Urbis 74 is out now

The latest issue of Urbis magazine hits shelves today and it’s all about really clever and stylish small spaces.

There’s a compact Coromandel bach that challenges second-home owners to be more conservative when thinking about scale. There’s two small homes across the ditch that have won awards for their innovative designs. And there is an enviable Paris apartment lovingly decorated by its owner Jean-Christophe Aumas, a creative director for haute couture brands Louis Vuitton, Dior and Yves Saint Laurent (it’s a corner of his super-chic living room that is on the cover).

For inspiration we’ve travelled to Shanghai – where millions of people live in small spaces – to see what’s going on when it comes to design, dining, drinking, art and architecture. And we’ve gone to Norway, Texas, USA and China to find the most beautifully designed libraries in the world.

Closer to home we talk to the men behind Box Living architecture about their designs, Wellingtonian Charlotte Minty about her interior design practice, and Rotorua’s Kelly Thompson, who lives with her illustrations, her beagle and a collection of lovely homewares in a Melbourne, Australia loft.

Pick up a copy of Urbis issue 74 from any good retail store or supermarket, or get the digital version here. Click here for our latest subscription offer.