How to make a narrow house feel bigger

The owners/designers of this narrow sliver of a Victorian building in east London could have knocked down walls to give a greater sense of space, but instead they decided to make the most of its two best features – its height and its tall staircase. Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

Owners, designer Asif Khan and architectural photographer Sakiko Kohashi have created a sense of space by keeping wall-mounted cupboards to a minimum, having open-sided units and raising the custom-made beech units off the floor Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

A vintage luggage rack from Ben Southgate makes an airy hanger for pots and pans. The Borge Mogensen FDB chairs are from Rocket Gallery Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

Khan designed the drawers to open over each other, so he could fit more in. Recessed tops rather than handles give the units a clean finish Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

The dark grey worktop and splashback are made from heat-resistant, super-thin Laminam, offset by cheery yellow cupboards painted in Babouche, and Parma Gray walls, both from Farrow & Ball Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

The kitchen/dining/living space was originally open to the street, so the couple built a storage wall to give them some privacy, as well as a place to store shoes, bikes and pushchairs. A blue Ikea rug marks out the living area, which is furnished with an Ercol Love Seat from Nest. Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec’s green Papyrus chair for Kartell from Heal’s Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

Rather than floor to ceiling cupboards, which would look oppressive in this narrow bedroom, the couple installed two rows of glossy, wall-hung units (try Ikea’s Besta range for similar). The headboard merges with the shelf behind Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

Shallow bookshelves, designed to store books face-on, line the stairway, which thus becomes an impromptu place to sit and read under the glow of Konstantin Grcic’s portable Mayday lamp, from Haus Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

The first floor landing has been turned into a library. A space-saving sliding door leads into a compact utility room which they have painted in Farrow and Ball’s Arsenic Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian

The roof terrace, with views of the Olympic Park, serves as an outdoor sitting room. “The Astro Turf gets really warm in summer,” says Khan, pictured, “so it’s a lovely place to come and sit.” This article was amended on 30 July to correct the spelling of Asif Khan Photograph: Rachel Whiting for the Guardian