Small islands earn their floor space when they're cleverly designed. Drawers, baskets and shelves house sundries, and there's even room to tuck in a stool that can be pulled out for a guest to perch on.
Create neighborly connections for your space. You might not be able to add a porch, but you can bring the outdoors in to create relationships with neighbors. Keep your windows wide open, and make it a priority to meet the lady in the flat next door or the family in the house down the street. Have them over for a glass of something cold and some good conversation.
In the kitchen of the same home we can see not only how the casements look when open, but what the fixed panel at the bottom allows: plants and other objects can sit on the sill and still allow the windows to open. The plants occupy a zone between the indoors and the trees beyond. They are a bit of manicured vegetation that positively affects the view through the window.More: Explore window designs in the Houzz remodeling section