Making Spaces
W
hat do you do when your
dream house is downsized
because of a lack of space?
How do you make the best
of what you’ve got when it doesn’t seem
to fit all you require of it, while still
making it look good? Designers have
had lots of challenging fun with these
questions just so that we don’t have to
feel discouraged by them.
a cupboard of some kind as long as
enough space is allowed for traffic to
various areas in the house. One could
even instal hooks in the ceiling or on
the wall on which to hang bicycles or
other awkwardly shaped items which
need storage, seeing a storeroom isn’t
often included in a general townhouse
development plan. Never undervalue the
amount of storage you may need.
Solutions like implementing
multipurpose spaces, doing open-plan
planning, executing clever ergonomics
in the working environment and loft
living can easily turn what seems like a
nightmare into a happy home.
In the living room one should consider
manufacturing or purchasing dualpurpose furniture to help save space.
This can refer to floating shelves in
height-line with the TV cupboard against
a wall which sits over the lounger and
can thus have the second function of
a side table or elbow rest, shelving for
books or magazines in the underside
or under-arm compartment of a lounge
chair, or a side table with multiple
functions of allowing space for a laptop
at a comfortable height, a printer inside
the side table with a door which can
appear seamless and yet open into a
surface which allows paper out once
printed. (See image below.)
Words Ronelle van Niekerk
Multipurpose spaces
56
There are plenty of opportunities to
implement multipurpose spaces in one’s
home. These adjustments will not only
be cunningly effective, but promise to
become great conversation pieces.
In the bedroom one can construct or
buy integrated under-bed storage in the
form of drawers. Use the wall space for
cupboards. Clad cupboard sides with
mirrors or shelving or both to open up
the space, thus using it to its optimum
potential. In tight areas like spaces
between the bed and the wall one could
perhaps salvage enough space to put up
a floating shelf at dressing-table height
with a small chair which can easily be
moved under the shelf when not in use.
This would then function as a dressing
surface space complemented by a
wall-mounted mirror above it. Floating
shelves are very useful in small spaces
and could even be helpful above the
washing machine in the bathroom.
Add freestanding or built-in cupboards
in small corner areas in hallways in
order to turn any inoperable space into
desIgn Namibia October - December 2013
http://everysmallspace.com/2010/09/
portable-desks-for-use-in-small-livingspaces/
10.10.2013
09:50 Posted 16 September 2013
When planning your kitchen area,
extend the cupboard height all the way
to the ceiling. You may have to use a
step-ladder to access the top shelves,
but you will elude the frustration
of standard-height cabinets, which
end about 30 centimetres below the
customary ceiling height. A built-in or
fold-down worktop can, for example,
double up as a kitchen table and a
kitchen counter top. With a knee-hole
underneath, it could also become a