The Art of Living Small

Location: Orange, Virginia
Size: 1200 square feet
Designer: Sam Blount
Architect: Madison Spencer

A couple from Connecticut moved down South with the plans to develop land in Virginia's horse country. With a plan that would take years to complete, they decided to start with a guest house to provide lodging while the main house and stables were built. The straightforward floor plan can be seen in the cottage's simple exterior.

Decorative touches—like green soapstone counters and tole fronts on the upper cabinets—add color and style to the white kitchen without taking up space. The marble-and-iron table also doubles as an island work surface.

"Symmetry is so important. It imposes order and soothes the eye," says Blount. "Sometimes asymmetry is nice and necessary, but in a small space where you see everything in one look, the best image is one that doesn't make your eye work so hard."

Blount is a big fan of large rugs in small spaces, saying that too many bitsy ones visually chop up the floor. Here, he used as big of a rug as possible. A striking blue barn door takes up less room than hinged doors would.

"A limited color palette gives clarity. Blues and whites predominate in this house, playing well with the clients' classic furnishings. Too many colors can shrink a room—the eye has to stay very busy to take it all in. Painting the walls white and the vaulted portion of the ceiling celestial blue makes the 14-foot ceilings soar even higher."

Blount set up a bar atop this chest and stashed glasses in the drawers below.

Tucking the queen-size bed into a nook creates more floorspace. The roomy drawers below provide extra storage space.

Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Size: 650 square feet
Designer: Matthew Bees

A Mississippi couple looking to create a home base in Charleston gutted their 1 bedroom, 1 1/2-bath getaway, and Bees created a space that looks like it was cultivated over generations. He drew inspiration from a hotel where "a wonderful mix of 17th- and 18th-century styles was presented in a fresh, modern way."

In the living room, the 7-foot chocolate brown sofa fades into the wall and the skirt hides a pullout mattress. Filling the room with upholstered pieces creates a plush look and extra seating.

Using a chest as the bar in the living room adds extra storage, and also provides a surface to add extra lamps. Since the space is low on natural light, Bees made sure to pile on the artificial light with five lamps, a large central chandelier, and a smaller one over the dining table.

Beneath the stairs, a wall-mounted TV, glass-top table, chairs, and stools create a lively, low-profile dining nook.

An Asian screen mounted from the ceiling beams gives the illusion of a wall in the loft's second-story bedroom. The garden stool and sconce function as a nightstand and occupy just 2 feet of floorspace.

The tallboy provides ample drawers for storage and ginger jars on top add height and additional storage.

In the powder room, the deep aubergine ceiling coordinates with the wallpaper.