150 Best Tiny Space Ideas

by Francesc Zamora Mola

Discover the latest innovations in tiny space design in this lush compendium in the 150 Best series, showcasing 150 full-color profiles.

As the price of large residences have become increasingly out of reach for many people, aspiring home owners have begun to think smaller. 150 Best Tiny Space Ideas is an exciting overview of the smallest living space designs— architectural and decorating trends that combine to make dwellings under 450 square feet feel welcoming and expansive. All the projects featured in this handsome reference were created by internationally renowned architects and designers who have achieved practical, innovative, and stunning solutions adapted to the specific needs and tastes of their clients. Encompassing current trends in small space design, this latest volume in the highly successful 150 Best offers the work of international visionaries who have created and transformed a range of accommodations, from a micro-apartment in Taipei City to a silo in Phoenix to an island shack in British Columbia. Filled with black-and-white and four-color photos throughout, 150 Best Tiny Space Ideas is an inspirational resource for designers, interior decorators, and architects, as well homeowners interested in creating warm and truly livable homes regardless of space limitations.

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Design, Interior Design, Art

480 pages, Hardcover

Published July 30, 2019

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's me. Maybe I've over indulged home design. Maybe I'm a bit weary of no footprint left behind mentality. Whatever it is, whatever! All I can say is there are some interesting photos. The tiny spaces really are very ,very tiny. There are some great spaces to overnight in . Some clever airbub income . But no way do I see any of these constructions replacing a real apartment or house as a permanent abode. There's no room for clothing,a weeks worth of groceries, hobbies, or company! And really, how useful are all these tiny little bitty constructs in general? Is this making excellent use of resources after all? Seems like it's mostly about fun projects for architect folks.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book for architects planning tiny homes. Ostensibly, I am not this audience, but I still found some of the ideas inspiring as we contemplate (yet again) a home addition that strives to make sense of small rooms.

[Scott Andrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Split review:

1. Tiny Apartments are clearly for NWO planners. You will own nothing. You will rent from Gates and Klaus Schwab. Obey. Rent. Stay confined. Buy only from Us. Listen only to Us. Peon. Drudge. Toiler. Peasant. Eunuch. Grunt. Grub. Bottom feeder. Research monkey. Very le Corbusier meets research cage. Where are the feeding tubes delivering pharma and crunchy buggies? The Logan's Run dating apps have been in place for some time. Bet they lock the doors when the smallpox is released by good-ole'-Bill.

2. Oddly freeing to think of some small place in a wide open space to think and create and breathe. Damn poor execution, though.

Prob like the Flophouze Hotel the best. Who would think, since it is a Mad Max, found art installation. It is the only mini-structure where the all wood interior is not oppressive or reminiscent of some poorly trained, unsophisticated hippie acid dreamer.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the hotel room / BnB make-over to give it multiple elevations such that the foot of the bed doubles as the tv's wall facing the sitting area. I could most easily see myself in the nautical themed space having a smaller bedroom as a second level above the master bedroom--all behind a wall from the main open space.

A few projects seemed to take photos or floor plans from differing layouts. That got a little confusing before I realized photograph and floor plan did not always correspond.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great photos. I would have loved, a) a larger format book so the diagrams could be reproduced at a larger scale, and b) less repetition (e.g. how many times do they need to define what a Murphy bed is?).

[Amberwench · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly fun collection of micro apartments, all less than 450sf. Includes line drawings and many have multiple angle views of interior. An excellent read for ideas on design and furnishing of tiny spaces.

[Heidi Thorsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of photos and floorplans of tiny apartments (1st half of book) and cabins (2nd half). So. Much. Plywood. These are all very much about built-in storage and custom furniture. Many had giant moveable cabinets to divide the space for different uses.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating! I like the idea of multi purpose, modular rooms, but I have two hard requirements
1. No Murphy beds
2. Toilet cannot be right beside a kitchen counter where I chop veggies

Good pictures. IKEA shoppers live in these spaces, for sure!

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book of compiled tiny spaces (majority under 400 square feet)! I really enjoyed the first half of this book as it speaks to modern city apartments and spaces. However, the latter of the book was more focused around spaces that were surrounded by nature eg. Cabins, containers, etc.

[Joan Foss · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of the 150 would I consider living in. All are ultra modern, sterile, and empty spaces. I will keep looking for something more livable.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye Candy for Lovers of Tiny Houses

Beautiful concepts and gorgeous pics! This book is a treasure trove of fun, innovative, and chic ideas for your next home renovation project.

[Abe Hasner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feast for the eyes!

[Somer Rhodes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great if you wanna build a tiny apartment, otherwise a somewhat boring read lol

[AquaMoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been fascinated by Tiny Houses ever since they became a thing a thing. I can trace this back the First Boxcar Children book, which was one of the first chapter books I remember reading. For those of you not in the know, this book is about four siblings (runaways) who come upon an abandon crate in the woods and craft a home for themselves out of the space, quite literally creating their own Tiny House. I mean, if you think about it, that's exactly what it was (it just didn't have an official name yet). I mean, these kids were totally ahead of their time! I remember thinking that was exceptionally awesome as a kid and I totally wanted my own Boxcar House. The Tiny House trend is far better than the McMansions of the late 90's/early 00's. And it's always interesting to see what people do when faced with 400 square feet (or less) of living space.

In fact, for several years, hubby and I lived in a 500 square-foot apartment (and all through college I had maybe half that). It was one of those huge old farm houses that had been divided into several units. The layout wasn't optimal, though, so we probably had less than 500... IF you want to get technical. For example, we had a walk in closet that was larger than the bathroom, but said closet space was tucked into a corner and had a near-unusable shelf on one side (it's one of those things you have to see to really understand its oddness). I tried to make the best use of the entire space, though, using a lot of vertical shelves and tucking things under furniture and such. And I still do that today, even though our house is slightly more than double the space of the apartment.

I guess what I'm saying, in a roundabout way, is I love reading about new ideas to make the best use of my living space. And this book was pretty amazing. Very visually appealing with lots of color pictures and some amazing ideas. If I were to ever downsize or build myself a She Shed, I would most definitely consider some of these designs.

My only beef, and the reason for four stars instead of five, is some of the ideas were more pretty than practical. For example: Klein A45 (pg 367), which made terrible use of the 180 square feet. Much of it seemed to be unusable vertical space. And the triangle shape of the structure left small, low corners that seemed inaccessible to all but critter invaders. Another was: Origin Tree House (pg. 375). A totally cute idea and I can't think of a kid who wouldn't love it for a fort. But for a home...not so much. This house could easily fall victim to anything that bad happened to the tree (ice storms, lightning, termites, beavers, etc). Also, how the eff would you your groceries (not to mention your furniture) up there? It would be fun, maybe, the first time, but dealing with that in the long term would get old really fast.

But for the most part, this book was fun to browse.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are great! Sometimes the supporting text is a little weak, but it was generally helpful. 150 tiny houses might be too many for one sitting. The apartments begin to blur together, but several of the homes are really unique or beautiful and will stick with me for a while.

[Amanda Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved all the pictures (even if some had blurry/moving people in them), floor plans, and short descriptions. Didn't provide a lot of detail but was fun to look through and had a lot of interesting houses.