I learned the hard way that a tiny living room does not have to mean a cramped existence. My first apartment had a floor plan that measured barely four meters by four meters, and I had to fit a dining area, a workspace, and a sleeping spot for my mother when she visited twice a year. The biggest mistake I made was buying a bulky traditional sofa that left no room for anything else. After two months of eating dinner on my lap and storing bedding in the bathtub, I realized I needed a complete rethink. The key to budget interior design is not about buying cheap furniture. It is about buying furniture that does double duty. Every single piece must earn its square footage, or it has to go.

The first item I swapped out was the sofa. I replaced it with a sofa bed that had a solid slatted frame underneath. You might think a sofa bed is a compromise, but a good one with a proper mechanism is a game changer.