Small Space, Big Ideas

Space Saving Ideas for a Small Condo

The Living Room

• Fake soaring ceilings. Rooms seem taller when the walls and ceiling are painted a continuous color. Here, an airy white shade camouflages the living area's decidedly un-loftlike 8-foot-6-inch height—especially when contrasted with the dark floor.
  
• Let there be (natural) light. Notice how much cleaner windows look when they're not cluttered up by curtains and valances. To say nothing of how the sunshine bounces off the walls and tiles for an expansive, mirrored effect.
  
• Choose convertible furnishings. By folding down the back and arms of this Ligne Roset daybed, the couple can turn their rainy-day movie-watching perch into a comfy guest bed.
  
• Don't forget flooring. "Another trick we used to make the space feel larger," says Gregory De Peña, "is laying tile diagonally from corner to corner." The tactic highlights the condo's longest axis instead of chopping up the floor plan into individual rooms.