17th April 2026 - Small Spaces, Big Ideas

Three things people still believe about small spaces — and all three are quietly costing them.

Myth 1: "Paint it white to make it feel bigger."
White walls in a small north-facing London flat don't open it up. They flatten it, expose every shadow, and make the room feel colder than it already is.
Dark, saturated colour does the opposite of what people expect — it blurs the edges of a room so you stop reading where the walls end. A small dining room in deep green or oxblood feels enveloping, not cramped. Try it before you dismiss it. My cottage living room is a deep khaki/yellow (cat-sick is my favourite description!) - it's brilliant, it goes with every other colour imaginable and I've redecorated with the same shade twice.

Myth 2: "Small rooms need small furniture."
This is the one I argue about most.
Six small pieces in a small room create six visual edges your eye has to navigate. One generous sofa, one substantial table, one proper armchair — fewer outlines, calmer room. Scale up, then edit down.
A two-seater "for the space" almost always makes the space feel worse.

Matthews Rea Interiors CGI visual for a client project, showing considered small-space design

Myth 3: "Knock it all through — open plan feels bigger."
Ten years of knock-throughs have taught us that one undefined room often feels smaller than two well-zoned ones. You lose acoustic privacy, you lose the joy of moving between spaces, and the kitchen smells live in the sofa.
Broken-plan is what's actually working in UK houses right now: Crittall partitions, pocket doors, half-height walls, a step change in floor level. Definition, not demolition.

Save this for the next time someone tells you to paint your hallway Wimborne White and buy a loveseat.

What's the small-space "rule" you've stopped believing in?