Small spaces – Breakfast Television

• 6 in 10 sales are condos
• One sold every thirteen minutes in Toronto

1) Beware when Buying from plan

• Each image is the same size so it is deceiving in terms of space

2) One you get it - Stop with words like Small and Cramped –

• Think cozy Intimate and charm - just a better mind set to work from

3) First thing to tackle is storage

• Closet company to create a more functional closet –
• Space above the shelf
• The space under the bar at 82 inches – consider double hang and more shelves –
• If you have a bulk head over the closet consider taking it out and building in the closet with doors above and below – floor to ceiling access – more $$ but will help when you sell!! – worth it if you can afford it!

4) Decide on the function of the room -- Doesn’t matter if unreasonable at first glance

• living/dining/office/exercise/guest room -- ??
• Multi functional pieces of furniture is a must
  • Ottoman/storage/ guest bed
  • Coffee table/ dining table/ desk
  • Shelving unit/ Murphy bed/ sectional sofa
• Floor to ceiling shelving – 10x10 room is 100 sqft on the floor – a unit 2ft deep and 8x8 uses 16 sqft of floor space and gives you 128 usable sq ft on the wall!

6) Select furniture that sits off the floor so you can see under it – give the illusion of more space

• Glass and chrome furniture has little aesthetic weight in the space
• Mirrored pieces (Venetian mirror) reflect surroundings creating space

7) Mirrors in general open up the space

• But look to odd shapes -multi level mirrors – series of circles, convex mirrors etc
• No one wants to look at themselves while they visit you or eat dinner
• Odd shaped mirrors reflect but don’t offer perfect reflection for “makeup” etc

8) Doors – remove the ones that aren’t necessary - like into the Den, office etc

• Consider replacing necessary doors with ones with glass inserts – light and the sense of a room help open the space up

9) Painting

• Paint the back of shelving units and recesses in the wall a darker warmer colour offers depth to the space
• Paint the rest of the space a neutral colour like light grey, ivory, pale blue
• White is a fine colour (or lack of colour) but often people think it will make the space look larger – really it just makes it look white – good if you are a dental office or art gallery – but for home??

He is also recognized as a design expert on The Marilyn Denis Show and from his past work as a host/designer of the internationally popular television shows Foodnetwork/HGTV`s Restaurant Makeover, and W networks ‘Take this House and Sell it’, and “Slice Network” show, Renovate my Wardrobe. He is currently a design columnist for The Toronto Star’s “New in Homes section” and the National Design Contributor for “Canadian Homes Trends” magazine www.glenpelosointeriors.com