Why size doesn't matter if you've got some decorating derring-do

'Limited floor space doesn’t have to limit ambition,’ says Ros Byam Shaw, whose new book Perfect English Small and Beautiful offers an opportunity to explore a dozen tiny houses, many of which are under 1,000sq ft and decorated with a confidence not associated with rooms of such modest proportions.

The idea for the book dawned when she wrote a succession of magazine pieces about conspicuously tiny yet beautifully designed houses. ‘It made me realise that of all the houses I’ve visited over the years, it was the little ones that I loved the most,’ says Byam Shaw.

Particularly inspiring was a visit to furniture restorer Guy Marshall’s home in Shropshire. Although only 11½ft wide, its three diminutive rooms are filled with an expansive collection of Georgian furniture, china, clocks and paintings that would look at home in any of the country’s grandest country houses.

With a book commission under her arm, life imitated art and, shortly after signing the contract, she and her husband, Richard, decided it was time to let another family enjoy the east-Devon, Tudor-era house that had been their family home for the past 23 years. Having quickly secured a buyer, the couple found a smaller house from the same period on the other side of town.

At approximately one-third of the size of the previous house, there was an urgent need to edit their possessions. ‘Working out what to keep and what to let go became a full-time job,’ explains Byam Shaw. ‘I lay awake at night thinking about what to do, but the deadline made me more decisive.’ Keen not to send anything useful to landfill, she rehomed approximately half the contents of the house with the help of antique dealers, websites and charity shops. Much of the remainder went into storage: ‘The amazing thing is that, except for some books and a few pictures, once something has gone into storage, you start to become detached and miss them less. It’s a good way to let things go.’

Of the many interiors books she has written, initial feedback suggests that this new arrival is resonating most with readers. ‘We all have a nesting instinct, which is why small houses have such appeal. It’s about feeling snug and cosy. When the weather is awful outside, a small house wraps itself around you. There are no distant corridors where wind whistles and rattles windows.’ She adds that there are also powerful environmental and economic attractions of a smaller property, notably lower heating bills.

The houses in the book demonstrate eloquently how large pieces of furniture don’t have to make small spaces feel cramped. Providing the ceiling height allows, a grandfather clock can look as handsome in a cottage sitting room as in a hallway to a Georgian rectory.

And here’s the rub: it is ceiling height rather than floorspace in small houses that can be limiting. Some of the owners of homes featured in the book have remedied this by removing the ceilings and extending spaces vertically to the rafters. ‘If you can make up for what you lack in floorspace by creating ceiling height, it completely changes the room,’ says Byam Shaw. ‘It’s why the Brutalist architects of the Barbican were clever enough to include a barrel-vaulted ceiling in their smallest flats, creating a feeling of openness despite the modest square footage.’

Fundamental to the success of a small, but beautiful room is having enough storage to hide any retained clobber out of sight — be that in cupboards or well-designed joinery. Throughout the book, it’s clear that owners have used every nook, cranny, corner, back-of-door, over-door, under-stairs or under-bed area available.

Other ingenious ways of opening up wall space include re-hanging doors so that they open into a passage, hall or landing and exchanging doors for curtains. For anyone considering small-space living, this book offers plenty of delicious food for thought.

‘Perfect English Small and Beautiful’ by Ros Byam Shaw will be published next month (Ryland Peters & Small, £40).