Tiny home renovations don’t always have smal budgets—and designers often need to work just as hard to keep costs under control. When British architect Elle Bytautaite, founder of Studio Elle, decided to completely renovate her 365-square-foot apartment in Sutton, on the edge of London and Surrey, on a “shoestring budget,” she had to come up with some clever solutions. “The main considerations were the lack of space and the budget,” she says. “I had to think outside of the box to provide the main ingredients for living in such a small space.”

$8,350 Builder Fees	$3,500 Kitchen Finishes & Appliances	$1,500 Bathroom Fixtures
$1,250 Carpet & Underlay	$250 Soundproofing	$850 Joinery
$370 Radiators	$125 Front Door	$125 Ironmongery for Existing Doors
$250 Sockets, Switches & Plugs	$90 Handles for Joinery	$300 Electrical Testing
$250 Decorating Materials
Grand Total: $17,210

Elle knew from the start that the flat in a 1920s house was right for her—she was drawn in by the large windows and the unusually high, 10.4-foot-tall ceilings. “Even though the footprint is small, it feels spacious,” she says. “I knew it had a lot of potential, and the building fabric itself was in good shape.”

The interiors, however, were run-down and hadn’t been renovated since the late 1970s. The home also lacked modern amenities—including a washing machine and fridge.

The washing machine is tucked behind a door beneath the kitchen island and small breakfast bar. “It’s slightly inconvenient when I need to access the washing machine because I need to duck under the bench,” says Elle. “But these are the compromises and sacrifices that you make in small spaces.”" layout="" credit="Photo by Elle Bytautaite" photoUserId=""/>

To open up the flat, Elle removed a door separating the small entrance hall and the living area. The front door now opens to this space, which features two large, southwest-facing windows. To save on costs and avoid relocating services, she left the rest of the floor plan largely unchanged. The open-plan kitchen/living area is to the left of the entrance, a modest bathroom is to the right, and the bedroom is straight ahead.

To make the most of the small footprint, much of the furniture and joinery is bespoke. The entrance foyer features a custom console that is narrower than anything Elle could find on the market and is made of leftover material from the plywood shelves in the kitchen. “Because I’m an architect, I have all the tips and tricks in my head,” she says. “I knew that I could use leftover materials to create bespoke items, like the console, and save on budget.”

The joinery in the bedroom is from Ikea; Elle bought enough to fill the wall and then asked the builders to construct a cheap MDF frame around it to create the appearance of a premium, built-in wardrobe. She painted the doors and frame the same light gray color as the walls, and added new handles.

The kitchen is another cleverly designed space. Here, a breakfast bar overlaps the countertop to form an L shape, and the washing machine is tucked beneath. “The kitchen comes from the cheapest range at [British DIY and home improvement store] B&Q,” says Elle. “In the initial consultation, the sales person actually laughed and told me that only developers buy these kitchens for pictures—I thought it was really narrow minded!”

The kitchen is painted the same color as the living room to visually unite the two zones, and the open shelving in the kitchen is crafted from the same plywood as the console in the entry. “I’ve tried to use the same material palette throughout the apartment to unite the spaces,” Elle explains.

Elle elevated the bathroom—which receives the least natural light in the home—through the use of more playful materials. The 200-by-200-millimeter floor tiles feature a striking terrazzo pattern in a neutral palette that adds texture to the space; the walls are painted olive green; and Elle laid out the cheap white shower tiles in an interesting basketweave pattern to elevate them. “It’s quite a big contrast from the rest of the flat,” she says. “I wanted the bathroom to be quite fun and different, because the space is very plain.”

The apartment’s design prioritizes minimal furniture and efficient use of space. The bed, for example, has storage concealed beneath it. Other pieces—including the organically shaped mirror in the entry and the geometric bedside table—create focal points and add personality. “Bringing those bold shapes into such a small space makes them special,” says Elle.

Of course, being an architect and doing much of the work herself helped Elle to stick to the tight budget. Not only was she able to design the space and do the drawings, but she knew exactly what she wanted, and she was able to source all materials well before construction began.

“The builders were quite surprised—I had everything they needed in the flat, and they just had to build it,” she says. “I did a lot of online research, looked for discount codes, and collected everything months before the work started, so I didn’t need to buy anything in a rush. My best advice to anyone undertaking a renovation is don’t be scared to source things yourself. It’s incredibly satisfying to look around and know that I did this on such a tight budget, but nothing looks cheap.”

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Project Credits:

Architect & Interior Designer: Studio Elle / @studio.elle.architecture

Builder: ASI Construction