Small, beautiful, Home Inspiration

Feature, Room, Home Type, Style

You don't need a huge amount of square footage to achieve a beautiful home. With the rise of minimalism and Tiny Homes, it is now easy to live large in a small space.


Itsy-bitsy Style Under 600 sq ft

This 409 sq ft, one bedroom apartment in Matilda Court looks so much larger than it is thanks to the sleek, pastel Scandinavian design theme. 

Image Credit: The Minimalist Society

Open shelving in the kitchen adds colour and interest without blocking out the light, unlike full upper cabinetry. A streamlined electric cooker adds to the overall clean lines of the interior design. A popular trick to create the illusion of more space is to paint everything white, and to keep your kitchen benchtops clear of all clutter.

Image Credit: The Minimalist Society

Another space saving idea is to make your furniture multipurpose; the futon bed in this guest room can be rolled up out of the way and used as a seating area. In the meantime, keep your furniture light and low to make the interior space feel larger and lighter.

Image Credit: The Minimalist Society


Built-in beauty under 600 sq ft

This 430 sq ft Ark Parc Rosewood studio apartment may be small, but it has a whole lot of style and function packed into it. There is a retractable dining table to optimize space; lots of mirrors to give the illusion of a bigger room; and the television is on a rotatable surface that allows viewing from the living room and the bedroom areas. The clever dividing wall not only acts as storage, and hosts the revolving TV wall, but also defines the the sleep and living spaces.

Image Credit: Ark-hitecture

The compact but stylish kitchen in this studio apartment has a clever retractable dining table that can be hidden away when not in use. In the bathroom, lots of storage has been hidden behind a wall of mirrors that make the room look larger than it is.

Image Credit: Ark-hitecture


Colourful and Cosy Under 600 sq ft

This 450 sq ft Haig Avenue apartment might be small, but it has two bedrooms and a clever use of colour that adds to the coziness of the space. Built-in furniture makes the most of the space available and also has added storage. By keeping the walls and floors neutral, the addition of brightly coloured artwork and furnishings deceives the eye into believing the apartment is larger than it is.

Image Credit: Aiden T Pte Ltd

Adding mirrors into a small interior space is a popular trick to create the illusion of more space. Although the kitchen colours look dark, the use of reflective surfaces like the silver splashback helps light to bounce into the space.

Image Credit: Aiden T Pte Ltd


Minimal Magic Under 800 sq ft

At only 614 sq ft, this two bedroom Kingsford Waterbay apartment is the perfect mix of warmth and streamlined minimalism. Clever design has turned the balcony into a dining area that works day and night. The use of one shade of grey throughout the apartment ties the interior design together, and matching built-ins in the kitchen and living space adds to the minimalist vibe.

Image Credit: Mr Shopper Studio

In the bedroom the design makes the most of the space by creating a built-in desk and storage area next to the windows that has room for two workstations. The stylish use of grey continues into the bathroom area, with reflective surfaces and mirrors being used to create the illusion of more space.

Image Credit: Mr Shopper Studio


Perfect Priorities Under 800 sq ft

For the owners of this 650 sq ft, three bedroom Margate apartment, having a reading nook was a priority. Building in specially designed storage for books between the dining and outdoor area, the Library space adds a perfect touch of style to the space. Also, instead of trying to fit the living area into the already crowded main space, the third bedroom has been designed as a relaxing spot to chill out and listen to music.

Image Credit: Aiden T Pte Ltd

The built-ins continue into the dining space to create more storage and display areas. While the kitchen makes the most of the available light with a wall of glass to reflecting the light from the windows.

Image Credit: Aiden T Pte Ltd


All-White-Everything Under 800 sq ft

By sticking to a white colour palette and adding a wall of mirrors, this 737 sq ft, three bedroom, Upper Boon Keng apartment looks much larger than it really is. Touches of soft grey in the marble and furnishings is offset with pale timber that adds warmth without impacting on the overall ‘whiteness’ of the design scheme.

