March 26, 2026

Five of London’s Best Small Homes Under 60sqm/645sqft

From sleeping pods to colour zoning and very flexible furniture, these five small London homes show how bold design and clever joinery can unlock light and space even in the darkest and tightest of spaces.

London’s housing is shaped by layers of history — Victorian terraces, converted warehouses, Art Deco blocks — often resulting in compact interiors that demand creative thinking. Here are five homes that execute big ideas in some of London’s smallest spaces.

Writing:

Bec Vrana Dickinson

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As Louise Glynn of Studio 29 Architects says, “City dwellings often have constraints.” A feeling London knows well. And while the dense capital city is big on small spaces, it’s also big on opportunity, especially ones to be creative. By rethinking compact constraints as compelling design moments, these five apartments reflect a distinctly London approach to living that embraces the quirks of existing buildings, while finding moments for innovation in the most unlikely spaces.
As Louise affirms, “You don’t need to add space to make a place feel bigger, you just have to manipulate materials and colours to have the same effect – it’s important when you design small spaces to think big.” And that London does.

1. Boho Japanese Micro Apartment with Shoji Sleeping Pod, 29sqm/318sqft

Set inside a 19th-century Victorian building on a tree-lined street in Belsize Park is Shoji Apartment, a boho-Japanese-inspired home by architects Proctor & Shaw. In the centre of it all is the sleeping pod, a cocoon-like room enclosed in a series of lightweight translucent polycarbonate partitions, much like Japanese shoji screens. At night, when the lights are on and the screens are closed, the pod becomes a lantern that softly illuminates the rest of the home. During the day, the large bay windows take on the role, bathing the full-size kitchen, dining and living in natural light. The recurrent use of birch plywood, clay works plaster and lino floors unifies the home into a space that is both warm under natural and lantern-like light.

Find out more details about Shoji Apartment in this full article, including imagery from Ståle Eriksen and the full video tour: https://www.nevertoosmall.com/post/shoji-apartment-london

At the centre of the home is the sleeping pod, an elevated nook enclosed with translucent partitions inspired by Japanese shoji screens. Image: Ståle Eriksen.

Large bay windows bathe the kitchen, dining and living spaces in natural light, warming the birch ply used throughout the space. Image: Ståle Eriksen.

To reach the pod, an alternating tread staircase is a space-saving solution that creates a steeper angled staircase, while maintaining tread depth. Image: Ståle Eriksen.

Continuity of clay works plaster, lino flooring and birch ply creates an encompassing sense of calm and softness within the busy city. Image: Ståle Eriksen.

2. Bright Ground-Floor Victorian Terrace with Flexible Layout, 54sqm/581sqft

Once a “really run down maze of walls,” according to Nina Tolstrup, one half of Studiomama with partner Jack Mama, Mia’s Apartment has been completely transformed. With the sun-blocking interior wall removed, the entire ground-floor Victorian terrace home could finally feel the light. Tucking functional zones like the sleeping nooks, bathroom, kitchen, and study along the side walls, sun and sight run through the home from front to back, while smart sliding doors and subdividing elements mean privacy can be easily accessed. The bespoke Douglas fir-clad study looks over the living space – the custom L-shaped sofa and diamond-shaped dining table – and into the garden, for a sustained connection to light and life.

Find out more details about Mia’s Apartment in this full article, including imagery from Billy Bolton and the full video tour: https://www.nevertoosmall.com/post/mias-apartment-london

The custom L-shaped sofa and dining table maximise seating opportunities – spaces for both gathering and resting with the private garden in view. Image: Billy Bolton.

A smart sliding door offers an option to divide the space and sleeping nooks into private resting rooms. Image Billy Bolton.

Opposite the living space is the fully equipped kitchen, complete with open shelving and curved wood cabinetry. Image: Billy Bolton.

Near the entrance is the large, floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall bookshelf built around an old fireplace; the mounted circular mirror reflects light from the front into the home. Image: Billy Bolton.

