Step inside your home, and look up. What do you see? If the answer is lots of nothing, you could be in luck. A home with a high ceiling is a perfect candidate for a mezzanine - a room within a room that utilises the space above to brilliant effect.
Building a mezzanine is one of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to expand living space. So long as you have enough height - designers suggest at least 4.5 metres - you can extend an otherwise hemmed-in apartment. It's also a far cheaper alternative than moving.
The word mezzanine is derived from the Italian word mezzo, meaning middle. In architecture, a mezzanine, or entresol, is an intermediate level between main floors of a building. It is usually open-sided, resembling an indoor balcony, with a low, sometimes sloping ceiling. Designers of office buildings, hotels and warehouses routinely include mezzanines to maximise the usefulness of a space which, through necessity, will often include a lofty roofline. But it's also a great option in residential design.
Mezzanines are a particularly effective solution for children's rooms. One London father recently told the Daily Telegraph how a small mezzanine in his daughter's bedroom - though barely larger than a bed - 'works perfectly for teenagers who need a bit of extra private space'. In childhood, a platform holds all the allure of a secret treehouse. The father says when his children were younger, 'it was practically impossible to get them to come down'.
One couple, who inherited a mezzanine loft when they bought their house, adapted it as a play platform for their 11-year-old son. Though it, too, is not very large (3.6 metres by 2.4 metres) it is practical: now, the boy's Lego constructions, train sets or toy soldiers can be left lying around, discreetly out of sight, until his next adventure.
University lecturer Eric Wear tweaked the mezzanine concept to optimise space in the Shouson Hill bedroom his three daughters used to share when the family lived in Hong Kong. He designed a platform bed for the girls' three mattresses, freeing up the floor space for study desks. Shelving around the platform provided lots of hidey-holes for the girls' books and treasures.