Hastings
Take inspiration from the clever layouts and genius design tricks on show in these mini spaces
Employ the back of a peninsula When space is tight, this arrangement, designed by Wilding & Wolfe, is a great way to make the most of a kitchen-diner. By pushing the dining area right up to the back of the kitchen units like this, with a fixed bench for seating, there’s far less space required to comfortably seat six to eight people. The bench also provides a useful opportunity to boost storage; this design features drawers in the base and, at the left hand end (not visible here – but you can click on the photo and then onto ‘Other photos in this project’ to see it), there’s a small wine rack built in. If you’re also trying to fit a living area into your kitchen-diner, this idea might lend that the necessary space, too.
Most of us have flowers or plants of some sort inside but we don’t always realise their excellent health benefits. Did you know that the air in your home could be harbouring unhealthy invisible toxins that can be eliminated by plants? And that strategically placing a plant or two in your teenager’s bedroom can help them to concentrate better when they study? See how you could take advantage of potted plants and flowers inside.
One of the best ways to improve the indoor air quality of your home is by introducing houseplants that can cleanse the air of pollutants and other toxins. These include mould spores, bacteria, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) such as toluene, xylene, benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene, which are emitted from various household products and chemical cleaners.
This photo series is designed to give you a coffee-break escape. Take five minutes for yourself and dive into these dream spaces. From a snug attic hideaway to a cosy nest in front of a roaring fire, these heavenly spots are ideal places in which to curl up when the temperature drops. Which one can you see yourself relaxing in? And would you steal any of these ideas for your own bedroom? Tell us in the Comments.
Add an office If your house or flat has the height, and you work from home, building into the roof could be the way to get your laptop off the kitchen table and into its own peaceful area. This could also be worth looking at if you don’t think there’s space for a bed or living area to squeeze in up there.
Build over what’s already there This bijou French library and micro lounge is another example of how a new floor area can be constructed to sit over existing rooms. Here, the designers reduced the height of the bathroom ceiling in order to create space above it for a mini mezzanine. Part of the motivation, as well as to add living space, was to create architectural interest in a previously plain interior. The construction alone does that – especially with the monochrome paintwork to accentuate the lines – but additional details, such as the wall niches for display, and a new window, add yet more dimension. And no space has been wasted, as the barrier doubles as a bookcase. The stairs are particularly clever: half of each tread has been designed to ‘float’, so as not to block the sightline.
If you’d like your snug bedroom to feel more calm than cluttered, these expert design tips should help. Two architects and two interior designers share some essential style advice, from tailoring storage to getting clever with colour.
Dressing a bay window can be a tricky proposition – all those angles can feel like a real challenge. But are there right and wrong ways to use curtains in these openings? Almost always, say the experts. Here, three of them share their tips and experience.
Sloped ceilings, low spaces under the eaves and awkward corners are often brilliant spots for squeezing that all-important extra storage in your loft. Bookmark these clever ideas to get inspiration on how to tuck cupboards, drawers and shelves into your own loft extension.
This photo series is designed to give you a coffee-break escape. Take five minutes for yourself and dive into these dream schemes
Sneak in a dressing table This scheme really shows how bespoke cabinetry and tailored design can maximise a space. Claudia Dorsch has turned a small section of these fitted wardrobes into a useful and beautiful little dressing table, complete with a cupboard, drawers, a mirror and a little table that can be folded away, all topped with a pretty pendant light.
Behind the divide, the sloping ceiling created the perfect spot for a dressing table, with light streaming in from the skylight above. A series of drawers on the left of this make use of the awkwardly shaped space in the eaves, while hanging rails run along the higher, partition wall behind (just seen in the mirror).
If you’d like clean, fresh air circulating around your home at a comfortable temperature, it’s worth considering installing a mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system. These consist of a unit and ducts that extract stale air from your home and replace it with fresh air. They’re a common addition to new-build properties, but just how easy is it to retrofit one into an older building? Three experts give us the lowdown.
At first, the owners had hoped to squeeze two bedrooms and a shower room into the opened up loft space, but Matt advised that the rooms would be tiny and they could instead have one really good-sized bedroom and an en suite.
A 9 sq m space with awkward angles and rotting woodwork has been turned into a cosy home thanks to very clever design
If you often trip over stray sandals in the hall or regularly spend ages trying to locate one half of a pair of trainers, it’s probably time to ramp up your shoe storage. Check out these clever ideas to find the perfect place to stow away your shoes.
An essential guide to sizing up the ideal space needed to store almost everything in your home neatly and efficiently
great pics in this article
Alcoves around chimney
Screen door
Warm harmonies with blood red, orange and mustard These are clearly the novel hues for this year. Harmonies of warm and invigorating colours – burgundy, wine red, blood red, burnt orange, mustard and golden brown – create décor that’s sunny, energetic and perfect for re-enchanting our interiors.
