11 Small Apartment Design Ideas Featuring Clever And Unusual Furnishing Strategies
A small apartment or house always comes with certain challenges. They can’t exactly be considered disadvantages since not everyone sees them as a minus. Moreover, there are many ways in which these challenges can be overcome. For example, a small apartment will have to be furnished carefully, taking into consideration every little detail. But if you’re clever and ingenious, you can make it look even more beautiful than a large space.
Apartment with a whole room hidden under the bed.
People hide all sorts of things under the bed. But this is something very unusual. It’s an apartment with two rooms in the same space. The intriguing part is not the size but the layout and the way these two rooms have been combined. The bedroom and the living room can only be used one at a time and that’s for a very good reason: the living room is hidden under the bed.
In order to be able to access the living room, the bed must first be lifted up in the air. It sits on a platform that reveals a sectional with a coffee table. Moreover, there’s also a second space hidden under the bedroom floor: the dining area. This basically allows this space to serve either as a bedroom, a living room or a cinema room. It’s an extraordinary way of saving space. Of course, it wouldn’t have been possible without the ingenuity of the furniture designers and interior designers and remodelers that basically created a custom home.
This apartment might seem small at first but it’s full of surprises and they are hidden in the most unexpected places. In these rooms everything is multifunctional. This makes the spaces very flexible and easy to adapt to new situations and gives the owners the liberty of being able to enjoy their home without any compromises. Their 80 square meter apartment has a sitting room, a bedroom, a kitchen, a dining room, an office, two cinema rooms and a guest room/study.
A 30 square meter apartment with 24 rooms.
If you thought the first apartment was amazing and unbelievable in terms of use of space, wait until you see this one. The first apartment had a surface of 80 square meters and rooms that occupied a total of 480 square meters. This one measures only 30 square meters and has the potential of featuring a total of 24 different rooms. It’s the ultimate design in terms of modularity.
The apartment is the work of architect Gary Chang and it’s located in Hong Kong. He built this modular studio while exploiting the space to its maximum potential. The tiny apartment features a series of sliding walls between the bedroom, the kitchen, the living room and the bathroom. So instead of dividing the space horizontally, this studio is modular in a different way. The flexibility that this space offers is something that most small apartments are lacking.
All the sliding walls can be used freely and they can allow up to 24 configurations of the space. Of course, they can’t all be sued at the same time. But, nevertheless, it’s a wonderful advantage that eliminates lots of inconveniences usually featured by tiny apartment like this one. Whenever guests come over or whenever your needs shift, all you have to do is simply reorganize the space. One minute it can be a library or office, the next it can be a media room, living room or kitchen. The possibilities are diverse and the concept is very creative. It’s a great example of practical thinking.
23 square meter apartment with modular furniture.
A tiny apartment is not exactly something one would dream of having. Most people dream of spacious homes with high ceilings, large terraces and panoramic views. But usually it all remains nothing but a dream. Still, this doesn’t mean you have to despise your home just because it’s small. Instead, you cans search for creative solutions that can help you take advantage of the space and that can allow you to use it practically and efficiently.
If you need some more inspiration, just take a look at this interesting apartment. It’s a tiny home that measures only 23 square meters. But this doesn’t mean it has to be cramped or that it lacks the comfort of a cozy and inviting home. In fact, the concept used for its interior design and décor is something that we could all relate to. Here, the furniture is not always what it appears to be. It usually hides something.
The apartment was designed by Paul Coudamy and it’s located in Paris. The concept chosen for the interior is a large mobile block that hides the bed and gives access to the bathroom, the dressing and the office. It sounds almost fantastic but it’s true. This red block of furniture is a real treasure. On one side it contains the bed that, if needed, just needs to be pulled out. And when you get up in the morning and want to free up some space, you just slide it back in and the rooms instantly becomes more spacious and airy.
A very well-organized apartment measuring only 16 square meters.
Sliding walls and elevating platforms that hide the furniture and even an entire room are great concepts that can turn out to have amazing results. But sometimes even something more simple and basic can turn out to be productive. For example, let’s take a look at this apartment. It’s situated in Seattle and it was designed by Steve Sauer.
The apartment impresses, first of all, with its dimensions. It’s a 16 square meter space but, when you look at it, it doesn’t seem tiny at all. It does, however, seem a little cluttered. But that’s because a different approach was used in order to maximize the usable space. The organization of the space is quite different in this case. No sliding walls or hidden pieces of furniture were used in this project. Instead, the designer adopted a different approach.
