City Dwelling
Part II: Design Ideas for Every Room
Nothing is quite as energizing or as fun as big city dwelling! I spent twelve years living in a downtown Chicago high-rise condo. Chicago, like New York and other big cities provides design benefits and challenges not usually common to the typical suburban home. Each room presents its own challenge. The following is a room-by-room analysis of those issues, and attractive, functional ways to resolve them.
The Dining Room
Dining rooms that are size-challenged require more creative thinking when it comes to providing enough seating for the number of guests you'd like to entertain, room for the way you serve, and storage for dishes, crystal and silverware.
Table placement doesn't always have to be in the middle of a room. But if you have a chandelier, the center of the dining table should always be under the center of the light source. It is possible to swag chandeliers if you can’t change the location of a junction box. Or, you can remove an existing chandelier, install a ceiling track to the junction box, hang pendant fixtures and move them along the track to center over the table. Beautiful glass pendant fixtures are chic and trendy!
If you have a concrete ceiling, as many high-rise buildings do, it is more difficult to change the position of ceiling fixtures. But you can light a dining room with wall sconces, lighting from corner cabinets, or strategically placed lamps such as torchieres. My condo had no separate eating area or chandelier ceiling junction box. I lit my dining area with two lamps on the buffet that separated the living area from the dining area, and lighting from a nearby built-in. I often used candles for a cozy, romantic effect.
Position the dining table where you need it to be in the room. The table can be moved closer to one wall than the other, or placed off-center if it is necessary to add a buffet, server or china to a small space. Two narrow, tall curios with door storage can be used for dish storage instead of the traditional china cabinet. Place them on either side of a doorway or window to add drama to the space. One side of the table can even abut a wall. I used this idea in a NY city co-op; it gave room to move around the table. The table also had a glass top that made it appear smaller than a wood-top table.
I have used banquets and benches instead of chairs to save floor space. (It takes 3 feet of space to pull a chair out from a table.) There are so many styles of benches that it is not difficult to find the perfect one, whether your taste is modern or traditional. Your Design Consultant can make this easy for you.
Drop-leaf tables and draw tables with self-storing leaves work really well in small dining rooms. Also, there are more and more 36 to 40-inch wide tables that fit nicely in narrow dining rooms.
Glass or acrylic shelves supported by decorative brackets can be mounted to walls at serving height to give you the same serving surface as a buffet, without the heavy look. Mirrors are a godsend to small rooms. It is best if they can be placed on walls opposite windows to bring more light into the room. I have also placed vertical mirrors on the wall between vertical windows to give the illusion of a bank of windows.
Color is a vital element in the dining room. Do not be afraid to select a dark wall color for drama. Shades of red are supposed to be the most conducive to enjoying the act of eating. It is also the color of seduction. Maybe the way to a man's heart really is feeding him a great meal in a cozy, red room! Paint that has a reflective quality brings more natural light into your dining area. Lacquer is very sophisticated, but will show every defect in the wall surface. Be sure to have an excellent painter you trust.
Keep the scale (size) of your furniture appropriate to the size of the space. Look for dining chairs that are no wider than 22 inches to go with your narrow table. Remember that chairs with upholstered backs are almost always more comfortable than chairs with wooden backs. Even if only your host and hostess chairs are upholstered, they can serve double-duty as extra living room chairs when you have an overflow of company. Stay away from large-scaled, bold patterns on the chairs as they jump out at you in small rooms. Let your scale, color and texture choices give interest to the room.
The Bedroom
Small bedrooms without big closets present their own set of problems. Remember to make the best use of your vertical space! There are armoires on the market that hold TV's, have jewelry drawers, tie racks and "secret" drawers to hide your valuables. Just be careful when purchasing an armoire to select one that comes in two pieces. They are so much more likely to fit through those narrow halls and doors. Nothing is worse than waiting three months for an armoire that won’t go through the door or down the hall, or turn the bend at the top of the stairway.
Dressers in most groups come in two shapes – the traditional longer, lower dresser, and the shorter, but higher size. If your wall space is limited, try the higher one. Most groups also give you a choice of nightstands. Think of the drawers in the nightstand as giving you extra clothing storage. I like to use "bachelor chests" whenever possible. They are higher and look better next to today's higher mattresses. They usually have three deep drawers for clothes. If you have a short wall of 24 inches or more, try a lingerie chest to make use of that vertical space.
Living Rooms
Sleeper sofa technology has come a very long way in the past few years. You can now get an Air Dream mattress with your sleeper that is as comfortable as a real bed. Insist on it if you want your guests to be happy. Styles in sleepers are now so up-to-date that it is almost impossible to tell if a sofa is a sleeper when looking at it. Remember that it takes 90 inches from the back of the sofa to the end of the mattress, plus an additional 12 inches (to stand in) to open a sleeper. There’s no point in having it if you don't have room to open it!
End tables, if used at all in a small space, should provide storage, as well as a surface on which to place a lamp. High-low cocktail tables are a wonderful invention. They start off at cocktail height and with the flick of a lever, rise up to dining table height. It can be a more intimate eating experience to sit at the smaller table!
I have many more ideas for how to design city homes. Please feel free to contact me for a personal consultation.
Click here to read Part I of this article.
Diana Henry is a graduate of the University of Illinois and of Southern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design. She is a professional member of A.S.I.D. (American Society of Interior Designers). A designer for more than 20 years, she has clients all over the US and overseas. She specializes in floor planning and prefers eclectic style. Diana has done historic preservation homes, corporate headquarters, doctors' offices, city and suburban residences of all sizes and styles. Her philosophy of design is to create the most beautiful functional space possible that reflects the personality of each client.
To contact Diana, call 866.436.8056 ext. 2606, or email dianahenry@furniturelandsouth.com.