How One Family Shaped A Home That Grows With Them

A hundred-year-old terrace, two young boys and a lot of trial and error. This home visit shows how one family turned small, separate rooms into an open, easy space for everyday life in Malta.

Opening up a tight kitchen

The owners started with a cramped, boxed-in kitchen that kept everyone apart. Extending it created one open kitchen and living space, with a table and bench set off the island to form a breakfast bar that doubles as a craft table and a home office. It is a familiar challenge in many Maltese apartments and townhouses, where kitchens are often the smallest room in the house. A simple breakfast bar or bench seating can turn an awkward corner into a spot the whole family actually uses, for meals, homework or a laptop in the evening.

NÄSINGE extendable table, dark brown stained/beech veneer, 130/190x80 cmLISABO table, black/ash veneer, 140x78 cmMÖRBYLÅNGA table, oak veneer brown stained, 220x100 cmLISABO table, ash veneer, 200x78 cmPINNTORP table, light brown stained/white stained, 125x75 cmVIHALS gateleg table, white, 39/95/151x90 cm

Shop IKEA Dining Tables

Keeping a proper dining space

Even with an open kitchen, the family kept a separate dining room for a weekly ritual they call their Foxy Dinner Party, where the boys lay the table and a record goes on. It is a reminder that a dedicated dining spot, even a small one, gives everyday meals a bit of occasion. In a compact home this does not need much room: a table, a few chairs and some greenery nearby are enough to make it feel like somewhere worth sitting down properly, rather than just passing through.

TEODORES chair, white, 46x80x54 cmODGER chair, anthracite, 45x81x51 cmTEODORES chair, black, 46x80x54 cmSANDSBERG chair, red-brown/Remmarn red-brown, 45x76x45 cmSTEFAN chair, white, 42x90x49 cmÅLHULT chair, beige/Kabusa light beige, 45x94x54 cm

Shop IKEA Dining Chairs

Displays that change with your mood

Katty's approach to decorating shifted from scattering objects everywhere to grouping them into calmer, changeable collections. Picture ledges let her rearrange magazines, trinkets and framed pictures whenever the mood takes her, without a single extra nail hole. For flats and maisonettes where walls cannot be drilled into too often, ledges are a practical way to build a display that still feels personal, and to refresh it in minutes rather than committing to one fixed arrangement over a fireplace or sideboard.

MOSSLANDA picture ledge, white, 115 cmMOSSLANDA picture ledge, white, 55 cmMOSSLANDA picture ledge, black, 115 cmMOSSLANDA picture ledge, black, 55 cmMOSSLANDA picture ledge, walnut effect, 55 cmMOSSLANDA picture ledge, walnut effect, 115 cm

Shop Display shelves & picture ledges

Planning a room together

The couple admit to a few decorating mishaps along the way, and credit a simple moodboard with saving later rooms from the same fate. Pulling fabric swatches, colours and furniture ideas together in one place let both of them spot clashes before committing. It is worth doing before buying anything for a living room or bedroom, especially in homes where space is tight and a wrong-sized piece cannot simply be tucked out of sight. A shared plan also means fewer arguments once the boxes arrive.

Small nooks and tidy hallways

A built-in window seat gave the boys their own cosy corner for reading, piled with cushions and hidden storage underneath, proof that a bench with baskets can create the same effect in any home. In the hallway, a gallery wall of mismatched frames sits above a storage cabinet that keeps shoes contained in individual boxes, one per family member. Together they show how a high-traffic Maltese hallway or a child's reading corner can look considered without becoming cluttered, by giving everyday items a proper home.

ALEX drawer unit, white, 36x70 cmALEX drawer unit, black-brown, 36x70 cmALEX drawer unit, white stained/oak effect, 36x70 cmALEX storage unit, white, 36x70 cmALEX drawer unit, dark grey, 36x70 cmLENNART drawer unit, white, 30x56x34 cm

Shop Storage units & cabinets

From breakfast bars to hallway storage, small changes add up to a home that fits real family life, whatever the size of the rooms you are working with.

More home ideas