Ask any architect or designer about tiny living spaces and they will tell you that adding mirrors to the space will make it seem larger than it actually is, square feet speaking. But there are also those that can use a few other design “tricks” to not just make it more spacious but also add some playful and special elements into something that may seem tiny and drab at first. These architects who co-founded Miogui Architects were able to do something extraordinary for one of their client’s small apartment.

Designer: Léo Berastegui and Sabine Fremiot

They wanted to start from scratch for this project since the 141-square foot apartment was pretty shabby and cramped. The secret to making this not just livable but a showcase for design ingenuity is playing around with colors, geometric shapes, materials, and even the overall functionality of some parts of the house. They focused on transforming some of the most commonly used spaces in the house: the kitchen and living area. The bathroom also gets a unique transformation in this redesigned apartment.

First off, they turned the bathroom into a smaller space and re-assigned some of it to the kitchen and the living room which is where people spend more time anyways. To make the now tiny bathroom a bit more spacious, they created a tall and narrow door and also placed geometric mirrors (a round mirror and a triangular one under it) inside. They used square glass bricks to be the divider from the kitchen and then matching square shower tiles with blue accents. They placed a marble-tiled diamond-shaped handle on the bathroom door to make it part of the space’s design and not just be a doorknob.

To separate the kitchen from the living area, they placed a bright yellow curtain at a curved angle to not just separate the spaces but reflect and enhance the light in the room. It can be pulled back if you want to join the two rooms and then slid close for a sense of privacy and coziness when entertaining guests. Plus the sunshine yellow really gives the apartment a bright glow. The living room is also made a bit more spacious with a round mirror above the convertible sofa.

The kitchen is sectioned off with a red-painted pillar, contrasting nicely with the yellow curtain. The color scheme of the place, including the cobalt-blue linoleum flooring and the square blue tiles, is inspired by the artwork of Piet Mondrian. What was once a small, uninspired space is now a showcase for creativity and ingenuity.