Home tour: optimising space and style in a beautifully compact home

Styling a compact home can be a challenge, but it’s certainly not impossible when you know some tricks of the trade. In today’s home tour, we show you how we designed a show flat in the luxurious residence, The Kennedy at The Belcher’s, where we employed some of our favourite styling tips to transform a one-bedroom unit into a place one could proudly call home.

Working with relatively small square footage, we wanted to ensure that there was a spaciousness and an effortless flow in each room. While a ‘less is more’ approach would certainly make sense where space is especially at a premium, we also wanted to create a fully furnished home and prove that size doesn’t mean that you have to compromise style.

We looked for silhouettes that gave furniture a lightweight appeal: slim and angled tapered legs on our solid eco-wood coffee table, side table, TV cabinet and sofa lengthened the overall look of the room while adding a subtle, lifted effect. For balance, we placed an emphasis on textures and materials – the rich, chocolatey tones of sustainably sourced American solid walnut wood foster a warm, intimate ambience, while the sumptuous fabric of our indigo velvet sofa adds a luxuriousness and weight to this compact home.

Every square inch counts in this small apartment dwelling, and so we tried to incorporate pieces that can transform and adapt to the home owner’s needs where possible. A multifunctional set of two nesting coffee tables can be pulled apart to increase table surface when guests are over, stacked back together when they’re not in use, or even staggered to create that lovingly layered look!

Featured: Vintage nesting tables | Newport sofa

While the show flat is graced with floor-to-ceiling windows that invite plenty of natural light in, we wanted to enhance the living room’s open and airy appearance. A floor length mirror creates dimension and the illusion of depth, while its reflective surface can help brighten up a space in an instant.

Featured: Fissure II mirror | Twist TV cabinet

We decided to use the same solid eco-wood in the bedroom for continuity, and opted for a compact yet streamlined bed frame that highlights the wood’s deep tones. One of our favourite tricks when faced with limited floor space is to utilise the walls – here, we mounted a wall box shelf at a lower height, giving way to a space-saving alternative to a traditional bedside table. Filling vacant walls art can add colour, dimension and personality – it’s these decorative pieces that will make any room feel complete and naturally your home!

Featured: Solid bed | Circa17 box

We hope our show flat project inspires you to fill your compact home with plenty of natural and sustainable style!