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Divide and conquer

Dennis Duffy's strategies for making a loft seem larger.

When interior designer Dennis Duffy began his career in Manhattan, his office, located in a converted warehouse, was a mere 14 feet by 18 feet. With three people at work in the windowless room, sometimes it got a bit tight. "What saved me was the 16-foot ceiling height," Duffy says.

To combat the cell-like feeling, he devoted a wall to a bold depiction of the sun coming up over the ocean. "The tremendous focus of color and depth saved [the room] from being oppressive," he says.

Today, many years later, Duffy still deals with limited space, both in his home and in his new office. At Duffy Design, in a converted distillery in South Boston, he shares about 1,000 square feet of office space with his small staff. The open layout, a skylight, and two crank-out windows help keep the place airy and light.

He added wallboard, which he painted, then had a few white desks made. They look as if they're floating above the natural wood floor, which was scraped clean and covered with a clear finish. A black conference table doubles as a staff lunch table. It's neat and pleasant, if conservative for a building that's brimming with artists.

Duffy's South End home, in the Laconia Lofts building, is about the same size as the office, but it's dynamic in comparison, thanks to some architectural sleight of hand.

As you enter the home - essentially one big room - you face a hallway created with a three-quarter-height wall that Duffy built. The living/dining area is open, and an interior window connects the dining area to the kitchen. Duffy put his sleeping area about 5 feet above the floor, both for privacy and to create storage under the platform, including a walk-in closet.

He also created a progression of ceiling heights from the front to the back, with the lowest height at the entry opening up to higher ceilings as you move into the space.

Many of Duffy's techniques can be adapted to other small spaces. If you can't elevate a bed, he says, consider fold-away Murphy beds. Think of your space as three-dimensional, he says, using the volume, not just the area.

Some other Duffy tips: