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As a young family, we lived in a 790 sq. ft. house. Then the 5 of us moved to a 2 bedroom apartment (thankfully I had 3 girls who didn't mind sharing a room! And then to a 800 sq ft rental house. We incorporated a lot of the same ideas as you mentioned. Multiple tall bookcases screwed together as a divider, monochromatics, shelving above the bed and under the bed, and use of a daybed for my daughter's (and then daughters') room! It's amazing how these things really do make the space work!
I’m sure I’ve just added 4” to the height of the lounge room by painting the half drywall/half TnG walls/trim white. They were a yellow cream on top with golden oak orange stained TnG below. Love to be able to replace the faded dusty pink carpet that defines the lounge area and recolour the golden oak timber walkway on 2 sides, I’m sure that would make the space look larger. I’m going neutral.
Round tables can have sheaves added and shrink down quite small. There’s also tulip tables and other oval shapes for narrow spaces. It’s not the shape but the selection of the piece that might be your issue. All best. ☺️
Why do western homes have shutters under counter in kitchen or anywhere else it difficult to use ..... Indian have sliding drawers .... we have it in kitchen , beds with storage ,Center table , under washbasin.........( except corner space of kitchen we have 180 degree shutter
Do you mean cabinet doors? We have the same as India. We might just have a bit more space to have greater flexibility where it doesn’t all have to be storage. Some homes are also hundreds of years old. Very European influences for those homes.
Visual clutter makes a small space look claustrophobic. Closed door closets, cupboards, and furniture hide visual clutter the best. All the stuff on open shelving in a small space takes over visually, because the mess is literally right in your face. Storing even books on a closed door closet shelf helps "calm" down a small room visually. Lisa, I love that daybed, and also the barcarts on wheels used as side tables.
Books, in my view, look bad when they’re patchy all over the bookshelf-a few here, a few there, interrupted by collectible…crap. But with a wall of books, the different book colours and sizes somehow all blur together and read as one.
Great video! I don’t live in a small space, but even so, I always listen to every one of Lisa’s videos because I learn so much about interior design. Many of these suggestions would also work in larger spaces.
That "Boat" idea was very ideal specially for small rooms/units. It a space-saver and an opportunity to be part of the creative accent at the same time. 😉👏 I've got so much PRO-Tips here. Thank you, Lisa! ❤❤
Hello, I hope you're safe over there? I hope this year brings happiness, prosperity, love 💚 , and peace all over the world 🌏. I would love us to be good friends in honesty and in trust so as time goes on it will bring something great for us in the future, hope you don't mind? I'm Frank Lange from Brooklyn New York, where are you from if I may ask?❤
Excellent info! I have a small 450ft2 one bedroom rental apartment. Where would be an ideal space to put a washer and dryer hookups. There is no space in the bathroom. Any tricks? Please make a video on that? Thanks
Lisa, this is the best small space video I have seen ! I wish I had these tips when my son was living in Brooklyn. you are simply the best at what you do 🎉
Sometimes you want people looking at our floor. What if you have a gorgeous Persian Malayer or a lush Savonnerie carpet. In a small living area they can really work well if they fill the room, say four to six inches away from the wall at most. I do think muted tones would work better definitely no raucous pattern or intense colors. Also your eye wear today is "fabuleuse" and perfect for your delightful face.
Hi Lisa, i love indoor plants and i want to put in inside my bedroom..can u give some tips on how i should assemble them without making my bedroom looks smaller??
We have a small/medium size home with an open concept floodplain. Walls are a warm neutral and trim is the same color but different paint sheen, with the ceiling of a glossy sheen to facilitate ample lighting. This really expanded the visual feeling of the house. Working great!
Great reminder about not having things over the bed in earthquake country. LOL. We needed the examples you showed of room dividers, as they all did little that would truncate the space while providing separation of areas by usage. And what a superb reminder, we all need, about drapes that hang from the ceiling in small spaces. It is so easy to forget that. Love the example of the petite entryway for a studio apartment that gets your attention, but does not stop the light coming around it. Mirrors behind shelving is an idea I had not thought of and I like it because it exposes the mirrors to less breakage chances.
You are brilliant. All your ideas are current, cleaver and not the same basic boring tips as seen by others in designing small space. (I already knew not to put a large bulky sofa in a small living room) I would have never known to have a rug compliment (not compete) with the floor, use of room height for design & storage and many more tips. I also love your high energy personality (NOT hyper). The rooms you showed were great examples. I plan to see every one of your videos.
Great tips as always! But I would like to suggest that people NOT get a sofa with a smaller seating (inside between the arms width) area. DO get that sofa that is at least six feet on the inside, but with smaller arm width. You never know when you might need if for a bed, whether for a guest, or just to use it yourself. Greatest mistakes I have made were buying smaller sofa, and too many chairs.
