I am a country mouse. My brother, however, is a city mouse. Our lifestyles could not be more opposite. He has lived in Cambridge, London, but primarily in New York City, where apartments have their quirks and run on the small side. New Yorkers have adjusted and know the tricks to get the most out of their space. Maybe because of his metropolitan living, I was intrigued…

On my Mac, I have a file entitled “Small Spaces”, which is full of pictures that I find engaging for one reason or another, which will take me quite a while to get through, but I wanted to start and show you a few!

This space may be small, but it certainly doesn’t give the impression of being cramped.

A multi-use piece of furniture: a bar, desk and two drawers devoted to a child’s plethora craft items.

A mirror, drapes hung to the ceiling, glass-topped coffee table and soothing hues of butter yellow, a whisper of kiwi green and a soft periwinkle blue.

It’s a sofa. It’s a bed. It’s whichever you need it to be with a swap of the pillows.

Tricky, tricky, tricky! A sofa converts to bunk beds! Now that is making the most of space!

I’ve shown many kitchens before with cabinets going up to the ceiling, but these were made to get every inch of storage, regardless of the slope of the ceiling.

Staircases are the biggest offender in terms of wasted space. Reclaim it! A cubby and lockers for backpacks.

Drawers. You may have seen some of these treatments before, but it goes to show how versatile they can be.

Drawers in the risers!!!

Bookshelves in the front…

Bookshelves in the back…

Bookshelves all around!

Some thoughts:

• Make as much visual floor space as possible. That means, sofas that aren’t skirted, glass/lucite tables, etc…you want to be able to see the floor.
• With space at a premium, edit your belongs and purge those that you deem to be clutter. If it’s not of use, lose it and be ruthless….or get a storage unit.
• Mirrors are wonderful, but you already knew that 😉 You could also try one on a table top.
• Monochromatic colors can make the space look more open.
• Gauzy window treatments, but hang them high!
• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, go UP! Bookcases, kitchen cabinets, etc. should go to the ceiling to give you as much storage. While you are up there, hang your drapes up there to! When they are hung high, and I mean almost to the ceiling or to the ceiling, it just looks better.
• Carve out spaces…under stairs, between studs in the walls, etc.
• Think about multi-use/functioning items that can do double duty.

I hope there is something that helps you here and that you all have a great day 😀