Your home may be small, but with a few easy tricks you can add visible square footage, making it appear larger.
If you have a small house or apartment, it’s easy to feel frustrated when trying to arrange furniture, feeling there’s not enough room. However, take heart. By using some simple tricks, you can make the most out of whatever square footage you’ve been given.
Maximizing a Small Kitchen
When you have a small kitchen, every square inch counts. That’s why you have to manipulate your space to accommodate all your kitchen items.
- Downsize kitchen tools –You probably have more kitchen gadgets than you need. Look for large items that are taking up too much space and find ways to store them. Toss any useless items, including your junk drawer. For example, do you really need all those used birthday candles, cookie cutters and other gadgets you never use?
- Install racks and shelves – Another way to create more counter space is by using racks and shelves. What’s more, pot racks offer easy access when cooking. Put up spice racks. Also, install shelves, which can hold boxes and canned goods. Look for places to install shelves that you can easily conceal by closing a door. Other space saving ideas include installing tilt-out bins, lazy susans, and under-the-counter cabinets.
Tricks of Illusion for Small Living Rooms
You don’t necessarily need more space. By just creating an illusion of space, you can add more square footage visually.
- Diagonal views – Arrange furniture diagonally. The hypotenuse of a triangle is the longest of its three sides, so this makes sense. In other words, when you view a room from corner to corner it appears longer.
- Use mirrors – By covering a wall with mirrors, you reflect light, opening up narrow hallways. Place a mirror on each side of your front door entryway to make reflections, making a room seem larger.
- Reposition your couch – Where does your couch face? Just by placing your couch in a position facing the living room entrance you can create an illusion of space.
- Select light colors – Besides choosing lighter colors for your walls, also select light colors for your furniture.
- Use multiple purpose furniture – Look for furniture that offers storage as well as beauty, choosing end tables and coffee tables with drawers.
Creating More Space in Small Bedrooms
Bedrooms can easily become cluttered. Dressers seem to be the catch-all for all those items you meant to put away in their proper places. If you have small bedrooms, it’s especially important to make sure they’re uncluttered as disorder can make a room appear even smaller.
- Beds - If you have more than one child in a room, use bunk beds. Select beds with storage drawers.
- Remove unneeded items–Take inventory of all bedroom furniture and items, asking, “Do I really need that lamp?” Have only essentials in your bedrooms.
- Flooring – Again, use lighter colors for flooring. Limit the number of area rugs, as they can make a small bedroom appear smaller. Tiling or wood floors give an appearance of more space than carpeting. If your bedrooms are carpeted, it’s best if they’re light colored and vacuumed regularly.
Finally, remember that your home is an expression of you. By making it warm and friendly, relecting your personality, guests won’t dwell on the size of your house but will remember how they felt at home and were welcomed.
