Space. You may feel, is either there or not there. And you can do very little to improve something you do not have. With a little inspiration and ingenuity, however, you can create not only an impression of more space which is after all half the battle-but also more actual space to use and enjoy. Space problems in a living-dining area often begin with the furniture. But although a family activities within this area may be many, complex and even, sometimes, incompatible, the furniture required is basically simple, you need seating, tables, and storage. Its up to you how ‘flexible and appropriate they are, you cannot afford in a small room is anything useless.For a professional interior design, you can contact London Painters & Decorators.

Armchairs and sofas

Usually the most bulky furniture in a living room is the seating. Relaxation demands that chairs be soft, low and large. But although massive upholstered easy chairs are undoubtedly the acme of comfort they are also very space consuming. In a small room these will have to be your first point of compromise. For day-to-day comfort, two easy chairs are probably sufficient for an average family with two adults. Ideally, the chairs should be light so that they can be easily moved around for different room arrangements as well as for cleaning. Additional seating can be smaller and less dominating-light armchairs, pouffes, and perhaps a couple of large floor cushions. These can be kept in other rooms as well as the living room, and provide extra, informal seating which is especially suitable for children and teenagers.

Window seats are attractive and great space-savers, too. Traditional sofas are not very practical, simply because of their bulk. However, if you have a suitable wall, a long built-in seating unit can take up very little space, and may incorporate useful storage underneath. A convertible couch for sleeping the occasional extra guest will also fit against a wall and double as a sofa. When trying to save space it is often a good idea to ‘go to the wall’. Furniture at odd angles, particularly across corners, leaves precious gaps, as does small furniture neatly placed in the middle of a wall, leaving unusable space on either side. Seating systems designed to be used either as separate chairs or pushed together to form settees of various lengths are particularly suitable for small rooms.

Some systems also include low tables and upholstered stools to be used in corners, in the run of seating, or independently. Apart from their obvious flexibility, the main advantage of such uniform systems is that, because the items are related in size, shape and colour, they give an ordered and uncluttered appearance to a room. This is an important consideration, because it helps to create an impression of space. Think of a traditional late-Victorian parlour, crammed with stuffed birds, ornaments, plants, pictures, mirrors, chairs, lace table mats and chair covers, net, fringes, tassels, and heaven knows what else. However large the room-and many were huge by modern standards-it nearly always looked dark and pokey.

The sparse, light furnishings of a Japanese home, on the other hand, immediately make rooms seem elegant and spacious. And while you may not want your home to be quite that austere, a small room will appear larger if its furnishing, colours and arrangement are kept simple.

Side tables

‘Bitty’ furniture like side tables can, in a really tight situation, be kept to a minimum, and should anyway be of a uniform height. One long coffee table will serve a whole block of seating, and occasional tables can be bought in specially designed stacking ‘nests’ that can be separated out when needed’ Shelves or racks for magazines and papers are always useful under small tables. Box tables provide excellent storage for items like sewing, games and toys. If the family eats informally in the living room, while watching television for example, a table about 60cm (2ft) high may be necessary.

But if there is no room for one, a tray for each person will avoid spills and crumbs’ These trays can stack out of the way in the kitchen. A trolley, preferably with a drawer, is also useful when eating in the living room and will act as a handy surface by the dining table, too. But make sure when you buy it that it is not too wide to go through the kitchen door. Extra table tops can be provided in the living room by shelves in alcoves, or by small, hinged flap-up surfaces where needed’ These should be between 69cm (2lt 3in) and 76cm (2ft 6in) high-the same as the dining table for ordinary use. For typing, a height of about 60cm (2ft) is better. As long as it is suitably lit, a surface like this can serve quite efficiently as a desk for homework or letter writing, and with a drawer fitted underneath or storage unit above, papers, files and so on can be kept neatly out of sight’

Dining area

It is always best to try and organise a dining space that is slightly set apart from the living area-however small it has to be’ This will allow some separate storage, and make it easier for two people to carry on different activities at the same time, even if they both have to be quiet ones. The diagrams show possible areas for dining-living activities, with appropriate storage, in three differently shaped rooms’ All of them can be easily opened out into one for entertaining. A simple screen or room divider will help separate them on other occasions’ To preserve a sense of space, however, do not choose a divider that is too high or too solid’ Boxing up a small space into even smaller compartments will just make everything seem hemmed in.

A low cupboard or open shelving is sufficient. It is best to site the dining area near the door to the kitchen, but there is no need to be a slave to convention or planners’ If a deep alcove or bay window seems the ideal place to house the table’ use it’ The size of table you choose will obviously relate to the size of your family’ One that is practical, in space terms, to leave permanently in place will probably not be large enough for some occasions. Tables with hinged, flap ends, or removable leaves, can be placed neatly out of the way, perhaps against a wall, when not in use. If you are really short of space, a flap-up table might be built on to one wall so that it would take up no room at all when closed. However, there is a ‘trap’ here: most families need at least six dining chairs, and they must be accessible. If the table stands permanently in place, the chairs should tuck neatly underneath.