Image Credit: Briey Interior

More mirrors and reflective white and stainless steel surfaces in the kitchen bounce the natural light from the windows opposite around the living and dining area. In the bathroom the continued use of white, softly veined marble and mirrors continues the all-white theme creating a bright, clean space.

Image Credit: Briey Interior


Metallic marvel under 800 sq ft

The interior design scheme of this 750 sq ft, three bedroom Macpherson Spring apartment is full of metallic elements to reflect light and make the space appear larger. With various colours of mirrored glass on the wall and peninsula island have been used to not only match the glamorous decor, but to also give the illusion of more space.

Image Credit: Mr Shopper Studio

Glass and lighting fixtures have been used to create a stylish home bar space that although dark, adds light and space to the living area. Even in the bathroom, mirrors and more reflective surfaces have been used to create an elegant and luxurious space despite its relatively small size. 

Image Credit: Mr Shopper Studio


Light and Airy Under 1,000 sq ft

This design of this 850 sq ft, four bedroom apartment in Joo Chiat uses light and airy materials like pale timber and rattan furniture to give it a feeling of space. Using neutral colours with pops of pastels adds to the airy vibe of the home; furniture with open sightlines - like the two pink chairs and metal tables, allows light to flow into the space.

Image Credit: Aiden T Pte Ltd

Choosing the same materials throughout the home - like the pale timber and rattan furniture in the bedroom - continues the theme and helps to give the impression of more space. A clever way to make a bathroom seem larger is to emphasise the height of the room - here the bathroom tiles seem to point upward, encouraging the eyes to see more space than there really is.

Image Credit: Aiden T Pte Ltd


Sheer Style Under 1,000 ft

This Bendemeer Light, 960 sq ft apartment lives up to its name with its glass walls, floor-to-ceiling windows, and soft pastel furnishings. In this four bedroom home, one has been dedicated to the homeowners’ cat. The glass walls of the ‘cat room’ allows light from the exterior windows to penetrate all the way into the entry and kitchen areas.

Image Credit: Mr Shopper Studio

Pale timber, white tiles, light pastel colour and another glass door makes this galley kitchen a much brighter space that you would expect. In the bedroom custom built-in storage has been combined with minimal, streamlined furniture to give the room the feeling of being larger than it is.

Image Credit: Mr Shopper Studio


Moody tones under 1,000 sq ft

As long as you have large windows bringing in natural light, you can go for moody, darker tones in a smaller apartment. This 990 sq ft, three bedroom McNair Road apartment, makes the most of its floor-to-ceiling windows. By mixing tones of moody blue with polished timber and stainless steel, the kitchen has glass doors to give the impression of depth.

Image Credit: KDOT Associates

In the bedroom, the large windows bring in enough light that the use of darker timber and a stone floor creates warmth, but doesn’t make the room look too small. The sleeping platform adds to storage options, and creates a streamlined space. Choosing white marble-style tiles in the bathroom, and using curves in the mirror and basin, makes sure this space doesn’t appear to be too small.

Image Credit: KDOT Associates


Neutral Minimalism under 1,000 sq ft

This neutral, minimal three bedroom apartment might be 1,000 sq ft, but the spaces look enormous thanks to the monochrome effect. By choosing tone-on-tone colours, low furniture and keeping the walls bare of art or decoration, the edges of the walls appear to disappear into space.

Image Credit: ROOOT Studio

The bedroom space has recessed lighting, tonal colours and a sliding door to ensure the room is as empty of excess as possible. Even the bathroom and wardrobes are done in the same neutral tones, again the pale colours reflect light, giving the impression of more space.

Image Credit: ROOOT Studio


Looking for more inspiration? Check out our story about the most popular types of flooring in Singapore; discover how to create a cool home office in a small space; and learn about the different types of kitchen layouts.

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