“Small Space, Big Living: Interior Design to Make Every Inch Count” by Sofie Hepworth (3 stars)

*I received an e-book copy of this book from Edelweiss Plus in exchange for review.*

“Sofie Hepworth is an award-winning digital content creator, interior stylist and product designer. She shares her incredible renovation projects on her colourful Instagram page @threeboysandapinkbath, including her most recent one – a tiny 450-square-foot ‘Sheila Shed’ she designed and built for her family of four! She has been featured in the Sunday Times Home supplement and has worked with brands including B&Q, American Express, Sofa.com, Velux, eBay and West Elm.” (Three Boys and a Pink Bath).

Interior design isn’t normally something I’d spend a lot of time researching, but I was recently relocated from my spacious attic bedroom into our tiny guest room (crumbling foundation, no insulation, all the fun side effects of an old home). Thus, when this book came across my dashboard, I was intrigued. I’m definitely in a small space and am trying to live normally (aka big), which is extremely hard in a guest room with no closet space and only a pullout couch for comfort. So let’s see what I learned…

Hepworth offers up ten strategies for creating more out of your small spaces, which means you can “Say goodbye to cramped, crowded homes and hello to beautifully curated interiors that make big lives in small spaces comfortable and attractive” (Waterstones). Doesn’t that sound amazing? Ultimately, it seems Hepworth’s main idea was less-is-more. Which in a small space seems pretty obvious, but Hepworth manages to take the obvious and make it ingenious. Don’t have enough space? Add a door or a new window and viola, you’ve got more space.

A lot of her designs include bringing in more light (windows, doors, etc.) and adding access to nature (plants, indoor-outdoor spaces, etc.). Which I can’t really do too much of since we’re in the process of fixing all the issues previously mentioned, so obviously cosmetic changes are a ways down the road. But I did love her ideas on bringing nature indoors. I added some fresh flowers to the top of my desk (thanks to my favorite plant doctor @thebotaniclibrarian) and have actually opened my window shades most days (even though it’s freezing in New England right now). I’ve noticed that it brings me more peace to view the world and I feel less isolated in the small space when I can see the people passing by outside. I know it seems obvious, but sometimes when you’re so focused on the negatives (like being displaced from your comfort zone), it helps to be reminded to take a step back and look at the positives.

As for the book itself, I loved all the unique design images and getting a peek inside Hepworth’s mind when creating a new project. She’s got designs for all parts of your home and they’re all versatile enough to fit into anyone’s home design. The images she uses are easy enough to follow along with and her descriptions are spot-on. I will be honest though, I found myself flipping through a bit and focusing on the parts of the book that could pertain to my bedroom predicament. So if you’re looking for design tips on other rooms, they’re in here, I just can’t necessarily speak to them myself.

As I said, I’m not a big interior designer, so I can’t tell you all the buzzwords and minutiae of how this book fits into the world of reference. But I can say that as a beginner in this field, I understood what she was saying, I enjoyed myself, and I was able to take some of her ideas and implement them into my own life. That’s got to say something, right?