But a table that folds away when not in use can leave you with a row of six chairs and nowhere to put them. One or two may stand in alcoves, or go elsewhere in the house, but they can still look clumsy. In this situation, chairs that also fold, or stack, will save a lot of room. So will a built-in bench seat along a wall. These are particularly suitable for narrow refectory tables, and can be made with box storage underneath. Since dining chairs will also be used as occasional extra seating in the living room, and for all table work, such as studying or machine-sewing, they should be chosen for comfort as well as size.

A dinner party or homework can last several hours, and hard chairs with awkward back rests can make sitting on them for that long impossible. Height is important, too. Six inches between seat and table top is about right. These design points are important so that items can double up and do two jobs. You cannot afford the luxury of dining chairs, and a desk chair, and occasional chairs in a small room. The larger houses of the past have left an unfortunate legacy to many modern homes. The sideboard-originally a convenient surface for the servants to use to stack plates and food while serving dinner still remains a space-wasting feature in many small dining.

The top can be used as an additional ‘table’, easily accessible from both areas, when necessary. rooms. Its storage, if it has any, is usually limited to a couple of drawers, and if you are lucky, a base cupboard. Neither drawers nor cupboard are large enough to hold all a family’s table china and cutlery-and anyway, these should probably be kept in the kitchen-and it usually ends up as an expensive, space-consuming platform for ornaments and the fruit bowl. A unit designed not to some purely arbitrary length but to fit the room with shelves and cupboards that are wall mounted, is a far more practical piece of storage for a small dining room. A shelf for stacking dishes can still be incorporated, but this can have a practical heat-proof surface instead of polished wood. The whole question of storage in any small space has to be considered most carefully. It really will make the difference between a smart and attractive living area and a cramped one. The many different activities of a living dining room inevitably mean clutter, so, apart from whatever storage you can acquire under tables and seating, you should organise a system which will house tidily books, records, papers, ornaments, toys and all the other essentials of daily life. An odd cupboard here, a cabinet there, and everything else where it falls does not make for space-saving. Wall units usually provide by far the most efficient and versatile answer.

Whether floor to ceiling, under windows, across a chimney breast, or into corners and alcoves, the shape of the unit, its design and finish can all be tailored to provide an attractive, original feature to suit exactly the mood and needs of your room. You can incorporate a drinks cupboard, provide adequate shelving for books, drawers for writing materials and files, dust-free glass display cases for special ornaments, or shelves for plants. You could also build in a fish tank or a television set. (And anything which keeps the television neatly in place without allowing it to dominate the room is welcome !) You can provide special niches for tape recorder, stereo equipment or radio, and ensure proper storage away from sunlight, dust and heat for tapes and records. Sewing, model aeroplanes, children’s toys and camera equipment can all be neatly and safely housed. In fact, you can do whatever you like, and if you do it efficiently you will not only have an attractive feature in your room, but also discover that you can do without half of the furniture was essential. you previously thought everywhere else. If you want your storage unit to be freestanding, it might be used to separate your living and dining areas. In this case it will have the added advantage of being accessible from both sides.

Other space-savers

Apart from the furniture plan, other basic factors have to be considered when you are trying to use every inch of space. One of the most relevant is heating. A fireplace, whether for a gas, electric or open fire, will act as a natural focal point in a room and the seating will tend to be grouped around it. This may be comfortable, but not very practical in terms of space. Your seating arrangement will be strictly limited-built-in wall seating might not be at an appropriate angle, for example, and corners of the room may be comparatively draughty and therefore not used.

Open fireplaces may also make it impractical to knock two rooms into one because of the heating problems entailed. To use a small room to its fullest extent, some form of central heating is needed. It allows you a completely free hand over the design of the room and also ensures an even heat, which means that working surfaces or seats in odd corners are just as warm as. If you are installing central heating, the most effective from the space-saving point of view is underfloor heating, since the heating cables or pipes take up no space at all in the room. They also provide an evenly warmed floor, ideal for small children who use the floor as a play area. If radiators are more practical in your home, choose low, skirting ones which take up least space, and decide very carefully where they will be best situated. One badly sited radiator can take up an entire valuable wall. Doors and windows are equally important to space planning.

And, although most rooms have some inflexible feature that defies real improvement, some can be altered to give more apparent space. An awkward doorway can often be made less conspicuous by fitting a sliding or folding door. And in some cases where the outlook is attractive, a glass door can help create a feeling of spaciousness. The same visual effect can be achieved with windows. Substituting a single, plate glass window for an old-fashioned sash window with small panes can immediately make a room look larger. A carefully placed mirror can work wonders, too. Continuity of colour, material, and line are vital. This is why plain wall-to-wall carpeting or tiles always seem to make a room expand.