Living Large in a (Really) Small Space by Rose Bennett Gilbert on Creators.com

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Living Large in a (Really) Small Space

Q: Our living “room” is just a wide spot in the entry hall of our small apartment. (We used the official living room for a family/dining room instead). Our sofa is a sleeper, that's how cramped we are. My question is what to do about 1. a cocktail table and 2. lighting. There's really no room for a cocktail table or lamp tables.

A: Never mind that the living room we show here is on the spacious and gracious side (with furniture by Lillian August for Hickory White, hickorywhite.com ), it illustrates two sensible ideas that can be translated into your Lilliputian living space:

1. Scrap the usual cocktail table and opt instead for a smaller, more flexible substitute. Here, a smart tufted and croc-embossed leather ottoman stands in as both cocktail “table” and footstool that also offers extra seating by day. By night, it would be easy to roll out of the way when you need to open your sofa-cum-sleeper.

In fact, you might put a pair of matching ottomans on cocktail table duty … and if you're really pressed for space, look for seats with tops that lift-off to reveal storage for guest sheets and pillows.

Ottomans — hassocks or footstools — aren't the only alternatives to a traditional cocktail table. Baskets, small stacking tables, even a child's wagon will be as light and flexible as they are eccentric and charming.

2. Enlist a behind-the-sofa table to provide lighting for the seating area. Here, a narrow sofa table holds the pair of lamps that shed their warm glow over the space. No space even for a table? Two swing-art lamps mounted on the wall at each end of the sofa will do the trick brightly.

Q: How to handle a slanted ceiling? We're wallpapering the guestroom and don't know where the wall stops and the ceiling begins. Where do we stop with the paper and start with the paint?

A: That depends on how high the ceiling is. If the room is smallish and the ceiling is low, you can make the space look more expansive by raising the height of the wall.

No renovation required. Illusion is all: Simply run the wallpaper all the way up the slanted area to the flat part of the ceiling.

Voila! Taller wall plus higher ceiling equals bigger room.

On the other hand, if the ceiling is so high you feel un-cozy — not ideal for most bedrooms — stop the wallpaper where the slant begins. And consider painting the ceiling a warm or even dark color, slanted area and all. It will appear closer; therefore, the entire room will feel snugger and more human-friendly.

Q: Is it smart to paint the floor in our entry hall? My husband hates the idea … he says paint looks cheap and tacky. Our style is mostly contemporary. What to do?

A: Paint is a time-honored treatment for floors, especially floors worn beyond refinishing. And not just for traditional–style or “tacky” rooms. Top New York designer John Buscarello (buscarello.com) once had the floor of a toney Park Avenue apartment stencil-painted to, for all the world, look like Old World parquet.

It was posh, priceless and painted. Tell your husband.

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of “Manhattan Style” and six other books on interior design. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.