How many people (even in today’s cookie-cutter world) can claim their abode is only 279 square feet — IN TOTAL?
Cue the English home of a busy artist who has used cunning trick of the eye — and clever optical illusion — to suggest his wee nest is far more generous than it actually is.
The bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, laundry and study are utterly DOLL SIZE and actually tinier, in their entirety, than our Canadian living room. So get ready for inspiration!
This week’s Home Show may be small on square footage but it’s BIG on ideas as we reveal how to properly max up in minimal spaces. Concealed heaters, mirrored wall sections and dual purpose furniture are all in there, so prepare to be dazzled with a million and one ideas for your domestic (if diminutive) delectation.
Next, we visit the London home of garden designer and florist to the stars Mr. Stephen Woodhams. Created in the tiny footprint of a former coach house, this slice of cutting-edge modern architecture is a masterful and staggeringly gorgeous abode with breathtaking Hermes orange detailing.
Next up we hit a Manchester shopping mall, set up our blank room set and ask the audience to nominate a style for us to create using only those goods that we can find around the retail monolith. With two camera crews we dive off in different directions and, after several hours of plundering Pier Imports, Home Sense and Laura Ashley, we create a shabby chic dining room that is liberally imbued with worn around the edges furniture, Cath Kidson wallpaper and more rustic charm than you could shake a stick at. Oh — and a whole load of wartime inspired decorative bunting, just for good measure. Don’t ask — just enjoy!
After a little “Shopping Sabotage” where we shame a perfectly lovely couple into buying a beautiful ceramic vase (instead of the terrifyingly bad fake crystal abomination we find them clutching at the checkout) we round off the show with “Challenge Colin and Justin.” Say what? One (by his own admission) utterly style-free young man challenges each of us (independently of the other!) to find him a perfect living room rug. With just $100 and 20 minutes, each of us finds an option and our shy shopper picks the one that best fits his taste. Let the battle commence.