Thank you for another great video! I’m struggling with my tv room. It’s long and narrow, 9’ x 15’, has windows on one of the long and short walls. And a glass slider on the other long wall. I’d like to put a sectional in there, but not I’m not sure if the space will be too narrow
This video rocks. I must have watched it 16 times. I love the room divider part when Lisa says “Check-out this bad boy” and she’s showing a floor to ceiling divider that appears to be a Louise Nevelson. How fortunate is that person? Just love this video ❤
Small space art on walls. A gallery wall with lots of small frames is too busy for a small space. Fewer, larger pieces are better. In a small rooms the walls really close in on you. So I now make sure family photos on the wall are on the smaller size. A neutral frame and the mat still can be on the larger size, but the actual photo should be on the smaller side. Otherwise the large photos seem to "take over the room". I learned this the hard way, and had to remat many too large family wall photos, for a smaller size photo. I was able to reuse the same neutral frames, and the original mat. Butt by adding a second small ermat, I was able to mat the smaller photo. The only cost was a small mat, but it took a lot of time to remat the photos. Lesson learned. Smaller photos in a larger frame and mat. But now the small room looks much larger and calmer.
Hi Lisa excellent advice. As a renter I am not able to paint or crest a monochromatic look on my walls. However I was considering a focal wall with wallpaper or two parallel facing walls. Will that make my space look small?
...the only thing about the " narrow console" or something similar under the Television....NO storage, which upu touched on ,with Number 7. .. I suppose even if one isn't in a " small space " STORAGE is needed.
I am no longer clicking on any videos that contain the word "mistakes." Well, I did today, just to make a point. I really appreciate the skill, experience, and advice that comes out in various designers' videos, but I just really wish it didn't have to be framed in a negative context. If you have advice to offer, I'm glad and grateful to hear it. But please stop telling everyone that we're doing it "wrong."
If it’s not helpful to you, there’s plenty of other ones like style deep dives. Most people actually find these videos very helpful because they know they aren’t getting the results they want. My heart is to help them get there. All best.
May I add: float the furniture off-the -walls. Center the arrangement in to the middle of the room; it shows more areas where the floor and ceiling meet and thus makes the room look bigger and makes the setting appear more intimate. Folding screens anywhere create some intrigue to wonder what is beyond it. I recommend the IKEA Expedit 5x5 as the correct scale for a normal height ceiling. Dark wood floors and white (or light) walls make the room visually expansive. Area rugs are just dust collectors and define the room too much instead of letting shared rooms overlap their visual occupancy.
Depending on the layout and functionality of a space, I’d agree with not having furniture against a wall. Unfortunately not every room has the available space.
right b4 you put up "commit" on the screen, you showed a grey room. that is totally depressing, and instantly brings to mind a serial killer abode. lol, jmho ok, i've only seen 3 vids, so i bet u have a good reason, gotta be pushing the "do not mix colors here" mantra. so i will watch a little more and try to get enlightened. i mean i would have at least put a dang bright blue vase like 6' tall somewhere. but that's why i'm not a designer, lol so good so far ok by #4 i realized u r gonna teach us. thank u very much. now i might b able to understand my wife. she got the interior design degree 1st because that is her love. however she did 30 yrs as an elementary school teacher like the rest of her fam, so she could carry that on. now i'm getting some real schooling. to understand yall. she can teach all the grade school stuff, but i can't comprehend her ability to discern colors, maybe i'm brown/green colorblind, dunno
Brilliant guide to small space living! Excellent tips -mirror behind bookshelves! I will do that thanks to your guide. We have a small empty-nester cottage that we love, and I found that while storage is a key aspect there is also editing and curating as ongoing practice. That means that clothes in our small closet become a "capsule collection". Just the things you actually wear and use and everything not jammed together. In a drawer that holds only a few sweaters, I have made them both cashmere. Regarding Paint -Yes! color drench! different sheens, and the office/library is all in Farrow and ball Matchstick. The Bedroom is color drenched in Farrow and Ball French Grey (more of a sage green color). Thats rather dark, but I found that counterintuitively some small spaces can actually seems bigger in a dark color because the walls recede, especially if the ceiling is the same color as the walls. Artwork pops and it breaks up the dark color, too. Our gilt bamboo carved Mirror in Living room is opposite the flowering garden and nature -the mirror becomes like another window reflecting that view, and makes it seem bigger. LOVE how well thought out your videos are -you really give excellent advice.
I have a bar cart on wheels. The bottom holds some of my shelter mags and high tech stuff. My wfh office area has a small glass topped desk (white metal and glass) in front of a window with a La Marie chair. Together, the 2 transparent solutions really help clear the sight lines. I also always suggest a really good sofa bed in a studio rather than having both a bed and a couch. People always assume I have a bedroom and that it's behind either the bathroom door, the closet door, or the KALLAX room divider that sections off a small, lower height area! Nope. You're sitting on it.
I needed to hear just that thing today on the rug. I just turned down a great deal on a hand done oriental but the jarring business versus the Chinese theme of k'ang and my Nakashima chairs etc. made me turn away. Thank you. I will not take up that good deal .
I love the picture of the shoe hanger on the back of the door. I know there are cloth ones; but I love the one she showed. We are moving from our 2400 to one + bedroom and bath with son and his family. We have use of the house, but I tell you our room is it and it has been challenging!
