Laura Lochhead's a designer who founded the company Pocket Space Interiors.
She spoke with Jesse Mulligan about some of the fundamentals of good interior design and storage in smaller spaces.
Photo: 123RF
Lighting
Make sure that your small space has got lots of natural light, she says.
“Then about supplementing that natural light with artificial light.
“Nowadays, it's a lot better, compared to the old villas, where there just be one light in the entire room. If you go into an apartment, you quite often see a couple of lights specified in an apartment.
“But you can enhance it with floor lamps. And also up-lighting if you've got quite a low ceiling to make the ceiling look larger.”
Flooring
Ditch the carpet, she says.
“Carpet just is the biggest absorber of light.”
A rug can make a lounge more cosy, she says.
“In your lounge a beautiful rug just to warm it up and make it feel like you've gone into a different area in your home.”
Rugs can soften a lounge area. Photo: Pexels
Laundries and bathrooms
If you have a larger bathroom put the laundry in there, she says.
“I'm integrating the laundry and bathrooms more and more and more, especially in apartments and in villas.
“Villas have extraordinary large bathrooms for some reason. So definitely put the laundry in there. And then just make a nice big bench that that acts as your base but then goes over the washing machine. And then that way, you know you have a nice big counter space, but you also have space for that laundry.”
She says the dreaded cupboard laundries can work better with a 2-in-1 washer/dryer.
“Those cupboard laundries are really, really bad, 2 in 1s have come a long way since 10 years ago. And that means that you can have overhead storage and a bench top.
“You can do condenser dryers now, so they don't need to be ventilated.”
Best use of height
Optimise with storage, she says.
“You might need to get on the ladder and get those winter duvets down once a year. But you can do floor to ceiling storage.
“You can get melamine sheets, they come in a super sheet, which is three meters high now, So that's a really cool option you can have just one door and it looks really seamless.”
Mirrors
Anything reflective is good in a small space, she says, so ditch the aforementioned carpet.
“If you have a wooden floor and you've got a mirror on the wall, it will definitely help bounce that light around.
“Be strategic about where you place it because it can reflect, for example, some trees outside and then you've got a piece of artwork.”
In your bathroom make the mirror a lot larger, she says.
“By that I mean go up higher rather than the short, stubby mirror.
Drawers vs cupboards
Go for drawers if you can, she says.
“I love drawers they’re great for older people, because they don't have to get down to the knees and open the cupboards and see what's at the back.
“That cupboard under the sink is now a thing in the past, if you're doing a kitchen renovation you do all of that with drawers, you just have a U-shaped draw that's cut out for the sink and the plumbing, but then all around it you put your detergents and sponges and things.”
Photo: Pexels
Bathrooms
Bathrooms are probably the top of the list for storage problems, she says.
“Instead of just having a flat mirror on the wall, you can do a mirror cabinet.
“And if you're doing a new-build, you can even specify this to be recessed into the wall. So, you can have a deeper cupboard. And if you're really tight in space, then you can get custom ones done.
“They only stop at about 900 high. Whereas you actually have a whole lot of space above that. So you could probably do a custom one 1400 high.”
Put a shelf above the doorframe, she says.
“You can roll up some towels and so you don't have to do the mad dash to down the hallway to get that towel that you forgot.”
Pedestal vanities are useless, she says.
“They are a waste of time, take that out and put in a double drawer vanity you can make them quite deep as well towards the floor and just make sure that you've got enough space to put a vacuum underneath.”
Bedroom
“Your main wall is where your bed head is so build that back wall out with some inbuilt cabinetry.
“You only need at the depth of a shoe, so 350 deep, put some shoes or extra hobby supplies or anything that you need.”
Wardrobes
“I think wardrobes are another undervalued area and cubby holes are kind of a little bit useless because you end up just throwing jumpers in.
“So, I would again invest in good draws.”
Lounge
“Instead of those dinky little entertainment units that your TV sits on I'd get rid of that and do a big inbuilt wall unit with the TV mounted on the wall.
“You can store books and plants and little pottery things or whatever you have.”
