I have a soft spot for small spaces and I actually think it can be a great way to live as you're forced to eliminate clutter and have only what you need and love around you. If you've seen any of my "Nook of the Month" columns in Your Home & Garden magazine, you'll already have picked up some great decorating tips, but I've selected some of my favourite methods for working with small spaces...
Utilise as much vertical space as possible. Built-in bookshelves are fantastic for storage and display purposes, and take up very little floor space. Hooks and wall-mounted shelves are a clever storage tool also.
Furniture that is off the ground and has light, elegant legs suits a smaller room. I would advise against solid, heavy pieces. If you can, knock out walls and have a larger open plan space, rather than two smaller rooms. Then use rugs to differentiate areas - they are the perfect zoning tool. A low hung light over a dining table also anchors the table in place.
Take it one step further with your furniture by using Lucite or transparent pieces, they take up very little visual space. Mirrors are your best friend when it comes to decorating a small space. They reflect light and brighten a room and create an illusion of space.
Furniture that is multi-functional is brilliant! Add a bench seat to your built-in bookshelf for a cosy reading nook; or add a chair and turn one shelf into a work space. Don't forget that space under your bench seat - maximise the space by using it for storage, either open or enclosed.
Don't feel like you need to have small art in your small space. To the contrary... a large piece of art and a large rug will help fool the eye into thinking the room is bigger than it is.
I always like to have floor to ceiling curtains wherever possible. They look elegant and add height to a room. The more natural light you can have, the more spacious it will feel.
We Kiwis love our outdoor living, and by blurring the lines between outside and in will greatly increase the sense of space in your home.
So, don't you agree that living small has many benefits?! They're more economical to build and to maintain, and they encourage us keep (and acquire) possessions that really matter and really work. If you're having any trouble with your space, or would like help to maximise it's potential, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
All week I've been trying to bring you these photos featuring the living room of a lovely Bibby + Brady client. It's taken 'til Friday afternoon for me to find a quiet hour to do that. So here goes... Nearing the end of her twenties, Fi decided it was time to venture into the real estate market and she fell in love with this beautiful old character cottage. A smart young professional with a great sense of style and fabulous taste, Fi still felt like she needed some help pulling all her ideas together. It can be scary starting out, not knowing where to begin! Being a loyal Cush & Nooks follower she knew our styles were compatible, and Dael & I were only too happy to help.
The house is small but oozing with personality and has amazing original features, like the fireplace and ceiling (look out for the dining room post next week). A lot of necessary, but invisible work needed to be done first, including rewiring and insulation. Then we recommended freshening with a lovely soft white on the walls.
We wanted to give Fi's home a young, hip feel with an eclectic mix of pieces. A new sofa, coffee table and Armadillo rug were the first to be purchased. Her clever mum sewed her curtains out of gorgeous jade coloured velvet.
Fi had lots of favourite prints and pieces of art. Many of these were hung on the wall above the TV, so as not to make it the main focus of the room.
A new fire was fitted and shelves were added to the left of the fireplace. As a solicitor, Fi has plenty of books, but these have been broken up with ornaments and knick knacks.
We have had so much fun working with Fi, and hope there will be more rooms to come. I will be featuring her dining room next week on the blog. Many people have crazy-busy work lives these days, and simply don't have the time to source furniture and homeware, or to organise trades people. If this is you and you need some interior help, please get in touch with us, we would love to help you with as much or as little as you need.
In our job as interior designers we get to meet loads of talented people, and at Bibby + Brady we're lucky enough to have built a network of amazing suppliers. One of our favourites is Asha Payton who runs her design and upholstery business, Little & Fox, from her beautiful Te Awanga home. Asha is an inspiration to us, as she successfully runs her business while also taking care of her gorgeous brood of four children - Otis is five years old, Teddy is four years old, and the twins Fox & Pepe (Maori for 'little') are two years old.
Asha has always been artistic and comes from a creative family, but she got to a point in her life when she felt her like her creativity was being stifled. A chance opportunity came about when she wanted to recover an old armchair but found the quotes all too expensive. Somebody recommended a local upholsterer, Beau, whose workshop was next to his home. While the children were being looked after by her husband Joe, or their au-pair, Asha spent as much time as possible at Beau's place where he helped her to recover the chair herself. Now two years later Beau has taught her everything he knows and Asha works alongside him in his workshop doing her own client's projects.
A major influence on Asha was her grandmother, Maddie. She was so trendy, almost before her time, and inspired Asha with her love of colour and beautiful fabric. Her memory lives on in some of her pieces dotted around Asha's home, which is a beautiful and eclectic mix of old and new.
Joe is also very creative and has had a hand in many areas of the couple's home. He made their dining table out of recycled wood, and came up with most of the ideas for their recently renovated bathroom. The vanity is made out of old stadium seats from the Hastings Show Grounds, and the old copper pipes have been reused in the vanity and shower.
Asha's studio is at the front of the house, and this is where clients bring their furniture and ask advice on fabric and colour. With no TV in the house, Asha often spends her evenings on TradeMe, and she loves to op-shop. She searches for pre-loved furniture and homewares and then breathes new life into them with the help of fabric and paint. A range of lacquered lamp bases have proved very popular.
What started out as a hobby, and a way to keep her sanity when the kids were tiny, has blossomed into a booming little business. If you'd like to see more of Asha's work, or contact her about your own upholstery or design projects, pop over to her Little & Fox Facebook page. You can also find her contact details here. I have my own Little & Fox lamp base, as well as a piano stool that Asha recovered in one of my kantha quilts, and cushions made from the leftovers, so I can recommend her with great confidence :)
