Picture Perfect: 30 Successful Small Living Areas
Our coffee-break escape offers you five minutes' worth of images to inspire and delight. Jump right in...
Vanessa Walker
27 November 2018
Houzz Australia & New Zealand Editor-in-Chief
Whether you live in a small apartment or a house with a modestly sized living area, there are many ways to create a liveable space in smaller confines. Here are 30 living areas from around the world where a smaller space was approached creatively and with a sense of style, so you can follow suit.
And remember, you can get more details of a project and see more of a professional’s work by clicking on a photo.
And remember, you can get more details of a project and see more of a professional’s work by clicking on a photo.
1. Art space. Melbourne, Victoria
Designer: Shmik Interiors
Designer: Shmik Interiors
2. Book nook. Boston, USA
3. White is right. Madrid, Spain
4. Seats for all. Boston, USA
5. Sunken treasure. Sydney, NSW
Designer: Pappas Alexiou
Designer: Pappas Alexiou
6. Cosy retreat. London, UK
7. Green and serene. Melbourne, Victoria
Designer: The Den Interiors
Designer: The Den Interiors
8. All in one. London, UK
9. Gathered together. London, UK
10. No shortage of glamour. London, UK
11. Double dip. Tokyo, Japan
12. Ply style. London, UK
13. Pattern play. Cornwall, UK
14. Time will tell. Barcelona, Spain
15. Colour me happy. Providence, USA
16. Seat of power. Gothenburg, Sweden
17. Reflected glory. Madrid, Spain
18. Strum along. Rome, Italy
19. Kind of blue. Barcelona, Spain
20. Stole away. London, UK
21. Near and dear. London, UK
23. Table for two. London, UK
25. Gentle approach. Gothenburg, Sweden
26. Four square. London, UK
27. Star of stripes. Los Angeles, USA
28. Bright lights. Moscow, Russia
29. Paired perfection. Valencia, Spain
30. Happy place. Barcelona, Spain
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If you enjoyed this story, like it, save it, save the photos and share your thoughts in the Comments below. Join the conversation.
More
Want more design inspiration? Don’t miss last week’s Picture Perfect: 36 Lush Indoor-Outdoor Bathrooms
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If it were only that simple Rebecca. It's more accurate to say that cool colours recede and warm colours advance.
Here's the rub though - Each and every colour, or hue, has warm tones or cool and this affects how we perceive the space in which they're used. This applies to small rooms or large as well as individual items and even the seasons, or at least the quality of light in the atmosphere at a given time of year (or time of day for that matter).
If you study an artwork - a painting of a landscape say - that has a lot of depth, it might be logical to assume the depth is represented by large trees and rocks in the foreground and smaller trees and so on in the background. Take a bit longer to look though and focus on the green paints (for example) that have been used - you will soon notice that the greens in the foreground will have warmer tones than those greens in the background. You'll soon begin to see the same feature in the other colours used - reds, blues, yellows, even the browns, greys and yes, the whites. There are both warm and cool undertones in each basic colour
The same principal applies to the paint on your walls and explains the huge variety of colour choices in your local paint store. It's also why we should use sample pots when choosing wall colours, sampling them on more than one wall to get a true feel of how the light in the room alters the way we feel about our choices.
Truth is, we're not entirely just choosing colours, we're choosing an effect of coolness or warmth. Choose to paint your walls in a mid green that has cool undertones and the room will appear more open than if the undertones in your mid green are warm.