Make the most of those awkward spots beneath your sloped ceiling with these brilliant solutions
Inserting another level can transform a living space. Follow this expert advice on how to build one in your home Wednesday
Create a cosy retreat You don’t necessarily need a large dormer to tuck in a workstation – a small loft can become a cosy escape. In this roof space, a desk on one side and cupboards on the other have been tucked under the eaves, while bespoke shelving on the triangular gable creates a surprising amount of storage. If the rafters are exposed, as here, run with the theme and bring in wooden furniture for a rustic look, but make sure you include lots of illumination – here, there’s a run of bright spotlights along the roof ridge as well as a desk lamp.
Clever space planning, made-to-measure cabinetry, and a neutral scheme with accents of vibrant colour allowed interior designer Caroline Wood-Robertson to deliver on all counts.
When you’re thinking of ways to use the area below the stairs, it’s worth considering the option of reinventing the space as a neat downstairs cloakroom. Don’t think you can squeeze one in? Just take a look at these spaces. Plus, there are some handy tips on the key things you will need to consider before you take the plunge.
The designers made the cabinetry in the seating area, too, giving the space a cohesive feel.
The cupboard next to the ovens can be opened out neatly thanks to its slim bifold doors, and it has a solid walnut interior that’s rich in colour. “It’s a breakfast pantry you can close up to hide the mess,” David says. The owners also store glassware and china in here, and lights that come on as the door opens – and switch off when it closes – create a sparkling effect.
The cabinet handles have a warm, antique brass effect.
The kitchen’s oversized drawers were one of the features that drew the homeowners to select it. Solid wood interiors make them appealing and tactile.
Divide with a shower wall You don’t have to create two distinct spaces if you’re putting a bathroom in a bedroom – open-plan can work, as long as you have the right ventilation. And you can save on the bathroom area’s footprint by doing away with a full-depth wall and substituting it with a thin partition, lined with a shower. All-through flooring and repetition of materials serves to make the space feel bigger, while exposing roof beams exaggerates ceiling height.
Up the vintage vibe The downside of dark kitchens, particularly those with a wall of units, is that they can look a little forbidding. So why not up the warm, welcoming appeal of your space by contrasting the dramatically cool tones of the cabinetry with the warm, grainy textures of wood? The more honey-toned the wood, the better – if it’s too light or too dark, the inviting effect will be lost
Kitchens | Kitchen Planning Should I Go for Floor-to-ceiling Cabinets in My Kitchen? Confining most of your storage to one wall has numerous advantages, as these stylish designs illustrate Wednesday
Access all angles In a room with a sloped ceiling, it pays to build with the angles, rather than against them. Here, the cupboard has been extended along the entire width of the wall in the form of shelves that tuck under the eaves. The wide frame that surrounds the two sides continues at an angle to draw the shape of the slope for a designed look. A piece of joinery like this uses every centimetre of space, and creates an attractive feature in the room.
Run along a wall In a very narrow room, you might wonder if it’s possible to fit in storage at all. But in this slimline space, the architects have been inspired by the clever design of yacht bathrooms. The entire space is waterproof, so the shower could be fitted directly opposite the long, lean vanity unit, which contains numerous cupboards. The basin has been moulded into the Corian worktop and its plumbing is hidden neatly within the cupboard below.
In a small bathroom, it can be tricky to find enough space for storage, but nooks and crannies, unused corners and awkward angles can all offer the chance to tuck in a cupboard or shelf. Take a look at these ideas to help you design enough storage to create a clutter-free washspace. Email Save Go up and over If you don’t have room above the basin for a cabinet, you might be able to find some wall space elsewhere. The area above the toilet, for example, can be utilised for storage that goes right up to the ceiling, as here. This space is a cloakroom, but the idea could be just as effective in a bathroom. A cabinet has already been constructed to hide the cistern, so the designers have simply made the most of the protruding ledge to build shelving above it.
basin on wooden worktop - same as kitchen maybe
Is it really possible to create a fabulous loft conversion for a little bit less without compromising your dream? Our experts offer nine tips that might work for your project. Professional advice from: Matthew Ryder of Ash Island Lofts; Deepak Singh Udassi of City Lofts London; Ausra Griciute of LLAC Construction
The interior designers made the glass partitions with an industrial-style frame and alternating clear glass and panes with printed 3D patterns, to play on the contrast between transparency and opacity. These panes open to both sides for ventilation.
The central staircase provides additional casual seating when the owners have guests over.
Don’t be afraid of the dark When faced with a small room, the instinctive response can be to paint it in a pale colour to boost the feeling of space. But in a tiny area, it can actually pay to try the opposite technique and paint it dark, to make a virtue of the small size and create a snug bolthole. This little living room corner, for instance, feels warm and intimate thanks to the rich, enveloping colour of the walls, curtains and furnishings, and shows how being bold can be really effective. It’s sometimes easier to be brave with colour in a small space, too, as it can feel like less of a commitment to experiment with paint on a small wall area than to cover a large room.
The colour scheme in here was inspired by a landscape painting, just seen here in the mirror. “The owners were happy to go with a bold dark grey on the walls and we took the lovely yellows and sea colours from the painting for the accessories,” Lally says.
