Written by guest contributor Paisley Hansen
When you have a small living space, more than just your decorating potential feels cramped. After all, you want to conserve what little room you have and keep things from getting and feeling stuffier. Fortunately, by thinking outside the box, you can make your home feel less like the inside of one. Here are some furniture arrangement tricks and decorating ideas that can help you make the most of your small living space.
Get Vertical
It’s all too easy to ignore your home’s walls. All of that perfectly good vertical space is going to waste. By adding just a few tastefully located shelves, you can make the room look warmer while also maximizing your usable space. This can be especially helpful in small kitchens where cabinet room is scarce. If you want your shelves to fit in with a rustic design, consider using barn door hardware to mount or accentuate them.
Create Walls
If you have an small but open floor plan, like a studio apartment, sometimes the lack of barriers can overwhelm the senses and detract from privacy. You can add coziness and an appearance of separation in rooms like these by using furniture to create partitions. Build a wall between your living and sleeping areas using your television, a tall houseplant and a bookshelf. To cordon off your kitchen, try installing a rod to hang a curtain on. Some home decorating experts also suggest isolating your “bedroom” by hanging a canopy or curtain.
Utilize Space Under Beds
Even when storage space is at a premium, many people still fail to consider the untapped potential hiding beneath their beds. If your bed doesn’t already sit high off the floor, consider buying some bed risers to give it a boost. This valuable space is ideal for stowing plastic storage bins full of the things you don’t use often, but want out of the way. If you want the under-bed storage area to be less obtrusive, simply adding a bed skirt.
Ceiling Hooks
Would you like to keep a couple of houseplants, but lack room in your windowsill? Taking advantage of the space your ceiling has to offer. Install some ceiling hooks near windows to make a hanging location for a plant. Houseplants help to make a room feel more natural and peaceful, but only when they’re not in the way.
Value-Added Furniture
When your living space does double duty, so should your furniture. For instance, a wooden chest can function as both a storage container and a charming coffee table. Some ottomans and stools can serve as handy seating for guests while also giving you a place to put things like magazines, books, movies and video game controllers. If you frequently need to reach high places, buy a quaint wooden step stool with a storage compartment. It’s an ideal place to stash small but necessary things flashlights, batteries and screwdrivers. When you’re not using it, you can slide it conveniently under your bed, keep your shoes on it or have it serve as part of your decor.
Door Racks
Even those empty areas behind doors can be turned into convenient places to keep things. Simply place door racks over the tops of your doors, or utilize the wall behind the door. They’re the perfect place to hang coats, purses and scarves, clothes, towels or bath brushes. They’re available in a wide variety of sizes and styles, allowing you to make the best use of your door space without sacrificing your needs or tastes.
Take Advantage of Closets
No matter how big or small your closet is, you can always squeeze more space out of it. There are an abundance of door and wall hangers, cubby units and stackable shelves and drawers available to fit virtually any dimension of closet. As a bonus, if you’re a fashion buff, they’re perfect for keeping your wardrobe and accessories neat and organized.
What are some of your favorite space saving tips for your home?
* All images unspecified are from ikea.com
