In 1978 Modern Spaces' founders opened a small 400 square foot furniture store in Palo Alto, CA, called The Minimal Space. It featured space saving, multi-use, hard-to-find, modern furniture and became very well known in the San Francisco Bay area and even as far away as Italy. It is now recognized as having been far ahead of its time.

This prototype store was quite successful and quickly grew from its original 400 sq. ft. location into a 6,000 sq. ft. store across the street at University & High, a prominent corner near Stanford in Palo Alto, CA.

In 2001 we decided that there was need for a design/build company that understood and only built modern spaces. By that we mean clean, efficient space that does more with less, is easy to maintain, and adapts to changing needs without bringing the contractors back in.

Many developers brag of their "green" credentials but ignore the square footage consumed in the first place. This is a space that must be heated (and cooled), cleaned maintained, and eventually repainted.

To further these goals we became the U.S. dealer for ip20, a proven system from Germany that allows us to build anything we think up. We continue to add other systems as we find them, to augment our space designs and general contracting. All products are shipped to us and preassembled at our San Carlos warehouse and workshop.

VISIT MODERN SPACES

If you have a challenging space-planning problem, ask our experts for suggestions. For look and design ideas, visit our studio located in San Francisco or explore this website.

MODERN SPACES IN THE MEDIA

Television

HGTV's "Small Spaces Big Style" TV Series features Modern Spaces:

Episode 413: February 22, 2007
"Flowing with Style"
This episode featured an 850 sq.ft. live-work space belonging to one of Modern Spaces' owners, Richard Pennington.

**See pictures from this episode:
Modular Storage | The Quiet Kitchen

Episode 409: January 11, 2007
"Good Things Come in Small Places"
This episode featured a 280 sf studio, including bathroom, completely remodeled by Modern Spaces.

**See pictures from this episode:
Kitchen in Tiny Space | Built-in Appliances

Print

Richard Pennington, principal of Modern Spaces, featured in Sunset Book's "Big Ideas for Small Spaces"

San Francisco Chronicle article (November 3, 2004) "Thinking inside the box"

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

"We have recommended Modern Spaces to friends; I value my friendships and would not steer people to vendors or service providers I felt were anything less than top drawer. I point folks to Modern Spaces early and often, and will continue to do so in the future."

- Lance Starin, condo remodel