3. Japandi Inspired Micro Apartment with Art Deco Details, 24sqm/258sqft

Within the very iconic Florain Court building, the fictional home of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, is Poirot’s Bijou Apartment – the home of two artists seeking a peaceful contrast to their vibrant studios. Working within the constraints of the Art Deco building’s listed structure, Anna Parker from Intervention Architecture introduced inventive, space-saving joinery to create a flexible, functional home. Continuous pale plywood joinery defines the apartment and conceals generous storage, including a Murphy bed, a movable sofa and a flat-pack dining table. In contrast, the kitchen is a joyful bright blue, while the bathroom is blushed with soft pink tiling, each tone defining its iconic zone, under one iconic roof.

Find out more details about Poirot’s Bijou Apartment in this full article, including more imagery and the full video tour: https://www.nevertoosmall.com/post/london-apartment-balancing-japandi-and-art-deco

Storage is built into every part of the pale plywood joinery, which also conceals a Murphy bed, the movable sofa and a flat-pack dining table. Image: Tom Bird.

Bi-folding plywood doors open to the Yves Klein Blue kitchen with a gold-flecked black Corian benchtop for a bold contrast between rooms. Image: Tom Bird.

Drawing from 1930s Art Deco ship cabins, the blush pink bathroom tiles flow across the floor, walls, and bath front, to make the space feel larger. Image: Tom Bird.

Custom bi-folding plywood shutters cover the main windows for privacy and light control, while remaining consistent with the rest of the apartment’s joinery. Image: Tom Bird.

4. Mezzanine Family Apartment in Converted Industrial Building, 42sqm/452sqft

An office in the 1930s, an apartment block in the 90s, Louise Glynn of Studio 29 Architects has now transformed her ground-floor unit in the southeast of London into a home for her son. “This is most importantly his childhood home, I want him to remember it. That’s why I was inspired to become an architect: living in and seeing incredible properties as a child”. Making use of the double-height ceiling, Glynn reimagined the layout, adding a second-story mezzanine for the beds. In deliberate contrast to London’s grey, Louise added thoughtful textured materials, including custom birch plywood furniture, raw pink plaster and patinated metals. With lanterns that float above the dining table, a bathroom that requires “duck[ing] to get inside”, and almost every nook used for novel storage, Louise has made her son a home he’s unlikely to forget.

Find out more details about Alaska Building in this full article, including imagery from Tarry + Perry and the full video tour: https://www.nevertoosmall.com/post/industrial-london-loft-architect-and-3-year-old-son

Louise Glynn outside of her southeast London home, designed with her son in mind.

Making use of the double-height ceiling, Louise designed an open mezzanine bedroom level, complete with a bathroom across the landing.

Above the dining table, ten large paper lanterns hang from the 4-metre high ceiling; they’re Louisa’s “favourite spot in [the] apartment.”

The bathroom was completely redone, adding storage, a bathtub, a large luxurious basin, and lots of mirrors for light.

5. Colour-Drenched Compact Apartment with Flexible Living Spaces, 40sqm/430sqft

Even though “colour was not the main idea,” according to interior designer Sarah Leanor, each room of the compact King’s Cross Apartment is emboldened with a feature tone. The kitchen green, the bathroom yellow, the bedroom blue and the living room red. “It’s not a space where we can put many elements, so it was with the colour that we actually found this cosiness.” Tucked inside a historic 1912 building, the 40sqm/430sqft flat has been transformed by Sara Leonor Studio into a storage-savvy home for a professional couple. Drawing on Victorian-era details, like green glazed tiles, copper finishes, and bold colours, the apartment balances character with functionality. Especially the living room, which can also be a home office, a guest room or a dining room, thanks to the expandable coffee table that seats six. Instead of changing the layout, Leonor focused on maximising storage, enhancing function, and creating a sense of home instead: “The idea was to create different areas where the client could feel cosy, while making the spaces look larger – colour was the solution.”

Find out more details about King’s Cross Apartment in this full article, including imagery from Anna Batchelor and the full video tour: https://www.nevertoosmall.com/post/colourful-transformation-in-london