Small Spaces

Sliced in half long ago, the 17th-century Halbhaus (or “Half House”) in Switzerland was recently reworked by designer Jonathan Tuckey as a family getaway.

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

The Box Kitchen contains two burners, a ventilation hood, a sink, a dishwasher, and a microwave. A fold-down laminated countertop creates a prep surface.

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.

“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