He divided the space into several separate areas that are visible at all times. He did that by dividing the space horizontally on several different levels. For example, the office or reading corner is raised on a platform above the sofa and the TV. This way, while one person is relaxing and watching TV, another can go up and read a book, a magazine and take care of some leftover work-related issues. There are other similar examples throughout the apartment. Every little inch of space was exploited and used for something, even the upper portion of the walls that was used for storage. The multitude of levels allows great flexibility and modularity.
Modular 450 sq ft apartment in Manhattan.
Great ideas are not restricted to anything. You can find inspiring interior designs all over the world and you can take something from each one to then combine them into something original. From this apartment, for example, you can borrow the modular design of the furniture. This is a 450 square foot apartment situated in Manhattan. Since finding a place there is difficult enough, the size is not necessarily a priority.
Tiny apartments like this one can be great homes and you don’t even have to make compromises when decorating it. The key is to be clever and to use every inch of space in your favor. Everything has to be perfectly planned and you have to think creatively and out of the box. This apartment was designed by New York based firm Normal Projects. The team, after evaluating the space, has come up with an ingenious solution.
They decided that the space shouldn’t be divided into separate rooms as it would only make each one seem cramped and cluttered. Instead, the entire space was used. It accommodated the bedroom and it can also be used as a living room, office or dining area. This multifunctional space has little furniture but the main piece is the big blue block. It’s the central element that hides the bed and lots of storage spaces. During the day, the room is airy and spacious and it can be used for various purposes. At night, all you have to do is get the bed out of the closet and the rooms instantly transforms.
The Closet House in Portugal.
Designing or decorating a small space is often more challenging but also more satisfying that working with a large space. The main challenge that designers have to deal with is finding a way to include all furniture pieces that the client needs and requests, all the fixtures and all the décor elements in a tiny space, without making the room feel cramped or cluttered.
In the case of this 474 square foot apartment from Portugal, the ones that are responsible for the amazing results are Consexto architects. The apartment is called The Closet House, mainly because of its size. The 44 square meter apartment has five spaces. Two of these areas are flexible and can be transformed without much effort. This can be done by simply moving the cabinet. This cabinet that also serves as a dividing wall between the rooms, is used as a bedroom wardrobe on one side while on the other it features an extendable dining table, a mini bar and a home cinema.
The cabinet can be moved and it allows the spaces to be combined, thus the living room becoming larger. But what if someone wants to use the bedroom while this is happening? In that case, a passage can be used to access a niche where the bed is situated. The other rooms of the apartment are also cleverly designed. For example, the kitchen and the bathroom feature cabinets that automatically glide into the wall. It’s yet another detail that makes this apartment a very space-efficient project.
Tiny apartment featuring ingenious living and storage solutions.
It’s difficult enough to fit all the things you need in a small apartment when all you do is sleep and relax there. But when you also work from home too, things get even more challenging. Then there are even more things to be taken into consideration, more furniture to be added and more need and concerns to deal with. It’s the case of this tiny apartment.
It’s a studio apartment that was designed by JPDA Architects. It has a total surface of 46 square meters/500 square feet which is not a lot, considering that the owners also work here. But despite its size and challenging dimensions, the apartment features all the utilities and things a regular-sized contemporary apartment does. In fact, in may even be more space-efficient given the layout and interior design. The most intriguing and clever design details are the storage spaces.
The architects and designers that worked at this project managed to think out of the box and to come up with new and ingenious storage solutions. You can find storage spaces in the most unexpected spaces. For example, a cozy nook with a bed was created on an upper level. The stairs that offer access to this nook are more than they seem to be. Each stair is actually a storage space, a drawer that opens up to reveal an unexpected but very useful and practical storage compartment. Similar solutions were found for the rest of the rooms. The apartment might be small but it certainly doesn’t lack storage space.
The colorful and modular Tanka apartment in Warsaw.
We continue with another interesting project. It’s an apartment located in Warsaw, Poland. It occupies only 21.5 square meters but it’s an open and cheerful space. In addition, this apartment also has something else that makes it stand out: color. It was decorated with very bright and vibrant colors and it resembles a cheerful play area.
