Maximising Minimal Spaces

If your bedroom is too small to fit the bedside tables, instead of a normal headboard, build a shelf behind your bed (20 cm of width is sufficient) to hold your lamps or books. You may then paint a fake headboard or hang a tapestry on the wall.

Is your living room too small to fit a coffee table? Ask your furniture shop to fabricate two or three side tables in the same style but in decreasingly smaller measurements. You can then slip them one under the other, and just like Matryoshka dolls, only use them when necessary.

If your kitchen is smaller than your lift, simply install small folding shelves on the wall and open them when needed. 

Another important trick is to maximise your storage space to make the most of your unused space. For example, if you have a wide corridor, you can build a bookshelf library for books and DVDs (30 cm is enough) and if you have further space transform it into a cabinet. You may use a curtain to close it instead of doors as it will occupy less space and brighten up the passageway.

Use shelves to take advantage of a high ceiling apartment, and if your bedroom has high ceilings, have a carpenter build you a special raised bed with cabinets underneath.

Now you only need to tidy up!

Domitilla Lepri is the owner of Shanghai-based DL Architecture, a firm specialising in renovation and interior decoration. If you have an interior design question you’d like her to answer in a future column, please email her at [email protected].