colours and patterns can often take over a space. Make sure your colours have a white, grey or blue/green base as these colours reflect light and cool colours recede. Some of my favourite whites are Taubmans’ Crisp White, Akimbo and Cloudburst. Also, look at timbers that are either grey or lime washed or oak and pine to balance strong colours, as they add a natural warmth to the space.

Paint colour: Taubmans Violet Verbena

4.    Making small look large

The trick is to connect the largest space in the room (walls) to the second largest impact space (the floor). To make the room feel larger, I like to connect similar colour palettes and make the skirting in that area the same colour as the wall, so that the eye travels from floor to ceiling, taking everything in as one big space.

5.    Decorating approach for modern vs period inspired

The key here is to know what you are working with — modern apartment living requires minimal focus on trims, skirtings and ceilings and keeping the palette quite simple, with the addition of a couple of extra colours thrown in. On the other hand, interiors inspired by period styles often have many details, so in this case it is best to work out one main type of feature to highlight in colour so the room does not become visually overloaded. Decide which feature you want to draw your eye, for example feature panelling or cornicing, and go from there.

6.    Decorating disasters not to be repeated

One of my pet hates is the common perception that apartment living needs to be treated as one big white box. Just adding a hint of colour to the walls can take the apartment from feeling clinical to full of life.

7.    The three do’s

Formulate a plan, tackle painting in stages and focus on rooms as single projects.

–Shaynna Blaze appears on TV’s The Block, Selling Houses Australia and Deadline Design and is a brand ambassador for Taubmans.

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Expert Tips

How to maximise the use of any living space

By Cherie Barber

Recently I watched a video about an Australian in Japan who lives in a mind-bogglingly tiny, eight square metre apartment. Incredulously, it accommodated a kitchen, bathroom, living space and sleeping loft, albeit in miniature scale. Clearly, such cramped living is not for everyone, but it certainly does drive home how much better we can all be about maximising the space we have, whether it’s a teeny studio or your average-sized suburban home.

Here are some easy ways to supersize any living quarters.

Dual purpose furnishings

These days, it’s easy to find smart furniture that’s multi-functional. Sofa beds are an obvious one, whether it’s in the living room or a spare bedroom you’d rather devote to a home office or quiet retreat. Ditto a wall bed. Then there’s the step up to modular furniture like the popular Jasper lounge from King Living, which has shelves, back cushions and easily converts to a bed. Other space savers are beds with sliding drawers underneath, window seats or outdoor furniture with built-in storage, coffee tables with shelves or drawers, and the time-honoured bath with overhead shower. Shelves can also make an effective room divider in open plan.

Easy flow

Creating obstructions or a clumsy flow of traffic is a sure way to throw away valuable space. So it’s not just about the furniture you buy, but how clever you are with its placement. An architect once said something that has always stuck with me: design for how you live 95% of the time, not 5% (or something along those lines). Which is to say, if you like to entertain, but most of the time it’s just two of you eating together, then do you really want a six-seater table hogging up space? Instead, think about an extension table or a cantilevered table you can butt against a wall. And don’t forget the space a swinging door can take up, so think about a sliding or cantilevered door.

Using dead space

That tiny apartment in Japan is the perfect example of how to extract every last bit of space from a property, including air space. In a kid’s room, think about a desk with the bed above. Stairs can gobble a huge amount of dead space. Underneath is ideal for open shelving or even a built-in home office. The treads themselves can house drawers. In a kitchen, running your cabinets to the ceiling maximises storage.

Colour and light

Dark and warm colours advance; light and cool colours recede. That means a dark colour will tend to close in a small space, especially if it gets little or no natural light. That doesn’t mean you have to go for stark, clinical white. Any light neutral will help make a space look bigger. Add some mirrors to bounce around light, then introduce pops of colour in the furnishings or even a striking feature wall.

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

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Interiors Addict

Secrets to small space living

By Elisha Wadick

In Australia’s big cities, more of us than ever carve out our lives within the confines of small spaces. From the much-loved, character-packed but slightly cramped homes that typify our period architecture, to the cosiness of modern high-density apartments, urban living can present some unique interior decorating challenges.

The good news? Comfort, functionality and a sense of space are all possible in the smallest of rooms. Truly! You can achieve bright, open proportions and great workability via a couple of clever tricks that I’ll explore downpage. And it’s worth remembering that a modest budget is no impediment to a practical, beautiful room; just a few tweaks can make a huge difference to the way you live.

Aim high 

It’s said that people tend not to look up beyond eye height – and that’s easy to believe, when you consider the way we decorate our walls. Artworks are positioned for the bare minimum of eyeball exertion; top shelves of bookcases accommodate even the shortest members of our families (not that they shouldn’t!). And high ceilings? Well, you may as well forget that the last metre or so of wall space exists, so rarely is that gorgeously lofty canvas used to its full potential.

When you put your vertical surfaces to work, not only are you increasing your clear floor area, you’re also maximising the amount of stuff you can fit into the room. This is excellent if you’re a reader, or a collector, or if you simply like the warmth of a home that puts your personality on full display. (Hey, just because we live in tiny spaces doesn’t mean we’re all minimalists!) The sleekest and most dramatic way to achieve the most surface for the least impact on your room’s footprint is to take your shelving right to the top. And don’t forget a ladder for the shorties!

Image 1 Home of Warren and Mimi Techentin, via Apartment Therapy. Photographed by Bethany Nauert