Circus Furniture: May 2015

All of us want to have a place to call our own. But space – or the lack of it – is fast becoming an issue. Whether you live in the studio apartment or want to get more out of a small room, Jessica Hynes shares these small space design ideas to help you decorate.

Furniture placement makes a big difference in a large room. | Image Source: stuff.co.nz

Placing furniture in a room requires careful forethought, writes Jessica Hynes.

If there is one thing synonymous with great interior design, a full-scale renovation, room makeover, or new a season freshen up, it is the consideration and manipulation of space.

Whether it be an apartment, a sprawling country manor, or a freshly signed-off new build, how we work with the space of each room is key to the success of your interior design project.

Furniture placement makes a big difference in a small room. | Image Source: stuff.co.nz

Space evokes emotions, reflects functionality, and is the blank canvas that can be visually controlled through colours, furnishings, and objects.

However, not all amateur interior designers are aware of what can be achieved in the space they have without even picking up a hammer.

We want rooms in our houses to be one of two ways — either cosy and warm, or spacious and airy. How we want a space to work for us depends on the function and purpose of the room. Rooms where people gather, socialise, and spend the majority of their time should feel spacious while a bedroom or study is more likely to feel warm and intimate.

Light sculptural look: Anteo Table by Giorgetti, from ECC. | Image Source: stuff.co.nz

Apartment living in New Zealand is becoming increasingly popular, with the rise in house prices looking unlikely to slow down soon. Challenging the Kiwi ideology of the three-bedroom detached house on a quarter-acre section (no longer a reality for most of us), the inspiration and resources available for learning to work with smaller spaces are becoming more prevalent in design and architecture.

Adding multiple pieces of furniture to an already small room quickly makes it overcrowded; a couch, a couple of chairs, a TV and coffee table, rug, artwork, and dining table, and your modern, clean lined space quickly resembles a junk shop, and items that once seemed practical now seem superfluous and clumsy.

On the flip side, a large and open plan space can prove just as challenging. Place furniture too far apart and run the risk of a clinical, sterile atmosphere. A new build boasting light-coloured carpets and walls can come across as cavernous when empty; trying to correctly place furniture can be like attempting to decorate the Serengeti with sofas.

But before sacrificing your Marimekko fabric curtains or your Philippe Starck Louis Ghost chairs, be aware that it's often how you place your furniture within a space that can determine its feel.

Having your furniture haphazardly arranged around a TV or coffee table in a small lounge can make it feel pokey. Invest in a rug and face your furniture symmetrically towards each other around it to anchor the area; a little formality goes a long way in visually increasing a small space. Rein in those formally placed chairs floating at the edges of a room in a large space, and form different dominant and submissive clusters of furniture, areas for socialising and those more suited to curling up with a book and a cuppa.

The introduction of different areas adds interest to a large room, and can make it appear visually smaller and more cosy.

'Grounded' furniture can affect the feeling of space in a room: Shadow Buffet by Ethnicraft, from McKenzie & Willis. | Image Source: stuff.co.nz

While most people don't have the budget to knock through walls or add extensions on a whim, accessories and colours are the two secret weapons great designers have in their repertoire.

A bathroom in varying shades of white will make a space appear larger, as the continuation of colour draws the eye around the room. A living area with textured, patterned wallpaper, furniture in different shades, contrasting curtains, and layers of accessories will keep the eye occupied, and visually bring the room in.

The great thing about using accessories to change the way the size of a room is perceived is that you can play with new trends, and make small changes with affordable pieces like cushions and artwork to give your room a brand new look.

Here are a few tricks to keep in mind when you are thinking about how to fill a room to suit its function and size, while maximising or minimising the appearance of space.

* Mirrors aren't only magic for Snow White. For small spaces, place a mirror opposite a window and voila — your room has just gained much needed depth and an added sense of space.

* Big, bold prints maximise a small space, while delicate prints bring the space together.

* Grounded furniture is a great way of making a room appear smaller, as it adds density. Floating cabinetry, or furniture with fine legs make a room appear larger.

* Simplicity and repetition of materials, patterns, and colours make a space appear larger, while contrast, irregular patterns, and lines reduce space.

* Light colours and reflective surfaces such as stainless steel, chrome, and metallics are ideal for small spaces. Dark colours and light absorbing surfaces such as brick, concrete, stone and unpolished timber are perfect in large spaces.