Pocket walls and doors, floating plumbing fixtures, mirrors that talk to you — all of these trends and more are new and creative ways to live large in limited space. Let’s take a peek at some fashionable home design trends that create space.
Space-enhancing doors and walls
An alternative to traditional swinging doors that take up valuable space, pocket doors that slide neatly into adjoining wall space have been around for many years. Now pocket glass walls are appearing in homes. These allow you to tuck the barrier between your interior and the outdoors into another wall, creating additional space.
Reaching new heights
Ceilings are taller, and as a result, cabinets are reaching higher to create space. That solves a storage problem but causes an accessibility one: How to reach those upper shelves? The solution is the iMove shelves by Hafele. Simply grab the handle at the bottom and gently pull. The shelves glide downward so you can easily reach what’s stored in the cabinet.
Create space with roll-out storage
Your small kitchen may not have space for a dedicated pantry. But with a gentle tug, you can pull out a six-foot-tall roll-out pantry tucked into your cabinetry. You can also create space and increase storage access with pull-out drawers built into cupboards.
Floating in midair
Floating fixtures are a growing trend in bathrooms. New vanities and toilets are attached to the wall, not the floor. This gives the illusion that they are suspended in midair and creates space beneath. The look is dramatic, but it’s also practical: These fixtures make the bathroom easier to clean.
The same idea is being seen in the bedroom. Beds appear to float when they are attached to the wall behind them and supported overhead by cables. These beds may be accessorized with floating night tables on each side. Floating shelves in any room create space for decorative accessories without consuming floor space. Floating stairs attach to a wall but otherwise appears to be levitating.
All of these examples create space underneath that you can use for storage or design purposes.
Mirror, mirror
As you shower and dress to start your day, a smart mirror virtual assistant in the bathroom can provide the latest weather, traffic, news headlines, and market reports. It can even monitor your health. Smart mirrors have a display screen placed behind the glass, which shows information that’s important to you.
A different kind of mirror creates space while making it easy to get a good home workout without cluttering your rooms with exercise equipment. The Mirror lets you turn a couple of feet of wall space into a personal gym, by displaying various workout routines you can follow along with.