I love working with small spaces and often feature them on the blog and Facebook page. There are some fantastic and creative ways to furnish and decorate them, and they definitely encourage you to only have those possession that you love, and to avoid clutter. With the price of houses these days becoming increasingly unaffordable, smaller homes could arguably be more affordable too. Some others who agree with this are the owners of the exciting new business, Square Inch. Susan and John Frear think it makes sense to live in smaller spaces as the quarter acre dream becomes an unrealistic goal for many New Zealanders. Living in tiny flats in London and Tokyo didn't affect the couple's quality of life. Their spaces were well thought out and designed to squeeze a lot of living into little space, and they were filled with functional furniture that made the size of the space irrelevant.
Back in New Zealand, Susan and John decided it was time to reframe what comfortable living looks like, and in the process take some of the financial pressure off home owners. They wanted to bring multifunctional furniture pieces to the New Zealand market that would address our basic living needs - comfort, safety, plenty of storage, pieces that would allow us to work, sleep, eat, and entertain, all while looking stylish.
The first Square Inch product range is from young New York designer, Efe Kababulut, who previously worked for BoConcept. When furnishing his first New York apartment Efe was underwhelmed by his options, so decided to design his own range. The range includes sofa beds that are stylish as a sofa, comfortable as a bed (no hard metal bars to interrupt sleep), and offer additional storage.
As interior designers, Dael and I (Bibby + Brady) are always looking for good looking sofa beds, and in the past have struggled to find any that are comfortable and look good, so we are thrilled with the Square Inch range. A lot of our clients have spare rooms that work as offices or media rooms, but need to function as spare rooms when guests stay overnight, and the Square Inch sofa beds are also perfect for holiday homes.
It's not just sofa beds on offer, there are chaises and chairs that fold down to single beds; side tables that can turn into shelving units; entertainment units that can double as a desk... and many of the pieces are designed to work together. Various wood finishes and fabric options are available so you can customise your furniture to suit your home.
The Square Inch vision is to help everyone live large, no matter what space they have. All their products are stored in Auckland and can be delivered nationwide within 2-10 days. The products are flatpacked which makes delivery easier, and allows installation in the room they're destined for - no more nasty surprises when you can't get the furniture through the door!
While most of us are accustomed to internet shopping, if you find buying online a challenge or have any questions Susan is more than happy to answer them. To find out more visit the Square Inch website, and keep up to date with all the news on their Facebook and Instagram pages. If you're quick you can take advantage of the special offer - 15% OFF ALL SOFA BEDS - which runs until 19th July 2015. Go on... think smart and make the most of every square inch you have!
