In Europe, you will find all kinds of furniture styles in all sizes of spaces. The issue is to pare the furniture down to fit the space, usually by having fewer pieces rather than necessarily scaling down the size of the furniture. I think Scandinavian goes well, as does mid-century, with smaller homes, but if you love some other style, go for it with a few "hero pieces" and minimize the rest.

fewer pieces , multifunctional pieces and less ruffles and pipping etc..I moved from a 36 square house to a 16 square apartment ..

We kept our old furnitures and it still fits just less clutter less displaying stuff..everything that we have had to have a function ..if it doesn't it goes..

Suzineedsahouse, what is the era or character of the house you have moved into, because perhaps that will influence design style regardless of size? Also, if you have been knocking out walls is it likely to be more open plan?? I moved from a small 1960's era granny flat into an as-small Art Deco 1940's apartment and found I went with more classic furniture with the second place because it just suited the aesthetic of high ceilings, floorboards, wide skirting boards, fireplace, ceiling roses etc. Having said that, I live in a block of 6 apartments, and I have seen the other apartments decked out completely differently (all of similar layout), from really modern, to mid-century, also one with a real retro art vibe, and they all looked great and seemed to suit the space fine. So maybe go with your taste in the end??

I think MCM sofas are meant for small spaces. Both in size and their tidy visual. You can do beach if you edit carefully. Wicker is light and airy and makes good complimentary chairs to a sofa. Heavy looking (and feeling) furniture not good in smaller spaces, so that may be Mediterranean. Most styles need editing and each piece should contribute to cohesion.

Petapea, my place is late 60s and is just two walled townhouse. The front and back walls are almost exclusively windows. There are no walls downstairs and upstairs is some walls between bedrooms. They are being adjusted in size to make it a bit easier fit and the bathroom will be increased by 300mm (making it 1900 x 2100...so still not spacious but it will do). There's 8 townhouses in the complex. Only one has been reno'd since time began. I am in the tropics...so these are pre cyclone Tracey and they stayed up during that! Got to be some good engineering in them somewhere. I think I will stick with what furniture I have and just put my creative hat on (I"m better at knocking walls out then creating anything!).

Suzineedsahouse, I agree small spaces force you to be creative, but if you have an open plan space down the bottom, you have lots of options to pretty much play with any design. The key might be using furniture to demarcate areas eg. placing a modular lounge on a big rug to create a cosy corner, or using an open bookshelf to divide a space (also using it for storage and/or display). And if you have big windows I imagine greenery would love the light and lots of big plants always make a place feel homely (besides cleaning the air for you! :-) If you post pics of your empty rooms I am sure you will get lots of specific design input from Houzzers. Ps. My bathroom is about same size as yours (2.10mx2.00m) and I find it quite roomy, and that's with a shower, small vanity, toilet and washing machine in there!!

Thanks petapea. Liking the idea of bookcase for demarcation and I know just where I will put that. How did you get a shower, vanity, toilet AND washing machine into 2.1 x 2? Doesn't sound possible!

Ta daaah!! The shower is postioned behind the door (it's 90cmx90cm), note even fits a decent sized washing basket!!! You could even wall mount a front loader or dryer I imagine!