Small apartment: Create more space with furniture & planning

Don't feel claustrophobic in a small apartment. Mamta Singh has some tips to make the most of your limited space

When Sheela married and shifted to Delhi, she was dismayed at the small size of the apartment her husband had rented in Vaishali. Her ancestral home in Lucknow had a number of rooms, each of them filled with heavy furniture. But once she got over her initial shock, she determined to make the most of her straitjacketed situation. With so many small apartments coming up in urban areas, more and more homemakers look around for furniture that will not take up too much space. Besides buying smaller sized furniture, people are also going in for multi-functional options.

Multifunctional usage

One option you have is to make multiple use of the same space, as was done in the past. Then, the kitchen doubled up as the family room and entertainment area. Check if you can do the same in your apartment. Evaluate which rooms in your home are used all day and night, and which remain unused for the larger part of the day. You could shift some functions to these rooms. For instance, you could use your main bedroom as a family room, TV room, or as a home office.

Adopt an open kitchen design and merge the kitchen with the dining room. The drawing room can serve as entertainment area, TV lounge, sitting room, and can also double up as a guest room whenever you have visitors who will be staying overnight.

The space crunch is most acute in studio apartments where one room doubles up as bedroom at night and as sitting room during the day. A home lacking a spare bedroom faces the same problem. The most effective way to resolve the problem is by going in for a sofa-cum-bed. Double beds are no doubt the most space consuming items in homes. In comparison, sofa-cum-beds are styled so neatly these days that it is difficult to tell that they serve as beds at night.

Space-saving furniture

Says Viraj Mahajan, "space-saving furniture is designed with a lot of thought regarding comfort and aesthetics. In a small apartment, we need furniture that allows us to walk about freely. In the bedroom, the bed should not only provide the right amount of space for sleeping, but should also not occupy the entire room." Sofa-cumbeds are like regular sofas. Lift the cushions and fold down the flaps, and they open out as beds. Besides the folddown option, sofa-cum-beds also come in a pullout form where the cushions serve as mattresses for the bed.

"I have designed a wooden sofa-cum-bed with a humped back. The sides have low height - about eight inches higher than the mattress. The seat is deep so one can comfortably sit with legs up and watch TV, read, chat or just relax," says Mahajan. Adds Sameer Hora, "these sofas can be converted into single beds and double beds. When they are opened they are the size of a bed (single or double depending on whether it was a chair or sofa). These sofa-cum-beds are designed for easy operation, thus making them convenient for elderly persons to use. The sofas have an armrest on both sides. This is beneficial especially for the elderly to lever themselves up."

Futons

The futon is a low, comfortable chair-cum-sofa. It is the Western derivative of the Japanese tatami or floor furniture. It is rolled out in the night, and folded during the day. A futon, unlike a sofacum-bed, is very basic and can be used for both sleeping and sitting. The bi-fold futon often seats three and appears just like a sofa-cum-bed. The classic futon sits straight on the floor, though the contemporary ones are bi-fold and have legs.

Furnishing

In sofa-cum-beds use fabric which is stain proof and washable. "Slipcovers are ideal as you can change them whenever required. By merely switching the cover you can give your room a very different look in a matter of seconds. A bright, colourful design can add cheer to a dark living room. A neutral colour can blend into a space that already has a bright, airy feel. You can select from a variety of materials like cotton, Italian micro fibre, denim, polyester, acrylic blend suede, leather, terry cloth and brocade," suggests Sameer Hora.