Small-Scale Luxury

Here's a positive spin on making a mountain out of a molehill. A New York studio, a seven-foot-wide Virginia home, a D.C. loft and an Austin condo all share limited space as their main challenge. The homeowners have found remarkable and inspiring ways to amplify the space and make a luxurious home out of what they have.

Tiny New York Studio
A two-bedroom, 350-square-foot New York studio apartment? Is that possible? It is, and homeowners Stephen and Christina Szermer luxuriate in having those bedrooms separate from their living space. They added a loft to use as the master bedroom, but the low ceiling put the kibosh on that plan. Now it's the guest bedroom. The Szermers also carved a living room and an office out of the square footage.

Several attempts at creating a master bedroom didn't quite work. One finally did: a Plexiglas screen gives privacy, separates the bedroom from the living room and lets natural light flow through the loft.