The Micro-Apartment Trend

How to make the most of a very small space

Have you heard of micro-apartments? Although they sound like something from Gulliver’s Travels, or a Sylvanian Families toy set, they are in fact a real-life solution to creating affordable living in urban environments. As the world’s largest cities struggle to accommodate their growing populations, architects have devised a snappy solution in the small but perfectly formed shape of a micro-apartment. These apartments range from about 200 to 400 square feet – about the size of a single garage. They consist of just one room; a studio space – which offers a place to sleep and sit, plus a kitchenette and bathroom.

Not only do micro-apartments offer a solution to housing in densely populated urban areas, they also provide an opportunity for young professionals to get on the housing ladder. House prices in large cities like London have increased to such an extent that it has made it near impossible for young people to buy a property, or even to rent in more central areas. These new build micro-apartments offer an excellent solution to the housing crisis by offering an ideal home to those living alone or even couples. To align with this modern and youthful lifestyle, trendy coffee shops, bars and general amenities have swiftly taken the opportunity to locate close-by in an attempt to cash in on this sweeping city living movement.

But while these tiny homes offer an elegant solution to affordable housing, they can be a challenging space to live in. This is where smart home storage comes into play. By using a few clever organisational tricks you can make small space into a comfortable and stylish urban home. Here are our five top tips for small apartment living:

1. Shelve it

Shelving is absolutely key in compact living, and you don’t want the shelving itself to take up too much room. Adjustable Wall Shelving is a great option here and can grow as you acquire things to fill it, providing simple storage across the length of the entire wall, or floor-to-ceiling shelving if you so desire it. An unusual but ingenious example use for this type of shelving mounts a cycle bike onto the wall, using the cross-bar slipped over wall shelves for safe stowing.

Wall Mounted Grid Mesh offers a stylish industrial edge with a contemporary feel, and can also be adapted to your needs with hooks, baskets and rails. This genius metal panel can free-up room on a kitchen wall to hang pans or utensils for easy reach and placement. Add baskets to hold small jars of spice and herbs, rails for foils, cling film and wraps. In the bathroom Grid Mesh is equally useful, utilising valuable height space to accommodate toiletries, towels and other spa-time essentials.

2. Divide and conquer

You can also use Freestanding Shelving to partition off your living space, making the different areas feel more like separate rooms. A book shelf as a room divider works very well for example, both visually and practically.

3. Now you see it…

Hiding things out of sight allows the creation of space in tiny apartments. For example, your bed is your largest item of furniture, so many people choose to have a bed that folds into the wall, to instantly make the apartment feel bigger when you are not using it. Roll away cupboards also work really well for compact living, for example to store clothes in. The same goes for extendable furniture, such as a table that works for one or two most of the time, but can be made bigger when friends come round for dinner. Some people even build storage space into the floor.

4. Trick of the eye

Interior design experts suggest painting small apartments in dark colours, while it may seem counter-intuitive, richer tones actually blur the boundaries of a room, which means it works very well in single room living areas. You can also distract the eye with a busy feature wall, so people look at that instead of the size of the space. Mirrors also work very well in creating the illusion of space, especially if you place it opposite a window.

5. Keep it minimal

And finally, it is essential in any small living space to be minimalist, as any clutter will make the apartment seem smaller. Remove any item that is not vitally important in helping you live your life, or that doesn’t make you very happy. Take a look at our blog post on de-cluttering and organising your home for more advice.

Compact living can be comfortable as well as affordable and practical. There is a joy to be found in simplifying our lives. To that end, there are many ways to maximise your small space, and there is lots of fun to be had in discovering these!