You are faboulous Ms Lisa!!! ...great tips; OMG! Yes! And....I REALLY was delighted with the...round table idea in the kitchen! You are right! Gain of space and " everyone " is with everyone (no corners to feel away or sat aside), love it! More people turns to small spaces; you come in like a fairy!! Thank you so much Ms Lisa! helene :)
I want to put a black tile floor in my guest bathroom which is pretty standard size. But i don't want to shrink my bathroom. Can i do black floor with white walls and ceiling?
Depends how small you’re talking. What style is the home? Perhaps a checkerboard pattern might be better than all black. Want to learn more, check out my site DezignSpace.com
I wish I had seen this 5 years ago when I was planning my small house. I did everything wrong! Where would you recommend I go shopping for small space sofa and living room chair? Your tip about 72” sofa is a good one. I’ve been looking at 75” but was worried I was going too small. Your tip helps me a lot!
gotta say, love the channel and all you do, but getting stuff up on legs and exposing more floor.... make that early in list next time. it seriously works and with any setup. :-) and loved yr paint tutorials... huge thanks for working that stuff out. you changed how i think about walls
Another great informative video Lisa! I shared it with my daughter who is moving into their first home and is picking paint colors. I was especially thankful for your tips on living in rooms with angled ceilings. Many older homes have converted attic spaces with exactly that design challenge. With the price of real estate so high per sq foot today, every young family needs you! Bravo for helping so many of us old and young live beautifully.
What a great vid!!! I love some of the spaces you've shown here as well as some great great beautiful pieces for small spaces. I love the boho look, the space done in grey (with the brick grey.. great concept), the glass room dividers, some of the mirror use and that one grey textured small scale sectional at 11:31 !! I need to do a boatload of screenshots!!! Thanks again, as always Lisa!!!
bed - put it as low to the floor as possible, then it just registers as low platform surface, also your experience of the room when in bed will be hthat the space is larger becuase you will be further from the ceiling. you can try this out by sitting on the floor and spend a few minutes to see how the size of the space registers for you.
.....Just an FYI...it is bad Feng Shui to have your Bed close to the floor, or sitting ON the floor ... low sitting beds are also uncomfortable to stand up from, and I think one would want to feel like an Adult, in thier bed...not a toddler or young child.
@ros8986 .....Yes, I'm aware , that is just a part of thier c u l t u r e ... it's a matter of what you choose to do. Personally,I don't like a low sitting bed. A futon on a frame is different, it does not rest on the floor. I've known Some people from Japan that actually prefer to sleep with their bed off the floor and they do have, like a room for napping, with the mats ( mattress)on the floor ....but other than that, they don't have thier mattress ( bed ) on the floor.
Great advice! I love folding room screens! Had a beautiful antique one as a teenager. They appear in classic films all the time. Maybe a beveled mirrored folding screen? 🔥
I saw a beautiful beveled mirror folding screen divider in the foothills here in Colorado. It was positioned to reflect a really fabulous mountain view. That was years ago and I remember it to this day.
It was definitely pulled from a similar source, but it's good to bring valid constructive info up to the top on a regular basis. Thanks for noticing! xo L
I am building a relatively small (2000 sq. ft.) 2 level vacation home with many windows for a water view. The second level has a relatively open floor plan. It is modern style home and probably will be decorated in the rustic modern design as inspired by your video on the style. Also, I plan to incorporate a lot of the small space ideas in this video. There will be outside balconies or decking. It would be interesting if you could do a video on best ways to handle windows and expanding space by incorporating outside areas in the feeling of expanding the internal space, if that makes sense. :)
@@maximilian9295 Even with the open floor plan and high ceilings, it seems quite small and confining since it is split on two levels. So, I was hoping that the outdoor decking would make it feel bigger or more open. Also, I am use to significantly larger space.
I love the tips and style. My only recommendation is to be more consistent. This video is for small spaces, and all the examples were from large spaces.
@@LisaHoltDesign Hi! I get it, don't get me wrong. I have a small space and a couple of your tips will be a great solution to problems that I have (thank you) My comment was towards that I would like to see images in which these tips are applied. Just to see quicker the impact that they have in a room. That's all. 😊
Another fun, helpful video. But I'm of two minds on the *room divider screens* concept. On the one hand, I *love* most room divider screens. In fact, I've rarely met a room divider screen I didn't love---rattan, carved wood, contemporary...virtually the whole shebang. But(!) I'm hesitant about how they 'cut up' a room---particularly a small room. I get the need for visual separation in a small space, especially a 'studio' or 'bachelor' flat with bed, kitchen and living room all in one. But even in the good examples shown, they still seemed to arrest the eye at the point of the screen, making the space _seem_ smaller? I don't know. You can tell I'm not sold, even on my own hesitation. I must ponder this....
I agree. I live in a studio with the kitchen island as a headboard. I’ve embraced making my bed and just enjoying the space as is since it’s a 350 square apartment
Trying to fit a lot of information into a short amount of time seems to help the most people. There’s always others designers out there if I’m not cup of tea. ☺️