The husband is a keen cook, so the kitchen has top-notch appliances, including a modular hob with a teppan-yaki plate. The extractor fan is tucked neatly above. “We lowered the ceiling in the kitchen in order to incorporate it,” Lally says. The now-level floor has been covered in engineered oak boards, warmed by underfloor heating, which runs throughout the ground floor. Just seen on the left is a window seat with a wine rack underneath – the perfect place to perch and keep the chef company. “There’s very limited storage in the house, so we tried to use every nook and cranny,” Lally says. Hob, Gaggenau.
The splashback is copper-tinted mirror, which pulls light across from the window opposite and ties in with the diamond-cut brass cupboard handles.
Having had the wall between the kitchen and dining room removed to create one bright space, the designer and owners plumped for a deep blue on the cabinets and dining area walls to link the two spaces. To keep the look bright and open, though, Lally was careful to weave in plenty of white, too, including a crisp white quartz worktop. She also added glass-fronted cabinets at either end of the wall run to add depth and show off white crockery and light-catching glassware.
The doors concertina open to reveal a laundry zone containing a washing machine, small sink, drawers and a practical hanging rail. To ensure the utility area looks attractive when open, the designers have continued the terrazzo floor surface up the wall, forming an on-trend background for the black shelving, which chimes with the steel-framed glazing.
How much is a loft conversion likely to cost? “Costs can vary substantially depending on individual properties and homeowner specifications,” Deepak says. “There are other factors, too, such as local authority constraints and sometimes things homeowners would never expect, such as issues concerning wildlife. In the past, we’ve had to fit certain hollowed-out bricks that allow swifts to nest, which had a big impact on cost. “Similarly, finding bats in your loft space is likely to cause delay and additional expense, and can, in some circumstances, mean a conversion might not be possible,” he says. If you do discover bats in your loft, it’s possible to have a ‘bat survey’ carried out in order to understand your options and how to proceed. “Our loft conversions start at £42,000 including VAT and go up to £72,000,” Matthew says. “The average you can expect to pay is around £50,000. Aneliese agrees. “Anywhere between £30,000 and £50,000,” she says.
Stay slimline The bigger the desk, the more room for clutter, so to prevent yours becoming a magnet for every stray bit of paper in the house, go for a narrow design like this one, which has been custom-made with MDF. If you’re mainly working at a laptop, the actual workspace doesn’t have to be very big at all, and this slimline solution also avoids the desk impinging too much on the rest of the room. No room for a ded
Small bath with shower curtain - concealed pipework for floor / wall taps / ceiling shower.
Planning an en suite for your loft conversion? To help you make it work in the space you have available, we’ve identified some of the most common dilemmas and asked four experts to solve them
Be shallow Most devices these days are pretty slimline, so tailor your storage to suit. Instead of giving over a deep cupboard, see if you have slim space, such as at the end of a run of units, to slot in a shallow design like this, with narrow shelves to prop the devices on.
Nice colours. In the alcoves alongside, she used bespoke joinery to create hidden storage for files and folders.
note beam and open, galleried are above fireplace...
Go up the walls - see stairs also... Your walls aren’t just for displaying artwork. Take a look around your home to see if there are any wall surfaces that you can transform into shelves or a cupboard. Here, the homeowners have lined their staircase wall with shelving to accommodate books. By putting redundant areas like this to good use, you will free up space elsewhere throughout your home.
Are you crying out for more space? Before you you start to plan an extension, take some time to look at how you are using your home. It’s more likely that what you really need is more room for storage, and that the very space you crave is right under your nose.
Look above your head Consider going into your attic to gain some extra space in the rooms below. This can be a great way to gain floor space without having to extend. It’s also a clever way to get another room. For instance, you could add a mezzanine level over a living space to create an additional seating or den area.
Get creative Where natural light is limited to just one window, as it is no doubt in most of our bathrooms, here’s a smart idea. To share the light around from the window next to the shower, a half-wall has been built and tiled to support an exposed-cistern loo. Above it, the wall becomes glass and has a hinged, frameless door to the right to enclose the shower. Discreet shower storage is at play here, too: the corner provides just enough space for a few daily bottles, and keeping the tiny triangular shelves the same colour as the tiles disguises them.
Keep your small space open Frameless enclosures are minimal, but they don’t have to be entirely featureless. In a small space like this, that’s pretty key information, since an open, walk-in shower wouldn’t fit. Instead, slim fixed panels sit on the right and left of a shower that has a luxury, walk-in feel, but is in fact a cubicle. In the middle, a door with a chrome handle swings outwards. Hinges and fixings are kept to an absolute minimum, which – by making the shower enclosure so barely there – enhances the sense of space in this little room.
Maximise a corner This stunning extension was created by leaving the original back wall of this Victorian villa in place – the warm exposed brick and attractively curved staircase balustrade form the perfect nook for a bench seat. The team at Scenario Architecture designed a seat that hugs the back wall and corner, with some nifty storage below.
Cantilevered with top support
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