Hi, I’m Nicola, founder of Little Functional Spaces, a Cape Town-based children’s interior design studio focused on creating thoughtful, functional, and sensory-aware environments.
I believe children thrive in spaces thoughtfully created around their needs. With today’s busy routines, many children experience sensory overload, making calming and supportive environments more important than ever.
From bedrooms and playrooms to learning and calming spaces, I design environments that support creativity, movement, emotional comfort, and everyday family life.
WHAT DO WE DO
Our designs focus on:
• Sensory-friendly environments
• Functional playrooms
• Calming spaces
• Shared bedrooms
• Preschool and learning spaces
• Movement and imaginative play
Every project balances creativity, comfort, and practicality to create spaces that truly make sense.
Working with Nicola was so much fun - from mood board to design layout and finalizing choosing colours and materials - she got my vibe of what I wanted to create for my children and she nailed it! It is a true playroom of dreams - best part is, it was designed with their future growth and interests in mind so that it will last years and not just for a moment in toddlerhood. Aside from aesthetics, she made sure it was completely safe and managed the project from start to finish - communicating with me throughout it all. Thank you to Nicola and her wonderful team for such an awesome experience!
— Lara Gnesin
Little Functional Spaces helped me to redesign my 4y/o daughter’s room. They turned a messy nightmare to clean, into a simple, beautiful and functional space where my child can thrive. Nicola helped us to make the most of the space and furniture we had available, while making amazing recommendations and new purchases that worked within our budget. My daughter loves her new room so much, almost no-one is allowed in there after the revamp
— Elisma Uys
“We used Nicola to help transform my daughter’s bedroom into a calm and organised space where she could comfortably do homework as she started Grade 1. She absolutely loved the transformation, and we learnt so much about clever storage solutions and how to use the small space more effectively. A huge thank you to Nicola and her team.”
— Roxanne Pugh
“Nikki transformed an ordinary area into a vibrant and magical environment for our children. Every detail was thoughtfully designed to encourage creativity, movement, exploration, and learning through play.
Her creativity, professionalism, and passion exceeded all expectations, and the joy this space brings our children every day is priceless.”
— Kids@Home Preschool
Big ideas for little spaces! had the best experience with Nicola and the LFS team. Whatever "little"room or space or area you have, they'll help you to transform it into something amazing! All the stars!
— Dirk Hanekom