Attitude · 4 min
What two people really need
I have lived in large flats and in tiny ones, and I tell you honestly, the small ones I loved more. A small room does not lie. It forces you to be honest about what you truly need, and everything superfluous flies out by itself. What remains are the things with meaning and the people you share them with.
Less space, more closeness
On thirty square metres you cannot get out of each other's way, and I find that a lovely thing. You cook while the other reads, you hear each other breathe. Large flats spread people apart, small ones bring them together. Perhaps that is the true luxury, not space but a closeness you bear and enjoy.
Why I do not fear dark walls
Many believe a small room must be white to work. I believe the opposite. A deep anthracite settles around you like dusk, the walls step back, and suddenly the room has no hard borders. Colour is courage, and courage rewards itself most in small rooms.
Old pieces, real depth
A new shelf fills a room, an old walnut vitrine tells it a story. I would rather set a single good old piece in a small flat than ten new ones. It carries time within it, and time is the one thing you cannot buy and cannot fake. That is exactly what I look for, in rooms as in life.
Frequently asked
Don't dark walls feel oppressive in small rooms?
No, they take the edges from the room. The walls visually step back, the corners blur, and the room feels enclosing rather than cramped.
How do you furnish a small flat harmoniously?
With few, good pieces, a calm family of colours and one true old piece of furniture that gives depth. Less, but with meaning.
Why an old piece rather than new?
Because an old piece carries time and history within it. It gives a room a depth that new furniture does not have.