10 solutions for living in just 40 square metres!

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It seems unlikely for anyone to live comfortably in a restricted environment with a surface area of only 40 square meters, especially if we’re speaking about a family. Here at homify and with our experts, we hope to bring you some ideas of how you can combine design, style and decoration in a small environment to make it a tasteful home.

Starting with the living room, through the kitchen and dining room, then to the bedrooms, the bathroom, and storage space, we will look at choices of furniture and  decoration—important elements of to gain a sense of space. Come with us, here we go!!!

A mezzanine

This studio, which is on the 6th floor of an old building in central Paris, was an opportunity for  Marion Rocher in Paris to show us what he can do in a small space while preserving the charm of the former apartment. As part of the rehabilitation of this Parisian studio, it was important to bring in a storage mezzanine, creating a podium under the stairs with 3 drawers and re-using chimneys to create closets. 

When choosing a staircase without risers, it becomes a little more difficult to conceive of storage areas or a conventional closet. The stairs leading to the mezzanine was a source of optimization, as they were thought of in terms of efficiency: the adjacent wall which features a chimney was fitted with shelves to receive books and trinkets, while the floor under the stairs consists of a platform which hosts three large drawers and also serves as a cabinet for TV and additional seating with cushions.

Simple furniture

For the TV room, you must use the bare minimum to avoid congestion. A nice little convenient design, easily blends with sobriety in a modern style that suites the decoration of the room very well. The rest is about colour matching to create a feeling of space in the living room of a compact house. We all know light and neutral colours are the way to go in order to make a room or space feel bigger than it really is, but clever use of more vivid colours can also do the trick. What you don’t want to do, is create negative space with the use of dark and heavy colours.

A petite dining room

A small house can also have a modern dining room and design, as one chooses fine furniture that fit with the size and colour of the room. This minimalist glass table and its accompanying chairs have a good place in a family home of 40 square meters to serve as a dining room, enhanced by a beautiful lamp that settles well above the room. The small space available in the corner can host a small couch and furniture for storage of cutlery. Simplicity ensures the contemporary look in any little house, for your comfort.

Storage cylinders

In the contemporary design of our house, we should not overlook the impact of the use of bottles that would otherwise be a source of congestion, or could add to cluttered living if not properly stored. So, in an effort to store all bottles effectively in one space, Ideecadeau.fr offers us this beautiful piece of furniture that can play the dual role of a bar that provides efficient storage of bottles in a small corner of the house, while still saving space in a tiny home.

A children's bedroom that measures up

The children's room often requires enough space for the bed, cabinets, dressers and different tools conducive to childhood development. However, the space available in a small house does not always allow for these comforts. If you do not plan the location of each thing in the room, you’ll very quickly create disorder which will be difficult to solve later. With our current inspiration, a single, functional piece and a nice wall decoration allow children to enjoy the space, whilst avoiding congestion that disturb the flow of energy in the room. 

When we do not have enough room but we have several children, a dormitory is needed in our little house for the comfort of kids. For this, the best choice will be a bunk bed. A small, decorative wall touch will bring a little life into the room which may present a simple and modern design.

Minimalist office

If planned well, you may even be able to enjoy the small space available to create a home office. This is possible if you plan a good arrangement of a desk and a chair by using the ledges that can offer some additional available space to create a design for an operational office in a 40 square meter apartment.

As you can see in the image, though, spatial planning is essential, and you will have to think of each necessary element in the office. Everything else should stay outside, this is not a space where you want clutter to get the upper hand.

Know your bathroom's potential

The original and simple bathroom that does not take up too much space, is ideal for a small house. Space optimisation can be achieved in the bathroom by the right mix of elements. Be careful though, the bathroom can be quite a demanding area, requiring a rational layout to fit all of the different corners in such a small room. If you do it right, you can make the bathroom feel much more spacious than it really is. The trick is that you need to use every shred of space available to make the best of it.

Take this image as example. Much more can actually be squeezed into the same space if the entire area is planned optimally. The bath, which takes up much space, is done away with in favour of a much more space-conscious shower, and the other elements are fit together like a puzzle to use every corner fully.

A relevant dressing room

It is important to emphasize that the dressing room we choose, should be minimalist, but for it to be appropriate to the space is more important. Its installation must take into account the very insignificant area of the house that is offered within the 40 square meters. However, with a little inspiration, you can use a design like this dressing room area by AE Design in Strasbourg. It is small enough to suit the space available, but still roomy enough to extend an extended wardrobe.

Optimal storage

Storage is an issue in any home, large or small, but it is experienced much more profusely in the latter. In this image, a large linear library is housed under a sloped roof of an attic bedroom. This is a great solution, as the storage problem is to be taken seriously in a house of 40 square meters, where you have to find space to store books, CDs and other useful items in the dwelling. Bulles & Taille-Crayon unveils its library to us here, which plays the bodyguard to protect your apartment against clutter and congestion.

A sofa can be cumbersome

A modern lounge should not be limited to large house. Naturally, you won’t be able fit a large, classic, or exaggerated L-shaped sofa into a modest living room. However, a stylish lounge can be included easily in a small house with the use of a compact sofa, as proposed here by Armatoste Studio from Mexico. This achievement is very impressive because it was done with the recovery of old pallets which was arranged with design, offering a beautiful sofa that uses tasteful cushions to express individuality easily in a small room, with the added benefit of a small storage space for books incorporated into the design. This L-shaped design is not too large, and can easily fit into the corner of restricted room. 

Now if you think 40 square meters can be a challenge, wait till you see Apartment perfection in just 32sqm!

Which of these space saving ideas do you think will work best for your own home?

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