Designing for Small Spaces

(Bacall settee from One Kings Lane)Small spaces are challenging to decorate not just for homeowners but also for designers as well.  But I’ve always found that you can come up with the most interesting solutions without sacrificing style or comfort. It just requires an adjustment in scale and how you shop for furniture. 

First, eliminate those visions of sectionals and oversized couches.  While they’re great to lounge around on, they’re really meant for lofts or large houses. Instead envision settees, loveseats or sofas that are smaller in scale such as those here. Above is the Bacall settee, only 50” wide, great for those small living rooms.   

(Prescott coffee table from the Foundary) (Prescott table from the Foundary)Second, you should find furniture that does double duty or even triple duty.  For instance, the Prescott coffee table above has pull-out seating that also hides storage.  When not in use, the ottomans hide under the coffee table to become one compact piece. The Avery bed from Room and Board is a lovely platform bed with a hideaway drawer underneath to store away those thick comforters and extra sheets.

(Avery Bed from Room and Board)Another way to furnish a tight space is to lift the furniture off the floor and have them hang on the wall. If you need a desk, take a look at Prepac's floating wall desk.  With the advent of flat screens or laptops, you don’t need as much desk top. 

(Floating desk from Prepac)Also look out for furniture that can expand and contract to a small footprint.  The Span Gateleg dining table from Crate and Barrel is a great example of expanding furniture. When folded partially, you can use it as a desk and when you unfold it, you have a dining table for four people. It also folds completely to a small case that can be stored away if you don't need it.

 (Span Gateleg Dining table from Crate and Barrel)

Interested in learning more about space planning? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.

Colorful Modular Storage

(Dahlia Floor Cube, courtesy of Drift Studio)

If you’re tired of staring at – maybe even using - those brown storage cubes that are everywhere, then take a look at these colorful cubes. Drift Studio designed a fresh interpretation of those ubiquitous cubes using fun patterns.

You start with a panel of a pattern from their collection and then you can build different configurations of furniture according to your desire and needs. Above is their simplest piece – a cube with the beautiful Dahlia pattern. You can add legs or wheels if you want portability. 

(NYC 4 Up, courtesy of Drift Studio)You can build up the cubes, two on top of two, and create a small armoire such as their NYC 4 Up with a map of lower Manhattan.  They also have a Chicago and Los Angeles version. A mix of open and closed cubes creates a larger display case, as in Level 3.

(Level 3, courtesy of Drift Studio)

Interested in learning more about furniture? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories. 

This Dutch Designer is Greener than Grass!

I love the take on design presented in today's featured video. Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma espouses "documentary design," meaning she covers the entire lifecycle of the products she designs and produces, straight to the source. Examples of her work include the popular Urchin Pouf (top photo), Oak Inside console (bottom photo), individual wool sweaters made from a single sheep that you get to know a lot about, or a range of flax products from one of her Dutch flax fields.

As the LEED certification requirements for green building and design change in the coming year, everyone will become (hopefully) more aware of where their home goods and building materials came from, how they were manufactured, and what processes were used to the original elements every step of the way, from origin to your doorstep. The goal is to see consumers and homeowners making more informed, conscious decisions that are environmentally conscious and respectful. <thunderous applause>

 Sheffield School began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Interior Design Video - Brian Kane, Furniture Designer

As a school, Sheffield reaches creative people who want to become more professional about their creativity - as a better hobbyist or as a serious professional. I was really drawn to today's video because it does such a thorough job of documenting a creative professional's design process. San Francisco furniture designer Brian Kane takes us from initial sketches to full-scale renderings to computer drawings and on to prototypes. The process is hypnotic, as he takes some ideas for a chair through to a finished product; and we see other examples of his popular work.

Interested in learning more about planning a picture-perfect wedding for yourself or clients? Explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

10 Decor Favorites: Asian Styling at Bungalow 5

Shanghai 2-Drawer and 2-Door Cabinet

Home goods and furniture companies are preparing their fall collections, and we've been receiving previews of what will be coming your way in the consumer interior design market. Today's collection previews to the professional design trade will trickle down to stores and design clients' homes in the future. One trend we noticed from the new collections from Bungalow 5 Furniture is a focus on Asian influences. In fact, with mirrored furniture like the Shanghai Cabinet (above), we're getting an interesting mash-up of Hollywood Regency glamour injected into more traditional Asian styled pieces.

Legend Temple Jar

This will definitely help designers fit these Asian-inspired pieces into a wider variety of decorating schemes: the mirrored looks will go well with practically anything in the range from contemporary to traditional, while truly eclectic spaces will benefit from a sprinkling of Asian accents. A good rule of thumb: if the colors and forms of the pieces are harmonious and appealing, relating well to other elements in the room you're decorating, then go for it! Here are a few more Asian looks we found in the upcoming Bungalow 5 collections; click on each photo for more product information.

Kyoto Lamp

Roxanne Covered Mei Ping Jar in Turquoise Glazed Porcelain

Shanghai Console

Click to read more ...