Micro-Apartment Opens Up With Hidden Storage and Glass Walls

As the place that gave birth to the monster-sized, energy-guzzling McMansion phenomenon, it's no surprise that homes in North America are generally larger than their counterparts in Europe or Asia— though according to statistics, the largest average home sizes are found in Australia. Smaller homes are generally the norm in other places, especially in older cities that developed prior to the introduction of cars, or in cities like Hong Kong, where the island's mountainous geography necessitates vertically building up, rather than sprawling out.

That being said, real estate in Hong Kong is astronomically expensive, and often home buyers will opt to buy up older apartments and renovate, instead of purchasing a new flat. In remodeling an older micro-apartment in one of Shatin, Hong Kong's largest residential precincts, local design firm littleMORE utilized a simple but effective design strategy to enlarge the existing 327-square-foot (30-square-meter) space.

According to the team, the clients were a young couple who were looking to diverge from the existing two-bedroom layout, in order to have enough space for working from home, to entertain family and friends, and for concealed storage. As the designers explain:

"[The micro-apartment is] located in one of the largest residential precinct in Shatin with more than 10,000 units. We tried to give this apartment its own identity by a harmonic mix of materials & colours. Together with the rearranged walls and partitions, the colour on wall play an important role in this project to help enliven the spaces."

The new design scheme involved moving some of the interior partitions around, as well as installing some glass walls to let more light into various spaces, like the bedroom and living room. These transparent partitions also help to keep the visual connection between the spaces, without cutting off natural light.

The living room itself has been nicely pared down to house only a convertible sofa, which sits in front of a window.

Rather than have a bulky piece of furniture to sit the television on, which takes up quite a bit of floor space, the screen has been mounted to the wall, which also has a full range of cleverly hidden storage cabinets from top to bottom.

The living room also doubles as a dining room, with the addition of a wooden table. The table has hidden extensions that can be pulled out when family or guests come over for dinner. As the design team notes, the muted color scheme helps to highlight the warmth of the wood table, while pops of color from the fabrics and pillows impart a cheeriness to the scheme. The clean lines of the furnishings and details help to create a calm environment where activities can happen without overwhelming visual distractions.

In the bedroom, the bed has been elevated on a platform, which allows extra storage drawers to be embedded in the steps going up. A short shelving unit delineates the sleeping space from the working space, and in the alcove facing the bed, there is yet another shelving unit for more storage.

At the far end of the apartment, past the dining table, one can also see more storage in the full-height wardrobe at the apartment's entry area.

The desk itself is placed facing a window and features an ergonomic electric sit-stand desk and keyboard tray.

Past the desk, we have the wardrobes for storing clothes, which run the full height from floor to ceiling, with some open shelving for larger items, and an open clothes rack for keeping favorite items of clothes within easy reach.

The kitchen is not large but respects the ergonomic benchmark of the so-called "work triangle," with the stove, food prep counter, and refrigerator all within arm's length.

Cabinets extend up to the ceiling, thus maximizing space. The use of a long metal rail for hanging kitchen utensils helps to clear countertop clutter, and the generous use of LED lighting means that the space is well-lit for cooking tasks. The addition of a combination washer-dryer under the counter rounds out the design; its location here in the kitchen is a feature typical to Hong Kong apartments.

The bathroom's small footprint has been redone with the addition of a more streamlined-looking glass door. Rather than having a towel rack poke out of the wall in front of the toilet, a space-efficient rack for multiple towels has been installed at one end of the shower, above a convenient ledge for holding toiletries.

The sink vanity features a drawer that holds larger containers, and which can pull out so that items can be easily placed inside.

Though the apartment's existing footprint was quite small, the use of some simple design interventions (like a restrained color and material palette, glass walls, and integrated storage), the new design manages to make a small space feel quite large. To see more, visit littleMORE.

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