Christine's House: Living Small in London - Remodelista
Photography by Kristin Perers for Remodelista. Whenever my architect husband and I embark on a remodeling project in our modern London terraced house, we morph into truffle pigs, sniffing out storage opportunities in the most unlikely places. A little ingenuity and a great deal of flexibility means that over the years, our family of four (plus dog) has been completely satisfied with 1,500 square feet of living space. In our dining area, we created a niche of bookshelves and benched seating (complete with underneath storage) on the back wall. One table can be brought outside easily for al fresco dining, and my beloved Ercol chairs are stackable if we need more space. Above L: A corner of the table serves as a solo breakfast spot. Above R: The same table, set for a dinner party. Just about every inch of available space in the kitchen is lined with cabinets. A midcentury cabinet in the entry hall contains hats, gloves, and scarves. When not in use, our Ercol Nesting Tables nestle under one other and fit neatly beneath the Ercol stationery table. In the living room, a set of steel Metro Shelves (commercial kitchen shelves) provides useful storage. They have been reconfigured at least eight times, including twice in this house–the best $1,000 we have ever spent. Above L: Closets for hanging clothes have been inserted into the office; the wide doors function as bulletin boards for architectural drawings. Even our bed is fitted into a niche. We store our luggage in the drawers underneath the bed; the headboard is comprised of cabinet doors, which conceal bookshelves. Above L. Low Metro shelves from our original newlywed cull provide storage and serve as a room divider in our bedroom. Open storage using an Ikea system (discontinued) was a very effective and inexpensive way to put a closet in our bedroom. Two custom-built sheds in the garden provide storage and a backdrop for the outdoor room.