Whether you’re living in a roomy bungalow or a compact apartment, it’s essential to use every square inch of your property’s available floor area. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting valuable space that could turn your house into a home. Here’s how to maximize your home’s usable living space to make sure nothing goes to waste:
Take advantage of your outdoor space
Outdoor spaces aren’t just meant for yards and gardens. These can be turned into functional living areas too. For example, placing cooking equipment, outdoor furniture, and motorized retractable awnings there can turn a simple patio into a full-on outdoor kitchen.
This is just one out of many possibilities to transform your deck into something useful and worthwhile. Depending on how big your yard is, you can expand your home even further with a separate living structure like a converted shed, yurt, or granny pod.
Organize with floating shelves
Instead of having your belongings take up precious floor space, keep them in order by placing them on floating shelves installed on your wall. This is not just a way to keep everything tidy. It’s also a great way to decorate your space since it’s the perfect location to display artwork, small plants, and decorative elements.
Decorate with mirrors
Mirrors are capable of widening and brightening up your space. Since it reflects what’s inside your home, it gives off the illusion that the walls of your room are longer and larger than they really are. If you have a great view from your window, capitalize on it by placing a mirror as close to it as possible. This will cast back any skyline, sunlight, or open space from the outside into the inside of your home.
Scale your furniture appropriately
While big furniture certainly takes up every inch of available space you have in your home, it doesn’t leave any room for more useful or aesthetically appealing furniture to be placed. Depending on what specific uses you have for individual rooms, make sure to opt for furniture that’s appropriate for the space you’ll be putting them in.
Go for multipurpose furniture
Rather than overcrowding your home with too much furniture, you can strike a good balance between maximizing free space while also keeping everything harmonious by opting for multipurpose furniture. Take, for example, a sofa that also doubles as a storage unit or a Murphy bed that folds into a cabinet.
Declutter your belongings
Unused items that are merely gathering dust and taking up space that could otherwise be dedicated to more valuable items should be discarded or at least repurposed. If you’re having trouble getting rid of your items, the KonMari method can help you out in this area. The idea is to let go of any items that don’t bring you joy and only keep the things that you use and genuinely cherish.
Think vertically
Your home’s walls are just as crucial as its floors. Make good use of this area and free up space on the ground by installing vertical storage solutions such as wall hooks, tall cabinets and racks, shelving units, and floating shelves.
As real estate prices continue to rise, space is becoming harder and harder to come by. Make the most of the space you have in your current residence with these practical suggestions.
