Thinking Big

If a man’s home is his castle, then you’d be surprised to find what passes as a castle nowadays. It may already be a given in Hong Kong, but microflats – spaces below 400sqft – are also becoming the norm in many cities. As the number of single households increases and more people move into already-dense urban centres, this doesn’t come as a surprise.

But should a lack of space be a barrier to crafting your own sanctuary? Definitely not. In fact, it’s even easier to maximise space and style with the multitude of custommade solutions and multipurpose pieces on the market today. Heed the ingenious advice of the designers that Leanne Mirandilla, our features and online editor, interviewed for the Insight feature (page 83). For those who are willing to sacrifice some floor space for a gorgeous kitchen, we also outline the latest innovations in our EuroCucina report on page 97.

The two criteria for our annual Small Homes issue are that a home needs to measure below 1,000sqft (three out of the seven featured are below 500sqft) and that it has to offer clever design ideas. It’s not just about space-saving solutions, but also about how to get creative given constraints. There’s a broad spectrum of interior styles: a florist’s romantic, ultra-feminine flat in London; the pared-back home of a creative entrepreneur in Hong Kong; and an architect’s Milanese abode that illustrates a deft use of colour. It just goes to show that, where space is limited, all you really need is a boundless imagination.

要是家就是一個人的堡壘，那你將會對今天能稱得上為堡壘的標準大感驚訝。面積僅有400平方呎以下的小單位在香港或許已是約定俗成，但這種趨勢在大多城市也已正成慣例。單人家居數量增加，更多人遷進本已擠迫的城市中心，這點相信大家已見怪不怪。

缺乏空間會否阻礙你打造專屬聖所？絕不。事實上，市場供應的各式特製方案和多用途物品能助你更輕易善用空間，而又能注入風格。參考我們的特輯兼網頁編輯Leanne Mirandilla在Insight(第83頁)向設計師請教的心得。願意為廚房犧牲多一點點空間的人士，我們也為你準備了第97頁的EuroCucina報告，帶來嶄新意念。

年度小巧家居號刊的兩大條件就是少於1,000平方呎的家居(7個收錄家居故事中有5個僅約500平方呎左右)，並且能提供巧妙的設計方案。除了慳位妙法之外，也需要展示怎樣在規限中發揮創意。室內風格眾多：花藝師的浪漫、超嫵媚倫敦單位、香港創意企業家的低調家居、設計師描繪獨特色彩的米蘭家園。一切也只為展示空間雖有限，但只要你有綿綿無盡的創造幻想力，也必能成事。