Designing Small Spaces: Expert Tips for Maximizing Tiny Homes

In 2010 Colin Chee picked up the keys to his 37 square metre off-the-plan apartment in Melbourne’s city centre. “It was only then that I realised how shit it was.”

With no design experience and a limited budget, his quest to find inspiration eventually led to the birth of Never Too Small, a YouTube channel showcasing clever designs for small spaces from around the world. Launched in 2017, it now has more than 3 million subscribers.

A housing crisis and a surge in apartment building means more Australians are searching for ways to make the most of small-scale abodes.

This weekend Chee will join Claire Scorpo, a director of Agius Scorpo Architects, and Tahj Rosmarin, a director of Card Practice, for Small Spaces, Big Living – a free talk at the National Gallery of Victoria. In the lead-up to the event they share their experiences of designing their own diminutive domiciles.

Formulate your furnishings

When we move into a new space the first instinct is to settle in as quickly as possible. But Chee cautions against hasty fit-outs in smaller spaces. He urges people to move in with whatever they have that fits, then take time to live in a space before trying to find solutions.

“People think a home needs to be finished instantly,” Chee says. “But what I try to convey is that homes will never be perfect.”

Small spaces take more time to understand, he says, and we should regard our living spaces like a flatmate; with pros and cons, good days and bad.

When he moved into the 40 sq m converted warehouse he now shares with his partner, those extra 3 sq m felt like a luxury.

To keep costs down the apartment was furnished with a mix of second-hand items and budget customisations. Economical solutions, Chee says, are essential for most people living in tiny homes: “If I was rich, I’d live in a bigger house. Budget is our biggest consideration.”

In the kitchen Chee placed a bar fridge and a separate small freezer to avoid the bulk of one large unit. He installed a DIY entryway shelf, months after moving in, once he was clear on the purposes it needed to serve. He looked for “skinny legs” when sourcing furniture, which he says maximises the floor space you can see, giving an illusion of spaciousness. Instead of a coffee table, he says, “maybe you just need a stool for your drink” that can double as a step ladder.

Rosmarin installed a piece of multifunctional custom joinery along the main wall of the living space in his North Melbourne apartment. He and his partner store their camping gear beneath the bench seat in their dining nook. Measuring six metres long, the piece also functions as a display shelf and a television cabinet. At a cost of about $5,000 it wasn’t cheap but it serves so many purposes – “It just removes the need for any other furniture.”

Don’t default to an open plan

Rosmarin says 1960s walk-ups like his have great external features but inside the trend was to box everything off, making things feel pokey.

“What we tried to do is connect the spaces a bit better while still keeping that sense of separation, because that is especially important for small homes – you don’t want to feel like you’re in just one big room.”

Rather than demolish the wall between the kitchen and living areas, the couple knocked through a cafeteria-style window.

“It created a bit of visual connection so that when you’re in the kitchen, you can see people in the living area but it also hides all the mess.”

Demolishing load-bearing walls is expensive, he adds, “so creating these tactical openings” also helps with the budget.

When Scorpo and her husband – who’s also her business partner – moved in together at the Cairo block in Fitzroy, it was a badly renovated bedsit.

In the tiny bathroom, they managed to retain the bath and divided the space in half using a fluted glass partition that diffuses light, while breaking the room into separate dressing and bathing areas.

The most sanity-saving design choices keep rooms usable for different purposes by two people at the same time,” she says. “We get lured into the idea that open-plan living is the best kind of design for small spaces but often that one big space can only do one thing at once.”

Make use of vertical space

With just 23 sq m of floor space to work with, Scorpo’s first step was to downsize to a double bed. And rather than let it dominate the space, the couple created a “nook” to conceal it. As long as you don’t have mobility issues, Scorpo says, it makes sense to eliminate wasted bedside space, elevate the bed for storage – a washing machine, in their case – and climb in.

Scorpo’s is custom designed and built but Chee says there are countless “hacks” online that make DIY bed elevation more affordable. Having set themselves a $5,000 budget to upgrade their space, he and his partner leaned into Ikea and Bunnings solutions that emulate custom options while being considerably cheaper.

“We used an Ikea Elvarli modular shelving system, salvaged some wood for the shelves and had that cut to size,” Chee says.

While Chee’s Federation conversion has 3.3-metre-high ceilings, for apartments with more standard dimensions, raising shelving and curtain rods as close as possible to the ceiling accentuates height. Painting those ceilings with a glossy paint, he says, adds to the illusion too.