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The Right Size

Dwell

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Murphy Beds • Whether in tiny apartments or in rooms that double as overflow sleeping areas, the convertible bed is iconic for a reason.

The Surprising Sources of Space-Saving Inventions • Long before the Covid pandemic had people reconfiguring their homes to fit multiple—and sometimes competing—functions (think: dining rooms with on-demand desk setups, ad hoc gyms in unused bedroom corners), people were devising furniture and home wares that did more with less. Some of today’s most ubiquitous small-space inventions were born from the minds of makers who sought to solve particular problems in their own compact offices or residences. Others have more unconventional backstories, stemming from unrelated scientific missions before making their way into our homes. Read on for some of those tales.

Modern World

The Compact Living Room

Essential Storage

Diminutive Dining

A Small Bedroom

Events • Dwell Open House At the debut of Dwell’s new event series, 300 readers toured some of L.A.’s most exciting homes.

The Orange Lotus • Emerging from Disney’s shadow, Nickelodeon uses nostalgia to court millennial parents at its all-inclusive luxury resort in Punta Cana. But what happens when design meets slime?

A World Away • In Northern Michigan, a geodesic dome offers visitors an escape pod from daily life. 385 SQ FT

Float On • A designer brings his fascination with sauna culture from Scandinavia home to Connecticut. 75 SQ FT

The Right Angle • A home with a square floor plan creates plenty of corners for enjoying life in the Argentine countryside. 538 SQ FT

Dwellings

Clear Vision • A cosmopolitan couple honor the tradition of Le Corbusier in the refresh of a flat in the Immeuble Clarté, a Geneva building designed by the architect and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret. 1,345 SQ FT

No Minor Details • Maria Bottero has lived in a Milan apartment designed by her former husband, architect Umberto Riva, since 1969. In a recent book, two photographers show how she has made the mostly unaltered space her own. 1,054 SQ FT

Written In The Stars • A Manhattan apartment in the setting for the show Only Murders in the Building gets a colorful partial renovation. 525 SQ FT

Narrow Approach • On a tight lot in Osaka, Japan, a slender home with a series of split levels that ascend to a large skylight gives a young family of five room to grow. 868 SQ FT

Budget Breakdown • Growth Potential A couple spend just over $31K to turn a one-bedroom Brooklyn apartment into a family home. 850 SQ FT

Light Work • A Seattle backyard shed becomes twin light-filled offices, no permit required. 110 SQ FT

Group Show • A couple renovate a ’60s flat in Copenhagen as a pied-à-terre to host DJs, art openings, and friends. 450 SQ FT

Construction Diary • Cat’s Cradle How a small summerhouse became a home for an Italian couple and their three feline friends. 650 SQ FT

Modern Market • Smart Shopping For the Design Obsessed. Find what you love in our expertly curated selection of finely crafted home, office, travel, and lifestyle products.

Sourcing • The products, furniture, architects, designers, and builders featured in this issue.

One Last Thing • A miniature lead replica of an Indian temple inspires bicoastal architect and curator Anand Sheth to draw from the past while designing rituals for the present.