Continental charm – in small doses

Whether you say piccolo, pequeño, pieni, klein or  petit,  small is beautiful all over the world.

These little homes in Europe packed a lot of style — and innovative thinking — into small spaces. See how many ideas you can use in your small space.

From Life Edited we learned about a clever Roman who saw this:

And envisioned this:

A comfortable loft-style home big enough for two (if they can control their shopping urges) built in the space between two existing buildings right in downtown Rome.

The kitchen has an eating area:

And a fair-sized kitchen.  The table folds away when not needed for eating (or working with a laptop).

The loft lounge is great for watching TV or reading:

Closing off the staircase gives you more leg room.  And, of course, it makes up into a bed for sleeping:

It looks like they used the exterior walls of the neighbouring buildings as part of their decor!  With the brick, the plaster, and the exposed beams it looks like it’s been there for centuries, yet still clean and modern.

Life Edited also clued us into this Spanish work/home space by PKMN Architects.  The floor plan is flexible:

A communal recreation area can also be used as a living room

This video shows how it all works:

I myself am not crazy about the chipboard, it looks too unfinished to me and I wonder if it’s tough enough to stand up to all that manhandling over the years.  But the space itself is very nice. And the moveable walls mean you can use the same space is many different ways.

How much would you love to live in the heart of Paris?  Enough to live in a 7th floor walk-up?  In 8 square meters (86 square feet)?

This video shows it can be done

It’s so chic!  And easy to keep clean.  It was planned to be home for an au pair for a family in the building, but it would be perfect for a student or working person, too. I really like the interior window that lets light into the bathroom.  And the stairs/shelves is a great dual use of the same space.

This video shows how they did it

But what about if you want to get away from it all?  Small spaces are fine in the city, but how would a small home fit into the wide open vistas of the Austrian Alps?

Perfectly. Once again, design trumps space, here in this charming and compact vacation home. It’s called the UVogel.  And it’s for rent if you want a taste of perching on the side of a mountain in your own cozy nest.

Love that view! And the inside is just as breathtaking:

Building a platform to use as a lounge area is the ideal way to grab that view and hold onto it for hours.

Once again, bench seating gives you extra space in the dining area.

They seem to have installed the TV so it can be mounted on the other side of that half-wall and viewed from the main room, or pulled up atop the wall for bedroom viewing — that is tricky!

And the bathroom is built in a deep, narrow space.  The glass walls allow the sun to come all the way into this tiny cabin.

What about if you’re looking for something a little more old-fashioned?  How about this adorable little cottage in Finland?  Just 516 square feet, and 120 years old. Apartment Therapyalerted us to how much cute you can pack into that little area.

The kitchen and sitting area are in one room.  It looks like they have some kind of radiators under the windows, but the kitchen has a nice old-fashioned wood-burning range as well as a modern electric stove. Using every square millimetre of vertical space gives you maximum storage.

And the bedroom has a small stove as well.

I understand it can get quite cold in Finland, so they probably need all the help they can get to keep warm.

Thanks for joining us on our trip around the continent of Europe.  Please return your seats to their upright position and make sure your seatbelt is securely fastened.  And remember — thinking big and living small are the way to fly!