Narrow room ideas

INTERIOR DESIGNER JO BERRYMAN REVEALS HER APPROACH TO MAXIMISING SLENDER SPACES IN FIONA’S ELEGANT TOWNHOUSE

THE EXPERT Fiona’s Regency townhouse is defined by its handsome proportions and period details but also features a number of small spaces that required careful thought in order to make them work hard for her family. The hallway – the first thing visitors see on entering the house – is relatively narrow, so we needed to play to its attributes such as the soaring ceiling and the light that floods in from the transom window above the door. The tiny first-floor snug, which is essentially a modern glazed insertion above the cloakroom, is the teenagers’ hangout, so needed to be an informal space where they could relax with their friends.

COMFORT IS KEY to creating a kickback zone so we maximised textures in the snug with a hotel-quality carpet and shag-pile rug, both of which are brilliant for the acoustics of the room. The snug is accessed via the landing’s original glazed doors so I had a velvet curtain made up which can be pulled across so that you feel enveloped in the space. Two of the walls are mostly glass but this didn’t deter us from using a graphic sisal wallpaper on the remaining areas: the punchy geometric print is from the same family as the wallpaper in the dining room and has a playful, slightly 1970s vibe, while the sisal adds another tactile layer.

MAKING THE MOST OF THE SLIM SPACE I used the only completely solid wall to create floor-to-ceiling bespoke joinery that houses everything from the TV to books and display items. It has a lacquer finish in Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue, which is quite a moody hue, but I don’t shy away from dark colours in small spaces.

AN OVERSIZED PIECE OF FURNITURE can dramatically change the feel of a room, making it feel more generous than it really is. We chose an off-the-peg chaise sofa to literally fill the space; with the addition of a slouchy bean bag, there’s ample seating for a gathering of friends. The Seville Orange upholstery is a nice contrast to the blues of the wallpaper and joinery and we added more jewel tones with glass bottles on the windowsill.

IT IS AN OLD TRICK BUT a reflective surface really does visually widen a narrow space. For the hallway, we used beautiful foxed mirrored panels to provide a soft reflection, hanging halfmoon alabaster wall lights onto the panels so that they cleverly become complete spheres in the reflection. With the addition of a pendant light from the same range, you get the magical effect of a solar system as you enter the house. Beneath the dado rail, we hung a teal and rust coloured wallpaper that has a slight reflective sheen so that it subtly bounces around the light.

WALL-HUNG PIECES are brilliant for economising on space and we selected a floating console table in the hallway that incorporates useful drawers to house all manner of paraphernalia. The gold mirror finish adds a little visual pop which is another of my rules when working with narrow spaces: when lacking in width – amp it up with the finishes.

UNDERPIN COLOURFUL SCHEMES with classic materials. In the hallway, we used herringbone parquet in reclaimed French oak which runs throughout the ground floor, providing a common thread that connects all the spaces, large or small.

“When working with narrow spaces, my rule is amp it up with the finishes”