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Collection by Olivia Martin

Dramatic Small Spaces

Disregard advice for using clean lines and minimal furnishing with limited square footage, these small spaces go bold and big, despite their diminutive sizes.

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Images by Raw Color hang in a room upstairs.
Images by Raw Color hang in a room upstairs.
A view of the bathroom and kitchen from the main living area; the front door is at left. At right is the bench of fabricated steel, from Master Kitchen Supplies (212-533-2356). Set into a recess (with Häfele hardware) separating the maple flooring and the concrete ribbon, near left, is a table that can be used for dining, or rolled across the apartment for use as a work surface. Chan left some exposed brick on the load-bearing wall to retain what he could of the apartment’s original character. Image courtesy Brian Riley.
A view of the bathroom and kitchen from the main living area; the front door is at left. At right is the bench of fabricated steel, from Master Kitchen Supplies (212-533-2356). Set into a recess (with Häfele hardware) separating the maple flooring and the concrete ribbon, near left, is a table that can be used for dining, or rolled across the apartment for use as a work surface. Chan left some exposed brick on the load-bearing wall to retain what he could of the apartment’s original character. Image courtesy Brian Riley.
Though the retreat is clearly meant to afford the solitude writing so often requires, Kathleen reports that "it's very lively. Deer approach, birds bathe. The sun warms my desk and you can hear the rain."
Though the retreat is clearly meant to afford the solitude writing so often requires, Kathleen reports that "it's very lively. Deer approach, birds bathe. The sun warms my desk and you can hear the rain."
Pedrali’s orange Frida 752 chair, two metal Tolix Marais chairs, and Philippe Starck’s Olly Tango seat surround a dining table that resident Pierre Pozzi wrapped in paper.
Pedrali’s orange Frida 752 chair, two metal Tolix Marais chairs, and Philippe Starck’s Olly Tango seat surround a dining table that resident Pierre Pozzi wrapped in paper.
Furniture with emphasized linear elements helps prevent the appearance of clutter in small spaces. It's particularly effective when highlighted in playful colors like the blue bench storage rack in this London guesthouse. Photo by Ben Anders.
Furniture with emphasized linear elements helps prevent the appearance of clutter in small spaces. It's particularly effective when highlighted in playful colors like the blue bench storage rack in this London guesthouse. Photo by Ben Anders.
Tasked with transforming a 93-square-foot brick boiler room into a guesthouse, architect and metalworker Christi Azevedo flexed her creative muscle. The architect spent a year and a half designing and fabricating nearly everything in the structure save for the original brick walls. "I treated the interior like a custom piece of furniture," she says.
Tasked with transforming a 93-square-foot brick boiler room into a guesthouse, architect and metalworker Christi Azevedo flexed her creative muscle. The architect spent a year and a half designing and fabricating nearly everything in the structure save for the original brick walls. "I treated the interior like a custom piece of furniture," she says.