Herlong Architects

Herlong & Associates staff designed this small space, which is about 200 square feet, excluding the bathroom and kitchenette.

Just because a space is small doesn’t mean it has to be cramped, crowded and cluttered. When designing a small space for a house – whether it’s a powder room or a den – simply spending some time thinking about the use of the room and its layout can make it functional and cozy.

Our firm’s interior designers can do wonders with small spaces, which they demonstrated in a small room in the Symphony Designer Showhouse, a fundraiser for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League Inc. 

Interior designer Theresa Bishopp looked at that small space as a challenge. And she wasn’t afraid to break some of the conventional “rules” of designing in small areas, such as shying away from dark paint colors, even on the ceiling. In fact, Bishopp often paints the ceiling so the eye doesn’t stop at the wall-to-ceiling demarcation line, which adds more height to the room.

“It should be a color you love,” she says. “If you love a dark color, you can still make a room beautiful and comfortable. My first priority isn’t to make a room look bigger, but to make it look better.”

The arrangement of the furniture in a small room is also critical. The focus should be on maximizing traffic flow. “If you can move through the space comfortably, it doesn’t matter how small it is,” Bishopp says.

At times, we like to share ideas with other designers, such as Parker-Sims Interiors here in Charleston. The owners of the design firm, Ivie Parker and Adrian Truluck, recommend homeowners put some thought into how they plan to use a room, particularly a small one. Deciding on a room’s purpose will help determine how to make the room attractive and functional.

Some of their other tips include:

* Using built-in shelving to maximize storage space without taking up floor space. Use wallpaper or paint along the back wall of a built-in shelf to give it some dimension and flair.

* Get creative with storage containers, using baskets, boxes, cubes or ottomans that double as seating and storage. Add fabric, trim or piping to the item so it matches the room’s décor. Especially in small spaces, it’s important to hide those items that would make the room look cluttered and busy.

* Mount lamps to the wall, which can free up valuable space on a bedside table or end table.

The kitchen before the Herlong team started its work.

The company’s interior designers, including Theresa Bishopp, Sarah Melançon and Elizabeth Horn, are always up for a challenge. So when the firm was selected to participate in the 2009 Symphony Designer Showhouse, they, along with marketing director, Laura Anne Moore, were hoping they would get to design one of the smallest spaces in the five-building complex.

Formerly the Maison du Pré Inn, the showhouse is at the corner of East Bay and George streets. Having been used as a bed and breakfast for the last 20 years, it is up for sale at $4.89 million. The late 19th-century property has three houses and two carriage houses, totaling almost 10,000 square feet.

The annual Symphony Designer Showhouse is a fundraiser for the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League Inc., made up of a group of volunteers that support the local symphony orchestra.

This was the first year Herlong was selected to design a space in the showhouse, and Bishopp was excited when the team was awarded the space they’d been eyeing – a tiny area with a bedroom and kitchenette. The space is on the second floor of the old carriage house and is accessible via a small stairway.

Herlong’s initial design inspiration came from a piece of orange and gold drapery fabric that Bishopp had turned into a dress. That fabric was the beginning of a vibrant color palette for the home. It reminded her of her daily commute across the Ben Sawyer causeway to the firm’s office on the Isle of Palms – orange, gold and purple sunsets, the green of the marsh and the blue of the sky. “So we took that palette and ran with it,” she says.

The Herlong team collaborated closely with the designers who were working on other rooms in the house. While each room is distinct, it was important they all flow and complement each other.

The kitchen after the Herlong team finished its design.

The result is orange walls in the bathroom, purple window treatments in the bedroom along with a duvet cover made of the initial inspiring fabric. The kitchenette is finished with a green marsh color of American clay by Artisan Clay. “It’s very organic, a very green product. You just want to go up and touch it,” Bishopp says. A number of local companies, including King Street Kitchen Co. and Ferguson Enterprises, donated cabinetry, appliances and lighting fixtures to help complete the space.

While most people think rooms should be painted a light color to appear larger, the Herlong team took the complete opposite approach. They painted the walls and the ceiling the same color, which allows the wall to flow into the ceiling and actually make the room appear larger, even if it’s painted a darker color.

Bishopp said she saw designing this room as a huge challenge. “We knew it could be cozy. It wasn’t cozy when we went into it. But I could see the potential for it to be a room you wanted to spend time in. It hugs you when you walk in and makes you feel really warm and good.”

The Symphony Designer Showhouse is open daily through April 19. Visit the Charleston Symphony Orchestra League Web site for more information. Additional photos of many designer spaces are available online.