Bianca-Jade's Profile

Hi Kate - I've had two similarly shaped living areas. While my most recent solution can purely be attributed to smaller furniture, I think there is a lot more that you can do than simply replace everything.

First of all if I would take anything out it would be the large couch-like item. While it might have worked in other rooms it is significantly causing the hallway-dimensions of your room. Instead of providing a clear walkway from the kitchen to the bedroom I think you should interrupt it with a smaller sofa. Something narrow enough to walk round either side. Place this with its back to your kitchen opening, perhaps directly in line with the doors with the edge to the one wall. Place a side table in the small alcove created to the elft fo the couch if you are facing the kitchen.

Place your Eames chair and footstool in in the corner with your clever bicycle rack bookshelf. A great place to read and easily angled to face the couch.

This arrangement may seem cumbersome at first, but quickly you'll find the room more cosy, useful and comfortable. You'll soon find a path around the furniture you most often take and will wonder why you didn't do it before.

And with a floating sofa you can always try placing a consol table or bookshelf behind it, with a lamp, or two lamps on top. It's a great trend if you can manage it :)

If @Dulcibella's suggestion of pushing it right up against the wall makes it too boxy why not put it an an angle?

Push it forward and right up to the wall on the right and then pull the side closest to the window backwards towards your entry table. This should allow you to view the tv better as you'r almost opposite it and see out the windows.

Then take your entry table (which is surprisingly well shaped for this arrangement), turn it around and place it centered behind the couch. The cut corners of the table should work well with this angled arrangement. Pop your lamp back on top the table (I see an electrical point on the wall you're couch could be angled on). This will be great for reading.

Put some large art on the wall where the table was and angle the large coffee table with the couch if possible.

If you are mounting the tv put the armchair in it's place facing the angled couch and coffee table and put its footstool on the other side of the fireplace, angled to mirror it.

Good luck!

Luke, I have to say this is an amazing space - unlike a certain other very tiny space dweller featured on Apartment Therapy recently you've completely embraced living small - not just squashing everything you own into what space you have.

This space is clean and simple with enough personality to make it more than a mere dorm/hotel room.

I love love your bed/couch - a great design for this small space :) as well as the hanging items in the corner - just a touch of quirky for what is otherwise a minimalist space.

I'd have loved to see a floorplan on this!

Thank you for all the kind comments :)

I opted to use the acrylic chairs and stools in the open-plan living/dining area as this space is incredibly tight and the see-throughness helps make the space feel less cluttered (as most of you pointed out). The 2 chairs in the living area are used when guests come to eat dinner - making a set of 4. We also have a lovely view of our side courtyard through the large sliding doors adjacent to the dining area and it's great we can still see it clearly through our furniture.

There also really isn't any other arrangement for our living area with the furniture we have as we tend to prefer to face our TV which is directly opposite the couch. Also the bathroom door is behind it and we think it is better to have this area face away from it :)

As for comments on the colour scheme I have always been a black & white sort of person and struggle to commit to lots of colour! My wardrobe is very similar in this respect. But each of the rooms does have an accent colour and I often change these smaller items when the mood strikes me :)

Thank you for all the lovely comments :)

@Craigslistdecorator: we don't have Ikea in South Africa, but the couch is from a really great store that offers cheaper furniture. We have two kittens so an expensive couch at this stage would be silly :)

@ Anne Alexander Sieder: you have no idea! But ultimately a house is still dirty no matter the color, it has created good habits like regular sweeping :)

@DCGirl33, yes they are not real Philippe Starck Ghost Chairs but sadly in South Africa it is very difficult to get designer furniture, particularly in Cape Town.