Is Your Home Too Small? Space Saving Tips
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May 2019
They say the best things come in small packages. Your home can be one of those things. Despite what you might think, small living spaces can be a work of magic if you give them some thought and creativity. Whether you’re staying or going to smaller living space, or just trying to rework what you’ve got already, here’s 7 tips to help you utilise every room to being as big as you want them to feel.
1. Use Your Walls
You wouldn’t believe it, but walls are actually really sturdy. So sturdy in fact, that they can hold an assortment of your favourite hangable ornaments, in a combination of layouts, and with no need whatsoever for weight-distribution worry. Walls can act as great vertical storage units for everything from frames and lights, to random miscellaneous arts and craft pieces and your favourite family photos. If you’ve always had your best pictures sitting in bulky frames on top of the coffee table or kitchen counter, why not relocate them to a couple of larger, multi-photo frames that group your best photos together? If it looks like you could hang it – you probably can.
2. Cupboard Space
The only way you can let a cupboard go to waste – besides not using it at all – is by not using it effectively. It’s amazing how much space you actually don’t utilise when your stuff isn’t properly boxed up and stacked in a space-efficient manner. Clothing piles can seem momentous until you’ve folded them up into nice, compact packing boxes. Old toys, schoolbooks, trinkets and so on can end up sitting on more space than they actually need. If it’s foldable – fold it. If it’s boxable – box it up. If it’s chuckable – get rid of it. Rearrange your disorderly cupboards and you’ll find that there’s some unexpected spare space lurking at the back.
3. Lighting
If your room is small, and dark, we have a problem. No matter what effort you put into making your room appear more spacious, if you have poor lighting, it will still look small. Change out the lightbulbs to something brighter, or take off that ugly light shade that’s dimming the brightness of the bulbs.
4. Dress Your Windows Right
Windows are without a doubt the quickest way to open up your home space without even being open. If you live somewhere where you already have a lot of windows, lucky you! And if you’re about to inhibit a space with minimal windows, well there isn’t much you can do except to make sure you utilise them effectively. Windows are no good covered up constantly with thick blinds or dark drapes. Keep blinds pulled back or pulled up during the day or even go without drapes at all if you want your space to feel super bold and expansive. Opt for light coloured curtains that won’t make the space feel more enclosed.
5. Placement Planning
Before you move into a new space, or if you’re planning on rearranging your current spaces, take a good look at the shape of the room, the dimensions, the current items inside, and what new décor pieces you’re thinking of bringing into the mix. Trial and error is key. Realistically, larger rooms with heavy couches and bookshelves aren’t the easiest to pull apart for fun or without a friend, but little rooms such as that awkward-shaped study downstairs – these can be done without too much hassle and perspiration. So, stand in the doorway of the room, do a 360, make note of the ‘stuff’ - and then go with your creative intuitions! If it doesn’t end up being the space you hoped it would be, just move it back and try something else. Placement doesn’t just apply to furniture and large items – even utilising the surfaces of desks and coffee tables effectively, can give rooms an illusion of being bigger and clearer.
6. Sneaky Storage
There are many multi-purpose furniture pieces that can double as storage devices for the bedroom, living-room and office. Beds with draws attached to the base, desks with hidden components beyond the surface, foot-stools that open up from the top – these are a few of the crafty furniture items that can feature bonus storage abilities. Sneaky storage is a fantastic way to minimise clutter in your home and keep your spaces looking seamless.
7. Lighten Up!
The lighter the colour, the more expansive you space can appear. Never underestimate the power of a subtle palate and the way it can create an illusion of a bigger, wider more open home. Give the space a fresh lick of light paint to brighten it up and make it appear bigger. In particular, the combination of white walls with white furniture can be quite an effective combination for giving a room a clean, sharp and spacious edge.
Turn small ideas into big success
Downsizing can be challenging at best, but your house relocation doesn’t have to be. Make sure to call on the expert team at John Ryan Removals to help you get packed up and out the door. Or you may now realise that even after implementing these steps, that your tiny house is just not cutting it.
With over 40 years’ experience in packing, crating, storage, house cleaning and even insurance, John Ryan Removals are the go-to house removalists in Melbourne to help you downsize or upsize! While they might not be able to do anything about your new oddly-shaped living room, they can help you to pack, relocate and move in to a bigger, more spacious home.
Call our friendly team for a free quote.