Small Spaces

The Entertainment Shelf includes a panel that slides to reveal easy-to-reach shelves on either side.

“There’s that iteration you go through, trying to both maximize space and the feeling of space,so that it doesn’t feel cramped.”—Andrew Simpson

Using natural materials is one way of bringing nature indoors. Oiled white ash floors and ceilings, along with Italian poplar and Lawson cypress joinery, are found throughout architect Andrew Simpson’s 538-square-foot home outside Wellington, New Zealand.

The modest entry to the cottage opens up to steeply angled ceilings for dramatic spatial effect.

Tuckey borrowed space from the former attic to create one open living space with a ceiling that complements the pine. “I think it’s important to have a small space, a medium space, and a big space in every project,” he says.

"Light colors make [your space] feel more spacious and airy," says Macy Miller. Miller's compact home in Boise, Idaho, built for only $11,000, is featured in our September issue.

More fragment pillows adorn the bed, which is covered in a reversible bedspread by artist Jane Kifer. To the left of the window is a painting by Shumate.

The blue ceiling continues into the bedroom, filled with art by Howard’s friends. The yellow-and-white poster is by Mike Mills, and the signed Rolling Stones drumhead was a gift. “It feels like a New York apartment at the beach,” says Shumate.

For the renovation, Bradley sourced many materials from construction sites.

In its closed position, the piece looks like a storage unit. A door on wheels slides open to reveal a kitchen inside.

Wood WorksFaced with the challenge of a diminutive New York apartment in desperate need of a refresh, architect Tim Seggerman went straight to his toolbox to craft a Nakashima-inspired interior, featured in our November Small Spaces issue.

A portion of the exhibition is dedicated to small-space living innovation in other parts of the country and abroad. In these Yokohama, Japan, apartments, living spaces are raised above a communal area used for lectures, parties, performances and meetings. The open space provides an anchor for social gatherings in the community. Yokohama Apartments, Yokohama, Japan, 2009. Architect: ON Design (Osamu Nishida). Courtesy ON Design

A couple of quick and easy folds and tucks make transforming the couch into a bed at the end of the day easy even for the most bleary-eyed. Micro-unit LaunchPad. Clei s.r.l/Resource Furniture; Designed by Pierluigi Colombo and architecture by Amie Gross Architects. Photography by John Halpern. Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York

Davor (with his wife, Abbe, and son, August) designed the main living and dining pavilion as a double-height space to increase its perceived volume, and added high cubbies for extra storage.

When it comes to media storage in a small space, consider making the most of your nooks and crannies. The shelving at right here is smartly recessed into a cavity next to the window.

Deeds hung a single Louis Poulsen PH5 lamp from the ceiling; its blue and red interior paint “is very friendly to human skin tones,” she says. Photo by Lenny Gonzalez

Available in the Dwell store, the Cherner Children's Table with Storage is a sturdy and supportive workspace made of molded birch plywood and laminated birch.

Of the seven steps in Michael Pozner’s not-quite-500-square-foot aerie in Greenwich Village, five contain drawers. His small set of table and chairs is from CB2.

The bedroom allows for a tiny niche for a built-in wood desk. The target painting is by Alia Penner.