Required Reading: Beautifully Small - Remodelista
Drawing on a wealth of solutions gathered on the job, London interiors stylist and writer, Sara Emslie produced Beautifully Small: Clever Ideas for Compact Spaces, a new book out at the end of the month. Then she takes us on a tour of 13 projects spread across Denmark, Sweden, France, and the UK, each tiny and replete with takeaway. Emslie’s house is a classic 19th-century British “two-up, two-down” (two rooms on two floors). Staples that are overspill from her small kitchen are cleverly used as display items on the mantel. Each of the rooms still has its original cast-iron fireplace. Emslie uses the chimney alcoves for open shelving. A small extension with an efficient U-Shaped Kitchen was added to the back of the house. The dining and living rooms are separated by the staircase. Visually, Emslie keeps the space flowing by painting it all the same white. Emslie fitted out all of the windows in the house with wooden shutters in “a classic, understated Shaker style that marries form and function,” she says. Woven rush baskets tucked under the bed provide attractive storage. Beautifully Small by Sara Emslie, photographed by Rachel Whiting, will be out from UK publisher Ryland Peters & Small at the end of the month; $29.95. The book is available in the UK through Amazon. Furnishing your small space and want to incorporate some of Emslie’s ideas? And on Gardenista, Small-Space DIY: Black Wire Hanging Vase brings greenery into even the tightest interior.