12 Innovative “Before & After” Renovations That Totally Transform Small Spaces
Whether it’s a Craftsman-style cottage in Venice, California, or an artist’s atelier turned family home in Paris, these renovations demonstrate the many ways to make a small space seem larger than its square footage.
An Ancient Barcelona Apartment Gets a Colorful Makeover
Before: Barcelona-based firm Colombo and Serboli Architecture gave this drab 700-square-foot apartment a vibrant makeover for a young Italian woman who works in the fashion industry.
Before: The original kitchen was cramped and cut off from the rest of the apartment.
After: Once the apartment was gutted, the architects outfitted the entry corridor and living room with colorful storage units where the client can store her wardrobe.
After: The new, two-toned storage units delineate the entry into the living room.
After: Bold pops of color continue in the combined living, dining, and kitchen spaces. The arched, coral-colored volume hides a powder room for guests.
Before: This tiny apartment in Tel Aviv, Israel, felt dark and disconnected, so the owners asked designer Dana Broza of Danka Design Studio to create a more open, light-filled floor plan.
After: Broza installed an iron-and-glass wall for the bedroom to create a visual connection throughout the apartment, as well as to allow natural light to flow into the kitchen and entryway.
After: Custom storage keeps the residents’ belongings out of sight from visitors and creates a neutral backdrop for entertaining.
Before: When the granddaughter of French painter Pierre Lemaire inherited his Paris studio in 2014, she worked with architect Willy Durieu of Atelier Wilda to convert the 484-square-foot space into a family home.
After: The architect installed skylights and large windows, revealed original beams, and incorporated an abundance of custom cabinetry to make the spaces more functional.
After: A Japanese tansu-style staircase provides storage in the living room and leads up to a lofted workspace.
After: The loft features a folding desk that allows room for the owners to lay down a mattress when they host overnight guests.
Before: When this 775-square-foot Victorian maisonette was getting too cramped for a London couple and their two cats, they tapped the team at Atelier Baulier for a rethink. "The freestanding furniture they owned didn’t really suit the flat, nor was it making the most of it," says designer Aurore Baulier.
After: Baulier created a custom storage unit that doubles as a cat ladder on either end, thanks to the inset triangular steps.
After: In the living room, a door was replaced with an internal window that ushers natural light into the stairwell and also features a built-in cat flap so that the cats can move between rooms when the kitchen door is closed.
Before: Architect Pierre Louis Gerlier and interior designer Eleonore Satger prioritized storage for this overhaul of a 807-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
After: The Atelier Pierre Louis Gerlier team updated the space with custom cabinetry that features striking, circular built-ins—each with their own purpose. "The client wanted a nook for the speakers and a desk," Gerlier explains, noting that the computer area functions as a workspace when the client opens the set of doors underneath. The architect also fashioned a comfortable reading nook where the client can relax.
After: Cheerful bursts of color compensate for a lack of natural light in the kitchen. Gerlier chose to recycle the original IKEA arrangement by transforming the laminate cabinetry with bright-yellow paint and adding wood countertops to the space.
Before: The remodel of this historic 376-square-foot apartment in Lviv, Ukraine, started on the exterior facade.
After: Replus Design Bureau crafted a steel-and-glass entry cube with metal cantilevered stairs at the front door.
After: The brick walls and wood floors were saved and refinished to preserve the home’s provenance. The designers also lofted the bedroom to create more space in the main living area.
After: By raising the bed above the main level, the living room now offers ample space to fit a sectional sofa, as well as built-in storage along the walls.
Before: This 721-square-foot apartment in Barcelona was previously dominated by one long walkway that separated the main living spaces from one another—and from the garden views at the end of the hall.
After: Barcelona-based Nook Architects eliminated a bathroom and bedroom from the existing apartment in order to connect the primary living spaces into one fluid social area. The original window and ceiling treatments were kept for character.
After: The lounge’s original painted windows were stripped and restored. A new, bespoke daybed offers a place for overnight guests to sleep—or for the residents to read a book or enjoy a siesta.
After: The architects removed an existing bathroom to make space for a designated dining area with a built-in buffet and storage.
Before: Architect Irene Astrain of Astrain Studio had a strong first impression upon visiting this 665-square-foot flat in a historic London building. Astrain changed the layout, relocating the bathroom and putting a spacious dining room in its place.
After: The front entryway leads to the renovated dining area. In the hall, an angled shelf represents a geometric motif that recurs throughout the home.
After: The dining room features Grain pendant lamps by Jens Fager for Muuto, as well as a Hamilton Weston wall covering that depicts an 1862 map of Victorian London.
Before: For Whitney Leigh Morris and her husband, Adam, renovating a 400-square-foot Craftsman home in Venice, California, required simplifying the material palette and maxing out the function.
Before: The cottage’s original, uninspired backyard area gave the owners an opportunity to extend the small living space.
After: Now, a light color palette maintains a feeling of spaciousness throughout the home. Beige linen covers the built-in sofa cushions in the multifunctional living area. Depending on the family’s needs, the space can be a lounge, dining room, playroom, office, or child’s bedroom.
After: Whitney arranged the rear garden with lush plantings, string lights, and a custom outdoor sofa with a built-in mirror that makes the area feel larger.
Before: L&M Design Lab set out to transform this 366-square-foot Shanghai home into a multifaceted apartment that can accommodate a couple, their child, and one set of grandparents—and their many individual hobbies as well.
After: The designers employed diagonal views across the apartment to make it feel larger than its actual footprint. A folding wall separates the living room and primary bedroom, while the mezzanine about the living area serves as the daughter’s playroom.
After: The designers made sure every square inch of the home is multifunctional: In the primary suite, the platform bed is surrounded by smart storage options. The sleeping area can also serve as extra seating on family movie nights.
Before: In order to reimagine this small studio apartment in Paris’s 18th arrondissement into a vibrant living space, the team at Hoch Studio had to do away with the bland gray carpeting.
After: An artwork depicting Brigitte Bardot with quotes from Jean Luc Godard’s 1963 film, Le Mepris, hangs above the bed, which is bordered by geometric storage that forms a cozy nook around the sleeping space.
After: Jade-green paint covers one of the walls in the bedroom, where the architects and the designer balanced classic and contemporary aesthetics. "Our client is always out, working late, or traveling abroad," says Thomas Hostache of Hoch Studio. "This is the cozy place she needed when she’s ready to crash."
Before: Faulkner Architects cleverly transformed a crumbling former tack barn in Glen Ellen, California, into 839-square-foot living space connected to a 107-square-foot screened porch.
After: Inside the entry porch, an unconditioned hallway leads to the screened porch.
After: The screened porch functions as the guesthouse’s primary bedroom, which creates a camp-like experience.
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