With all the talk about Auckland’s housing crisis, and the poorly designed, soulless, tiny apartments being the only affordable option for people like me, I thought I’d show you some of my favourite tiny spaces abroad.
A bedroom that only fits a bed. Sounds ominous, but it’s actually wonderful. Okay, so it does have a dressing room to the side, but this is an example of smart design making tiny livable.
This lady has such wonderful ideas for tricking the eye into thinking the space is so much bigger than what it is. Using dark colours to provide depth, a glass desk to make her workspace invisible, and more
While I really do not like the stairs to get to this place, she has some smart ideas for storage and that terrace makes the place!
Finally here is a really great video showing how to create areas in a bedsit/studio – the sheer dividing wall as really got me thinking that this could be something I do in the future.
The key, I think, with all of these small spaces, is the light. In many of the apartments I’ve viewed in Auckland, natural light is a luxury. Many of the bedrooms have small windows that either overlook the kitchen, or a shared landing with people coming and going at all hours. Yuck.
Beautiful finishing touches such as bay windows, decorative molding along the walls, polished wood floors can take a standard apartment and make it feel like a real home.
There’s so much work that needs to be done to make Auckland housing amazing. It’s not about having the biggest or a whole lot of land – it’s about smart design with good structure.
Your move, developers.
