With housing prices soaring, energy costs increasing and baby-boomers facing empty nests, many people are moving to smaller spaces. To make a compact space live large, look for furnishings that serve several purposes. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
Look for Tables That Expand
Drop-leaf tables have been around for hundreds of years, with good reason. Unlike dining tables with spare leaves that have to be carted out of the closet, drop-leaf tables have the leaves right there, where you need them.
• Storehouse’s Concerto Dining Table makes a great console table. When company comes, its two leaves flip up, giving you dining space for six. The tables sells for $1,199.
• Storehouse’s Concerto Dining Table makes a great console table. When company comes, its two leaves flip up, giving you dining space for six. The tables sells for $1,199.
Look for Furnishings That Contain Other Furnishings
You know those Russian nesting dolls; you open one up and find another inside? Look for furniture that does the same thing.
• Pottery Barn’s Gregory Coffee Table shelters four stools under its hand-planed hardwood top; $999 in Pottery Barn’s catalog or Web site only.
• Pottery Barn’s Gregory Coffee Table shelters four stools under its hand-planed hardwood top; $999 in Pottery Barn’s catalog or Web site only.
Buy Furnishings That Also Provide Storage
When you’re short on living space you’re usually short on storage, so choose pieces that have storage built in.
• Crate and Barrel’s Nomad Storage Ottoman ($379-$499) has an upholstered top for putting your feet up. Flip the top and it’s a side table; lift off the top and you’ve got storage.
• Great looking and very practical, the Our House Black Cocktail Table from Target features a storage shelf under the top PLUS two pull-out baskets below. You’ll never lose another remote. Only $129.99.
• Crate and Barrel’s Nomad Storage Ottoman ($379-$499) has an upholstered top for putting your feet up. Flip the top and it’s a side table; lift off the top and you’ve got storage.
• Great looking and very practical, the Our House Black Cocktail Table from Target features a storage shelf under the top PLUS two pull-out baskets below. You’ll never lose another remote. Only $129.99.
Find Pieces That Serve More Than One Purpose
Every time you buy a piece of furniture that does two things, you eliminate the need for a second piece of furniture—and the space it would take up.
• The Flip Flop convertible sofa from CB2 is a smart-looking sleep sofa with two back cushions that can drop down separately or together, giving you a sofa, chaise or bed with just a flick of the wrist; $999.
• Ligne Roset’s Yo-Yo table is a chic coffee table that holds a secret: the legs adjust, letting you raise it to dining table height.
• The Flip Flop convertible sofa from CB2 is a smart-looking sleep sofa with two back cushions that can drop down separately or together, giving you a sofa, chaise or bed with just a flick of the wrist; $999.
• Ligne Roset’s Yo-Yo table is a chic coffee table that holds a secret: the legs adjust, letting you raise it to dining table height.
The Ultimate Over-Achiever
• How's this for clever? Storehouse's Jack Leather Ottoman Sleeper can function as a footstool or an ottoman, and when you remove the top it reveals a fold-out single bed. At $799, it's only a few hundred dollars more than comparable ottomans alone.
Lighten Up--With Dual-Purpose Lamps
A floor lamp that doubles as an etagere? It's two, two, two pieces in one!
• JC Penney’s Etagere Lamp by Studio holds books or tchochkes and also serves as a floor lamp with a three-way bulb; it sells for $100. Very similar is Pottery Barn’s $349 (without shade) Fletcher Display Lamp, which features tempered-glass shelves, so the light can reach objects on the lower tiers.
• JC Penney’s Etagere Lamp by Studio holds books or tchochkes and also serves as a floor lamp with a three-way bulb; it sells for $100. Very similar is Pottery Barn’s $349 (without shade) Fletcher Display Lamp, which features tempered-glass shelves, so the light can reach objects on the lower tiers.
