500 Ideas for Small Spaces: Easy Solutions for Living in 1000 Square Feet or Less

by Kimberley Seldon

All over the world, consumers are discovering the merits of the small space lifestyle, abandoning the work and burdensome expense that goes with living in a "McMansion" in favor of the elegance and practicality of living in cozier spaces. From young homeowners who have rediscovered the joys of loft-style homes in the city , to empty-nesters who prefer smaller, more manageable living spaces, millions of homeowners have migrated to the "not-so-big" style of living. 500 Ideas for Small Spaces is a practical guide featuring 500 real-life remodeling, organizing, and decorating tips for making a truly small home look and function better. Today, living in a small home isn't a compromise, it is the preferred choice for growing numbers of homeowners.

Genres: Nonfiction, Interior Design, How To, Ebooks

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2007

Reviews

[Gina]

Here we go again with selecting small homes with good bones, interesting features, and gorgeous views. When you have all or any of that existing in a home, you don't need to do much to it!

I want someone to come to Pittsburgh and write an interior design book focused on redesigning the interiors of cramped, dark, shitty Pittsburgh boxy houses. And no architects and construction contractors allowed!

[Evan]

I loved this book for the following reasons:

1. The titular "500 ideas" were laid out as 500 actual nuggets of information, broken down by the room type. This made the book incredibly quick to read, and useful for those only interested in decorating certain rooms (in my case, the home office and the bathroom)

2. I like that the definition of "small spaces" is clearly laid out as living spaces that are less than 1000 square feet. So often I'd bring a book home on small house decorating, and the author would lament about how awful it must be to *only* have a 1800- or 2000-square-foot house! My new house is 920 square feet--now that's small!

3. Other small-house decorating books tend to exclusively have modern decor as its aesthetic backbone. I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of traditional and shaker-inspired decor in this book.

4. Every one of the 500 ideas had a corresponding picture. It's one thing to read "hang curtains 6 inches higher than the window frame to give a small room height," but it's nice to see it illustrated.

[Book Guardian]

I liked the pictures, but it seemed that too many of the ideas weren't about organization or even how to live in small spaces...and some weren't even specific to small spaces! I honestly rolled my eyes at a few of the suggestions. Also some of the pictures didn't describe the outcome of the ideas so it wasn't clear what the author meant by her suggestion or how to implement the suggestion. Especially for renting spaces, when you don't have a ton of leeway in terms of customizing, say, built-ins...I would have loved it if more of it was focused on "how can I live around these silly things" instead of "re-do your whole apt."

[Em]

This is one of the better small-space living books I've recently read.

The 500 ideas would have been better served by breaking them down into subcategories rather than numbering, the design tips in colored boxes help to break up the pages and make for easier reading.

This book is filled with great tips and photos.

This was published in 2007, but it's far better than the "bloggers with a book deal" books. Books written by actual interior designers who have training and experience are vastly better than the "I'm a mom who likes to be thrifty, and I watch HGTV" blogs and books.

This was a library book, but I'd buy this one.

[Linda]

OK, but somewhat outdated.

[Stacy]

Easy to leaf through. I like looking at pictures and it had a lot of them.

[Samantha]

Things I liked:
The 500 ideas were numbered and given as small, easy-to-read chunks of information.
The book was divided into living spaces like bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, as well as outdoor areas and open floor plans.
Many helpful ideas and a few basic measurements that are useful to know.

Things I didn't like:
Some of the ideas were repetitive, and had already been covered in a different section of the book--useful if you're only wanting ideas for a specific room and so might miss an earlier mention of the idea in a previous section of the book, but not so much if you're reading the entire book.
Not all of the ideas seemed very practical or applicable to small spaces.

[Susan]

Stupid. While I wouldn't call myself an expert on books written for small spaces, after reading at least 4, there seems to be a trend. If the book is written by an entity like Better Homes and Gardens, you're actually going to get some good information. If it is written by an interior designer, or something similar, don't waste your money. Mostly they are out to promote their work, show case their clients and ultimately get more clients. Which probably works if you have the money to spend. But if you're just an average Jill, like me, it's not.

[Jaime]

It was great for getting quick information and pieces of advice along with photographs that demonstrated how a room could be put together. I mainly needed it to get ideas for how to set up or maximize my space in the house I will be moving into. It also has a few do-it-yourself projects throughout the book. I also enjoyed the fact it would talk about colors that would be important to consider in a smaller room.

[Clover]

I can't imagine myself living in most of these spaces. They look like they were designed for someone who's a lot more serious than I am. The impression that I got from flipping through this book was very beige, and when there are colours, they are all "let's make the whole room purple"... That said! It's good for ideas, and I'll definitely come back to this if I were to start a decorating project.

[Alisha O]

I appreciated the layout of this book -- all 500 ideas are laid out as clean, separate ideas. Its easy to quickly page through and find what appeals to you and works for your home/vision, and I found a number of good suggestions for my longterm and short term projects! Most of the ideas are adaptable to your personal style and taste.

[Molly]

This was essentially a glorified Ikea catalog. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Ikea, but when I see 500 Ideas, I think I'm getting some fresh and new ideas...l not just a re-hashing of catalog photos.

[Amy]

Discovered some interesting ideas for small kitchens and baths.

[Lori Mason]

Disappointing. Just pics with commentary. No explanations or how-to suggestions.

[MBP]

Has some good, practical ideas, but got repetitive after a while.

[Meadow]

Some great ideas but a house too late.

[Sarah]

This book was more about decorating than organizing.

[Kate]

A range of ideas, appropriate for owned and rented places of various sizes and dimensions. Grouped by room, many different decorating styles and price points are supported.

[Martha]

reads likes a staid college textbook, not the designer's vibrant personality; best ideas are in the use of bookshelves

[Kimberley Seldon]

This was a fun book to write....after all, even clients with large homes have spaces they deem too small.

[Sian G.P.]

library book - some ideas were a bit silly but still worth the look

[Heather]

This book had fleeting moments, but overall, it became dated fast.

[Emmkay]

Meh. A few things I will keep in mind, but a bit vague and repetitive. The 'small spaces' were awfully spacious compared to mine, as well, which is a little discouraging.

[Darci]

Lots of great pictures, but really only good info if you are starting from scratch. Not a lot of decorating ideas, more remodeling ideas. Fun to read though!

[Candy]

Too choppy- just one idea after another with no overall plan.