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"   Hunting for a new apartment after his divorce, New York City interior designer Robert Lindgren wanted to find a space that could work overtime. He needed a kid-friendly second home for his children Louisa, 13, and Peter, 10, a client-ready home office, and a space that made him excited to start his new life\u2014all in one. What&amp;#039;s more, he had to pull it all together on a strict budget.   Robert settled on a two-bedroom rental in a family-friendly neighborhood. But while the apartment had good light and a nice-size second bedroom, there were a few drawbacks: limited square footage, blah beige walls, a teeny kitchen and no separate dining area.      Undaunted, Robert transformed the space with warm paint colors and a clever furniture plan. And to make his vision complete while sticking to his budget, he relied on furniture catalogs and online design resources to find wallet-friendly staples, art and accessories.   Thanks to a clever layout, Robert made the challenge of combining the living and dining areas look easy. Rather than dividing the space in two (which would have made both areas feel cramped), he turned them into one cohesive space. The starting point was the shallow chocolate velvet sofa from Ballard Designs. At only 30 inches deep, it&amp;#039;s comfy yet not bulky\u2014essential when every inch counts. For a cozy seating area, Robert flanked the couch with two side chairs and placed a slim Chinese-style coffee table in front.      Next, he put a versatile square table in the middle of the room. The vintage garden table works as a place to display books, a cozy dining table for four and a fun spot for board-game night with the kids. Robert chose glass because it&amp;#039;s transparent, which makes the room feel bigger since it doesn&amp;#039;t cut off the line of vision. Finally, he kept clutter at bay with a slim bookcase. Unlike souped-up &amp;quot;entertainment centers&amp;quot; that can be pricey, a bookcase, like this one with adjustable shelves from The Door Store, serves the same purpose, providing ample space for a 25-inch TV, DVD player and books without breaking the bank.      Lacking the square footage for a separate home office, Robert carved out space in Peter and Louisa&amp;#039;s room. The secret of successfully combining an office with a bedroom? Multitasking furniture that&amp;#039;s chic but not officey. Two classic Ballard Designs bookcases divide the room into two distinct spaces while creating storage for both Robert&amp;#039;s office supplies and the kids&amp;#039; things. The Lucite computer desk is used for doing homework as well as for Robert&amp;#039;s business. And since there was no room for beds and seating, these daybeds from West Elm are a clever solution: They go from cozy beds to attractive sofas simply by adding oversize pillows along the wall. Tucked behind the bookcases for privacy, they&amp;#039;re placed to let in plenty of outside light.      &amp;quot;Wallpaper completely transforms a space,&amp;quot; explains Robert, who relied on cheery prints to liven up the apartment&amp;#039;s two smallest and darkest spaces: his bedroom and the kitchen. A bright red-and-cream floral paper was all it took to turn the boring white kitchen into a warm, inviting space. To complete the kitchen&amp;#039;s homey vibe, he hung two thrift-store black-and-white photos of a weathered picket fence on the walls (see page 90). For his bedroom, Robert chose a blue-and-cream floral wallpaper that makes it feel like he&amp;#039;s sleeping in a classic English country house rather than in the middle of Manhattan. Since the spotlight is on the patterned walls, he kept the rest of the bedroom simple. All it took to complete the room were blue accents like pinstriped cotton curtains, bed linens and a gourd lamp. A pop of yellow in a throw pillow energizes the space.      Living Large   Robert Lindgrin&amp;#039;s tips for making a small space look bigger   \u2022 Use wall-to-wall carpet to draw the eye to the edges of a room, which instantly makes it look larger.   \u2022 Choose large-scale furniture. It seems counterintuitive, but small furniture only breaks up a space; large pieces expand the room&amp;#039;s appearance.   \u2022 Limit patterns. Too many prints or fussy designs make a small space feel cluttered.   Photographs by Paul Whicheloe. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/home/decorating/a4982/how-to-create-a-multi-tasking-apartment-107121/>