The apartment was designed by Jakub Szczesny from Centrala. The designer decided to adopt a more playful strategy for this space. It turned out to be a wonderful choice that the owners and their son definitely appreciate. The colors are striking and are an important part of the design but this detail alone is not enough to make the apartment inviting, airy and, most important of all, space-efficient. To solve that problem, the designer had to find creative solutions.
The playful décor also hides a clever layout and organization of the space. The kitchen as well as the dining area can change their size and function by opening or closing some of the doors. The dining room can completely disappear when not in use. It transforms into a compact white block. This way the space can be used for something else.
To make the décor cheerful and casual, the designer used striking colors for the flooring as well for some of the furniture. The same colors were used throughout the apartment without exceptions. Even the tiny bathroom has neon flooring that, combined with the grey walls, becomes a nicely-balanced space. The bathroom is actually a semi-open space that looks onto the bedroom.
Small Tel Aviv apartment with an airy and spacious interior.
Even though size is important in the case of an apartment, looks can sometimes be deceiving. What appears to be tiny at first may turn out to be an actually spacious place and an apartment that should be large can be cramped and tiny if not decorated properly. Nobody knows this better than interior designers that have to deal with challenging remodeling projects every day.
One such project was this tiny apartment from Tel Aviv. The apartment has a surface of only 430 square feet so there wasn’t much space to work with in the first place. But the clients wanted to make it seem airy and spacious. So what was originally a cramped studio apartment had to be transformed into a luxurious 1-bedroom apartment. It was a challenging project but the results are spectacular. When you look at this space you don’t see a 430 square foot space with a beautiful apartment with an airy and refreshing interior.
The apartment features plenty of storage space that is cleverly hidden in unexpected placed, a large separate kitchen and a spacious bedroom. But before the apartment got its new look, it had to be reorganized and restructured. The spaces such as the kitchen, bathroom, storage and utility spaces were moved into the central multi-functional cube. Around this cube, four areas were created. They are the hallway, the living room, the bedroom and the gallery kitchen. These spaces can be opened and closed as needed thanks to the sliding doors that were installed.{found on site}.
Small but comfortable 240 square foot NYC apartment.
Studio apartments are usually small so their size shouldn’t be surprising. But this one is small even for a studio. It measures 240 square feet and it’s located in Brooklyn Heights, NYC. It’s owned by a couple that made transforming this space into a comfortable home a priority. They explored multiple possibilities and quickly became experts in minimal living. Their apartment might be small but it has everyone a home should have and we could definitely find some inspiration here.
Despite its size, the apartment feels airy and bright. Since there was no room for separate spaces, the kitchen, dining room and living room all share the same space. It’s a 140 square feet area that the couple had to transform and to decorate using clever and ingenious solutions in order to make it comfortable, functional and space-efficient.
The secret was to be organized.
In order to avoid having a cluttered and cramped home, the couple reduced all the accessories, knick-knacks and purely decorative elements to a minimum. Only the useful things were kept and included in the design. Also, everything is nicely stored in boxes and drawers, this leaving the rest of the space clutter-free. The main living area features a small dining table for three, a chest with drawers, a TV stand and some side tables. The kitchen has lots of storing compartments and areas. The bedroom is actually just a small sleeping area. It’s a combination between the bedroom and the kitchen but it’s cozy and space-efficient.
Space-efficient 58 square meter loft.
Loft apartments are space-efficient spaces by nature. They are divided horizontally from the beginning and this allows a better organization to be created. For example, the lower level can contain the living and entertainment spaces while the upper level can be a private area that contains the bedrooms. In the case of this loft, the layout helped with the overall design but there were also challenges.
The size of the apartment was definitely a problem. It measures only 58 square meters. It’s divided into two floors which are connected by a spiral staircase. If you analyze the design carefully, you will see that every little detail was chosen with a reason. For example, the spiral staircase is a more space-efficient design. Then there’s also the layout and the color palette. The chromatic mix is simple and pleasant.
A bold color was chosen as an accent in order to create focal points and to create continuity throughout the apartment. The other shades are neutrals. The décor of this loft is characterized by simplicity and elegance. It’s also a casual, inviting and dynamic space. The walls are painted white throughout and this creates the impression of a larger space.
The textures used throughout the apartment, the colors and the materials were chosen to create harmony and balance. The living and dining area seems very airy and spacious and that’s also because of the double-height ceiling. The windows let in lots of natural light and the white background is a simple but smart choice.