Small furniture and high ceilings create the illusion of space
Fiona Anderson
Sun
Design and layout, as well as smaller furniture, can make a small condominium look bigger than its size.
At DoMain — at Main and 12th Streets in Vancouver — the smallest units are one-bedrooms at 535 square feet. But the bedrooms have a partial wall with openings on either side, rather than a door, which creates “an open flow” said Patricia Glass, senior marketing coordinator with Platinum Project Marketing Group, MacDonald Realty, which markets the units.
Other tricks used to make the space look bigger are lots of natural light and high ceilings, Glass added.
“Through the design you can do it so that although small, these people can live large,” Glass said.
Another trick is buying smaller furniture. Mark Dawson, owner of Cocoon Home Designs, is often asked to build something smaller than what would be found in a traditional store.
There has definitely been a trend toward “more space efficient, smarter furniture,” Dawson said.
Dawson specializes in “clean-lined, modern furniture” that looks less cluttered in a small space.
For example, couches are normally 200 to 225 centimetres (80 to 88 inches) long, which is too big for many condominiums, Dawson said.
So Cocoon sells couches — that are made locally but not by Dawson — that can be customized to any size.
L-shaped sectional couches are also popular because people can order each section any length they want to make it exactly fit into a particular space, he said.
Most people approach Dawson with dimensions and a rough sketch of what they have in mind and he pieces it together in the right proportions.
“A lot of them need to [have furniture custom made] when they’ve got a tricky space,” Dawson said.
“If you do the circuit and check out all the stores, sometimes it’s just impossible to find something that works in that space.”
Unfortunately, smaller condominiums often lack storage space, Dawson said. So a lot of his furniture is built with added drawers.
One sought-after piece of furniture is his dining room table which not only comes with drawers but can also have matching benches rather than chairs that hide more storage space.
Cocoon’s beds also come with drawers for storage underneath. To make sure the queen-size bed can fit into the condo, Dawson makes it modular so it can be taken apart in pieces.
“It’s super easy to get it in and out of your condo,” he said.
© The Vancouver Sun 2006
