Tasteful Micro-Apartment Renovation Maximizes Space and Sunlight

The average size of homes in the United States has grown considerably during the last few decades, peaking at a record 2,687 square feet back in 2015. Not surprisingly, all that space requires a lot of energy to heat and cool—and often, a lot of those spaces, like formal dining rooms, go unused, not to mention all that embodied carbon that goes into building those wasted spaces.

Most of the rest of the world, however, is used to living in much smaller and more efficient spaces, thanks to the quirks of historical urban development prior to the advent of the car, as well as geography. The small island city of Hong Kong is one place that shows how tiny footprints are no barrier to living comfortably. One local interior design studio, littleMORE recently completed one great example of how it can be done.

Located in the district of Jordan, the 260-square-foot (24-square-meter) micro-apartment renovation features some clever design strategies to help maximize space and natural light, with a focus on using wooden materials to help warm up the space, as well as a coordinated palette of colors to bring everything together harmoniously.

According to the studio, the micro-apartment is home to the client and a cat, and previously had a two-bedroom layout. It may seem small to fit two bedrooms in such a tiny footprint, but many of Hong Kong's residents make do with smaller living spaces because they are less expensive in Hong Kong's famously exorbitant real estate market, and also because the island's mountainous geography translates to developers building up vertically and densely to adapt to these realities.

To start, the designers demolished the partitions to create a more open living space, and to ensure that sunlight can reach further into the apartment. Rather than using walls, various zones in the apartment are now subtly defined by changes in floor level, and in different wall finishes.

At the rear of the apartment, we have the sleeping area, which has a bed lifted up onto its own platform, which of course, has storage hidden in the steps leading up to the bed.

This sleeping space is defined by an open shelving unit that provides extra storage for books, as well as a hexagonal cubby for the cat.

The low profile of the shelving unit means that the homeowner can watch television from the bed.

The residual space in front of the bay window is better utilized with the addition of a wooden surface, and some soft textiles, creating a cozy nook for reading or gazing out.

In front of the bed, there is this small desk area with a mirror, which serves as a vanity, and as a home office. The rich, deep blue of the textured wallpaper here adds an elegant touch.

Over in the sitting area, there is a compact sectional couch, which can turn into a guest bed. The small, oval-shaped coffee table here allows for easy flow of circulation around it, and likely has some kind of storage space hidden within.

By the entry door, there is a storage unit for shoes, which is designed to stack up vertically to save space.

The wall opposite the couch holds the television, as well as some built-in cabinets that run the full height of the space. These are designed to blend into the rest of the apartment and are perfect for storing clothes and other items.

Past the living room, and past the space-saving and light-maximizing sliding glass door, we have a small kitchen where we find the refrigerator, stovetop, and a collection of other appliances, all housed in cubbies that have been measured down perfectly to the last inch to fit the client's hand-picked items. There is even enough space for a combination washer-dryer under the counter, as is typical in many Hong Kong apartments. The storage cabinets run up all the way to the ceiling, thus maximizing all the available space.

Inside the bathroom, which is situated behind the wall of wooden cabinets, we have a sink and vanity, a toilet, and a small window. By bringing in the same material look of wood all over the floor and walls here, we have a sense of spatial continuity that makes the apartment feel like one whole larger space, rather than a series of smaller spaces that have been visually chopped up by the usage of different materials.

The compact shower here is enclosed with glass, while a nook has been carved out for the cat's litter box.

In the end, 260 square feet may not seem like much, but the designers have managed to make this tiny gem of a micro-apartment feel bigger, thanks to some subtle but effective design considerations that augment space and light. To see more, visit littleMORE.