Let the Light in
The apartment is situated in a terraced Victorian home on the ground floor, meaning its only windows are to the front and back of the space. Tolstrup recounted how when they first saw it, it was “a maze of walls and was really run down”, which set the challenge: open it up and make it feel light. Their first order of business was to remove the interior wall that cordoned the front room from the back one, allowing the flat to operate like a unified, connected space with natural light coming in from both sides. Functional zones – like the sleeping nooks, bathroom, kitchen, and study – were tucked along the side walls to allow a clear throughline and sense of spaciousness.
Careful Footprint Planning
Mama and Tolstrup carefully mapped out how much space was actually needed for different activities or functions to ensure they not only existed but also felt generous and practical. This begins with the entrance, where you are welcomed by a bench for shoe removal and a nice storage space before encountering a large, floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall bookshelf built around an old fireplace. The open hallway was kept intentionally open and clear to create a natural pull toward the back end of the space, which opens up to reveal an open-concept study, dining area, and kitchen area facing onto a large private garden.
The study — which features bespoke Douglas fir shelves and a desk with options for both sitting and standing — is tucked into an alcove and faces out toward the rest of the room and garden so that it feels both separate and connected. Just beyond this nook, the ceiling height rises and the space expands to the custom L-shaped sofa, its matching coffee table, and a diamond-shaped dining table that together maximise seating and comfort while minimising visual obstructions and use of footprint. The fully equipped kitchen, on the other side of the room, echoes the warmth of the studio with its curved wood cabinetry and open shelving.
We’ve experimented a lot with small-space living, and that sense of wonder when you come in; this idea of how you can really change a space with really, really simple elements and suddenly, it’s transformed.
Jack Mama
Sleeping Pods for Two
If this all wasn’t enough, Mama and Tolstrup were also able to create not just one but two private sleeping cubes. The first, closer to the entrance, is accessed by stairs that tuck into its raised platform base (where you can also find some pull-out storage). It has integrated shelving for books and other items as well as a fluted glass window along the top to let light in. The second is closer to the ground but still has enough room for deep, large drawers beneath it for storage. Tolstrup was very conscious of the fact that these two sleeping pods were back-to-back, so a slide-out pocket door was placed in between them, which can divide the whole apartment into two on demand. Everything comes full circle, literally, with a large fluted glass circle window in the middle of the door, reiterating the circular mirror feature on the bookcase wall by the entrance. It is touches like this, and the colourful bathroom or wardrobe interiors, that cement the design as aha-worthy.
In case you missed it: Togo sofas are taking small-space interiors by storm, take a look.
Images by Billy Bolton and Never Too Small
