Antiques are a perfect fit for small spaces, having survived from a time when most people had to furnish narrow cottages, terraces and rooms that doubled up by necessity. Furniture was built to fold, stack and roll away when not in use, proportions could be modest but still useable. In situ today, they can be both useful and very charming.
Ahead is a list of eight antique finds that do well in a tight spot. None of them cost the earth if you are willing to hunt around at a fair or reclamation yard, or even at the back of a junk shop, and most will outlast anything you could buy new.
A trunk
A trunk gives you storage and a surface in one footprint, which is precisely what a small room needs. At the end of a bed it holds spare bedding and doubles as a perch for putting on socks and in a sitting room it can hide unsightly tech, extra blankets, toys and the general overflow of life. A flat lid is helpful too as a surface for lamps or books.
Be sure to open it up before buying – a damp smell will cling to your possessions.
A folding screen
A folding screen is the most flexible bit of furniture you can own. Set across an open-plan space, it can delineate functions – seating to one side, dining to another – or angled alongside a desk, it can hide the working day.
Leather, lacquer, painted canvas and woven cane all turn up online and in antiques fairs, so there is one to suit most rooms. When not in use, it folds to the width of a few inches and leans against a wall. Check the hinges, since these can be the costliest part to put right.
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A bench
A modest bench can be extra seating when more people turn up than chairs allow, a low table for a tray of drinks, or a step for reaching the top of a wardrobe. A wooden milking bench suits a kitchen, while an upholstered drop-in seat feels right in a bedroom or living room.
Wobble-test before you buy – antique benches are usually solid enough to outlast their modern equivalents, but a loose joint is worth knowing about before you haggle.
A tea trolley
Two or three-tier trolleys on castors were originally built to wheel tea and drinks between rooms, but they come in handy in a small kitchen where worktop space is scarce. They can hold pots and pans, a fruit bowl or a tray of glasses, and can roll out of the way when you need the extra room.
Always check the wheels still turn and the tiers are solid, but finish is less important – a coat of wax can bring tired oak back to life without stripping the colour.
A wooden plate rack
A wooden plate rack keeps everyday china upright, on show and within reach, which is far more useful than burying it in a cupboard. Wall-mounted, it frees up worktop in a small kitchen and dries plates straight from the sink if you hang it over the draining board.
Measure your plates before you buy, since older racks were built for smaller dinner services than we tend to own today, and you can gently upgrade yours with hooks underneath for mugs.
A bureau
The bureau has a sloping front that drops down to a writing surface and closes up to hide the chaos behind it. Inside, you usually get a fitted arrangement of small drawers and pigeonholes, ideal for corralling post, stationery and everything else that tends to spill out over a desk.
They're so compact that they could sit on a landing or in a spare room, with a small chair or stool tucked neatly underneath.
A demi-lune table
The demi-lune is a half-moon table built to sit flush against a wall, which makes it the natural choice for a narrow hallway. Use it for keys, post and a lamp by the front door.
The shape dates from the eighteenth century and examples turns up in everything from mahogany to painted pine. Some even open out into a round table for dining – a clever bit of Georgian engineering that could prove handy today.
Rachel Edwards is the Style & Interiors Editor for Country Living and House Beautiful, covering all things design and decoration, with a special interest in small space inspiration, vintage and antique shopping, and anything colour related. Her work has been extensively translated by Elle Japan and Elle Decor Spain. Rachel has spent over a decade in the furniture and homeware industry as a writer, FF&E designer, and for many years as Marketing Manager at cult design retailer, Skandium. She has a BA in French and Italian from Royal Holloway and an MA in Jounalism from Kingston University. Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelaed
