New York-based interior designer Keith Lichtman of KL Interiors has been sharing his experience with the challenges of small living spaces. Keith recently purchased a home in New York City, and today he tells us how to overcome a space that lacks just that.
By Keith Lichtman
In many rooms the plan for furniture placement is obvious at first glance. In a smaller space, there might be one or two additional options at the very most that could work. When the ideal placement is obvious, yet some limitations exist, some ingenuity is called for.
In my bedroom, I had one particular placement in mind for the bed. Unfortunately, an off-set window looking onto (another) brick wall interrupted the clean line of the wall that would go behind my headboard. To make matters worse, about 2/3 of the way across, the wall cut back about 6” deep. Not only was there an awkward window in the way, but the wall was not even straight. The good news was the two very large, south-facing windows existed on the adjacent wall, eliminating the need for the awkward one that intruded on the head of the bed.
My plan was to develop a clean and perfect backdrop for my queen size bed. The solution: make a new wall—out of fabric. From a hospital track installed into the ceiling, I hung floor to ceiling curtains to form the backdrop I needed. The track itself is white, so it virtually blended into the ceiling. The advantages were as follows: First, I created the clean and beautiful backdrop that I needed, second, the wall was straightened out and the unnecessary, off-center window was hidden and third, I created height and drama by using the full 9 ½ feet of ceiling height.
I further emphasized the height of the curtains by using a tall, iron canopy bed. Keeping it open, architectural and free from fabric enhanced the space and created a real presence. It can take awhile and it can certainly be frustrating, but making a home out of a smaller space is completely doable with the right frame of mind and perfect amount of creativity!
Stay tuned for more from Keith, and to see some of his work or contact him, visit KL Interiors.
[...] with Function (Part 1 of 2) October 19th, 2011 Guest Blogger and New York-based interior designer Keith Lichtman of KL Interiors is back to share his thoughts on what feels must be the top considerations in [...]
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