Even in today’s world of declining real estate values, space is still an expensive luxury. Ask anyone who lives in a studio, small apartment or home, and they will say that their most desired decorative element is space.

Yet even though space starved homes present numerous decorating challenges, these challenges are not insurmountable.  As a design industry professional, I know that when starting a project — large or small — I must first measure and understand the space.  I accomplish this by measuring every inch and then creating scaled floor plans which determine how the space will be utilized. This part of the design process is called space planning.

In trying to understand space, it is of paramount importance to learn how the space will be utilized. The person who will be living there often has specific needs which must be addressed.  These will have to be considered when doing the space planning. There are many questions to ask and answer in order to determine the living requirements.

Questions to be answered include the following:

• How many people will be living there?
• What are the ages of the residents?
• How many children are there and what ages?
• How many pets are there and what type?
• Will there be a home office?
• How much entertaining is planned?

The questions are endless and the answers will be extremely variable.

In a studio apartment, it is important to deal with many types of living requirements within a single space. Studio space must be designed to be multi-purpose. The challenge is to create individual living spaces within a single context.  Studio living must provide space for storage, sleeping, eating, lounging and TV watching, socializing, and often has to include a desk or work area. The objective is to accomplish all of this without creating a space that looks like a cluttered mess.

There are many useful design tricks available for studio living. A wonderful furniture invention called the “Murphy Bed” provides hideaway sleeping and multiple use options for studio living. I prefer a Murphy Bed to a sofa sleeper for everyday sleeping because you get to sleep on a real mattress without the folding mechanism required for a sofa sleeper. You can even tuck away your mattress with the bedding still on it so you don’t have to bother dressing the bed when you open it up.  When closed, the space of the bed can be used for everyday living. There are Murphy Beds which incorporate a sofa or a dining table or bookcases or just a nice decorative panel. When designing studio apartments, I often utilize both a Murphy Bed and a sleep sofa so that there is room for a sleepover guest.

Some studio apartments have a sleeping alcove or an area that can be separated from the general living space for private sleeping. There are many ways to divide this sleeping area from the rest of the living space. Some people actually build a wall to create a small bedroom. Another popular solution is a glass and metal door system that sits on a track and slides back and forth to open or enclose the space. For those whose taste is more romantic or exotic, there is always the option of a decorative curtain.

Another challenge in studio living space is finding the room for a work area. Sometimes there is an extra closet that can be converted to a hideaway home office. On other occasions, I tuck a small desk next to the bed or into a window alcove. There are cabinets available called computer armoires which incorporate office needs but look like a cabinet when the doors are closed. When all else fails, I tuck a file cabinet next to the sofa to work as a double duty end table and let the home dweller use their dining table to perform double duty as a work desk.

When designing small rooms or homes, it is good to play up the coziness of the space. Light colored walls will help to make the space seem larger. I prefer a color tone to white because colors create the coziness. Yellow will make the space feel like the sun is always shining. Pale green or pale blue walls create a sense of calm and tranquility. Beige or cream color walls are neutral and a good background for furnishings. Color choices are individual.  Pick the color that makes you happy, and use that in your living environment. A painting trick for small spaces is to paint the ceiling and walls the same color. This creates an aura of spaciousness.

A little known trick for small space decorating is to avoid using small furniture. Groupings of small furniture will make your home look like a doll house. It is more visually effective to use fewer pieces of furniture that are comfortable in scale and fit the spaces. This concept is contrary to popular opinion, but it creates a cleaner and more spacious looking environment.

The sitting room/home office in the photograph utilizes every inch of space but does not look crowded. The high ceiling is decoratively treated with bead board wood planks and contrasting beams. The result in entering the space is that the eye travels upward and has the sense of being in a large room.  Built in cabinetry wraps the angled perimeter of the room. The desk top sits in front of the windows so that you look out to the view rather than into the room when working at the desk.  On the other side of the space is a comfortable seating area with sofa and tables. The cocktail table is glass top so that the viewer looks right through it — another space enhancing trick.

The sofa is a curved shape which tucks into the shape of the room.  Once the space needs were determined, we went to work selecting the decor. This is a home office for a woman, so the goal was to be both utilitarian and decorative. The decorative goal was accomplished with the use of an antique bronze and glass chandelier, antique French end tables, and a Victorian style curved sofa with a collage fabric treatment.  The result is a functional, cozy and feminine working space which doubles as a sitting room.  The message is that small space living does not have to sacrifice function or beauty.