Addicted: What lurks beneath

Truly creative people make something out of nothing.  So when we see the genius ways people have utilized the space under their stairs, it gets us a little giddy...and jealous.  Well, 70% giddy; 30% jealous.

Here are some of our faves:

A chic powder room that doesn't feel like an airplane lavatory (no easy feat, btw)...

...or a full bathtub!

Well-curated open storage...

...or streamlined, closed storage

Discrete family lockers (we'd put doors on ours)

A smart-looking place to work...

...or a cozy spot to nap

An ideal place for your booze (In lieu of a wine rack, we also think you could create a fab little bar in this space.)

Regardless of what you choose to do, don't leave that space empty!

Addicted: Transparency

As life-long city dwellers, space is always an issue.  One of our favorite tricks for working in a small or crowded room is transparency.  Glass, lucite or otherwise clear furniture creates the illusion of furniture not actually being there, something almost all urban abodes can use.  Case in point, this "is it or isn't it there?" dining room table:

Here are a few transparency tricks we love:


Is your foyer so small it's practically non-existent but you still want something more than a mat to welcome guests?  Start with a lucite console table, hang a mirror above, add some tabletop objects de l'amour and voila, you have a bonafide chic foyer!  

This idea also works for skinny hallways.  The following mirrored console has the same effect.

We've also seen lucite consoles used as a vanity table in a bedroom, for office-less offices (e.g. desks that have to live in living rooms or guest bedrooms) and as a credenza in a  small dining room. 

We also love going transparent for coffee tables and side tables in living rooms.  

In the case of our living room below, using an opaque coffee table would hide one of the biggest design elements in the room -- our boldly striped rug. A clear coffee table allows the rug to be seen and doesn't take up a lot of space in our already crowded room.  We like this idea for nightstands in bedrooms, too.