When you have a small place, it can be tricky to create open space in your floor plan. More often than not, we're just doing good to get everything crammed in that we feel we need to survive. It doesn't matter if your home is 400 or 4,000 square feet, we've got a few tips to make things feel more open!
Though there's lot of little tips to pick up along the path of small space living, here's a few of the essential ideas to help maximize your floor plan:
1. Do Without: We know it seems like a "duh" type comment, but doing without goes a long way to having less stuff in your space. We figured it was a given, but we wanted to throw it out there in case anyone thought we were magical and could put 10 pounds of stuff in a 2 pound home!
2. Go Up, Up, Up!: Often times vertical space is overlooked. It's easy to feel that all that open air up high makes the heavier lower half of your space feel lighter, but in all reality, it's really just making things feel out of balance. Try adding a bookshelf that goes all the way to the ceiling or make a hidden storage area and cover it with a nice fabric panel, drawing the eye up and away from the small layout of your space.
3. Dual Purpose Pieces: Although we probably won't be seeking out a bathtub that doubles as a bed anytime soon, finding pieces that can pull double duty in your space are a huge bonus. Maybe your kitchen island not only holds your cooking tools, but your DVD collection and your sweaters as well? How about a fold out desk from a wall console that appears to only hold books? The more tasks your furniture does, the less of it you actually need.
4. Choose Smaller Proportionate Furniture: In the back of many folk's minds, when they grow up they have always dreamed of owning the giant couch and the giant TV with large luxurious arm chairs. When it comes to smaller spaces, sometimes large furniture, even if it can physically fit into the space can be be a huge drawback. Instead look for smaller pieces that fit the scale of the architecture in your home and make them of good quality and comfort. A small sofa is no big deal if it's more comfortable than some giant modern lounger!
5. Organize Like Your Life Depends On It: The biggest key to reducing visual clutter is proper organization. Everything needs a home and preferably one that is out of sight. Bins, baskets, boxes, tubs, totes, whatever you want to use, the storage options are literally endless these days, but keeping things from your everyday view goes a long way to making a space feel crisp, clean and open.
Do you have a small space trick that's worked out well in your home? Let us know in the comments below!
(Image: Emily's Wonderful In White Studio)
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Comments (21)
We have a giant couch in our small living room... but it's not giant in the traditional sense. It's long (96") but not that high, so it doesn't overwhelm the space. And it's wide enough so both of us can lay there! Definitely one of the best purchases I have made.
http://smazzle.blogspot.com/2009/09/before-and-after-our-couch.html
@casey w: LOVE the new couch (and the last pic, adorable)!
I love my storage ottoman that doubles as a coffee table (lids flip around). There's just enough room to store our linens and extra toilet paper/paper towels.
My two cents: Tall bookcases with doors are great for concealed storage. Long curtains make the room seem bigger. Sheer curtains make the room seem bigger. One or two large pieces with a couple of smaller ones is better than a whole bunch of smaller ones.
I'm a big fan of glass furniture. We have a 4-ft. long glass coffee table that blends right into the room, and I'm currently looking for a 60" round glass dining table.
Other tips:
*An upholstered sofa with longer, exposed legs looks more airy than, say, one with a slipcover that goes to the floor.
*Shallow storage furniture (12" or less), about the depth of an upper kitchen cabinet, holds quite a bit.
Some repeats from the above great ideas...
Storage furniture that does not *look* like storage furniture (a mirror fronted cabinet, storage ottomans)
Tighter groupings with more air between 'em.
Fewer things, but larger things.
Repeated colors, limited palette.
Glass table tops.
Make your largest upholstered pieces match your wall color.
Make your drapes match your wall color.
Solar shades to "clean up" window frames.
Pairs of lamps.
And personally, I'm not a fan of open storage for functional stuff.
I love the tips, but does anyone else notice it says 10 tips and then only gives 5. I need all the tips I can get on how to make my tiny appartment feel bigger.
@Casey. I have a 1906 Hoosier that's been handed down from my Great-Grandma. She bought it used in 1909 for $2. It is my favorite piece of furniture. They fit anywhere! I lived in a studio many moons ago and the pull-out kneeding surface served as a table for 2. Mine is still the original finish and is currently in my dressing room.
All good tips. I don't believe in buying furniture for any specific house or apartment. Besides a sofa most of my furniture should be able to multi task at different places.
One piece that has been most useful for me is my 60 x 18 console. When I lived in a small space it served as a place to store bins underneath and I draped a beautiful sari over it to hide the bins and used the top for a lamp, orchids and to stack my art books because I had no surface space.
Then at another place I used in in the entry way and for a while where I currently live used it behind the sofa, then I moved it into my office as another work surface.
Now I am using it in my living room to hold display all of my ever changing orchids and potted plants.
My best tip is to not fill up every single inch of your living space.
I live in a 125 square foot RV. It doesn't have slides, so the living space is about 8' wide by about 16' long, not counting the sleeping loft, the cockpit, and the back of the study that is raised and has a mattress on it.
After living in my RV for 18 mos, I knew exactly how much storage I needed (or, rather, didn't need) and how I was going to live long term. I did a whole home makeover to open up my space and make it seem twice as big.
I opened up the study (back room) by removing a bed base that until then was sort of like a trunk. In the front room (now the library) I took out the dinette and two bucket chairs. I live alone and do not need six places to sit! I built up one of the dinette benches to counter height and added storage compartments, doubling my kitchen counter and cabinet space within the original footprint of the RV. The rest of the library is now an open room. There's a small bookcase and I will be adding a recliner, that's it. When you come into my RV you are hit with a sense of space. It is bright (big windows, skylights), uncluttered, and there is lots of empty floor space.
I also left the original room divisions intact; having four separate rooms with actual doors also makes this place seem a lot bigger than it is. I work mostly from home, so having a dedicated home office that is two rooms away from the kitchen and three rooms away from where I sleep makes spending a rainy day in here easier than if I was eating, living, and sleeping in the same space.
TravelingRae, I would love to see pics of your RV!
ricaSF--
Ironically, there was only space for Five Tips. :)
Mirrors! Mirrors that you can see your own reflection in, mirrors on top of high cabinets that reflect nothing but light, mirrors behind plants or lamps so you barely register them as mirrors, mirrors perpendicular to windows to double the size of the window, mirrors that reflect something nice and give a sense of depth.
That and never leave the house with a measuring tape, so you never buy anything too big for your space.
Oh - Oh - Oh!
Patrick (too)!
you DO make me laugh!
looks like Sarah Rae's fixed it.
Annieo, I have pics on my blog! There is a link on my profile (just click on my name). When you get to the blog, go to the 'About Miranda' page and scroll down to get links to the pages about each room/space where you will also find a tag links for posts about each space.
I totally agree about the glass comment. I have a glass top desk with trestle legs right in front of my (only) window. It disappears into the room but serves as my desk and dining table without adding a lot of clutter. Also, I know it's bad feng shui, but I'm a fan of risers to more storage under the bed. I've got out of season clothes and all sorts of stuff under there. It may be bad that my energy can't flow around the bed, but I think it's also bad for my energy to look at a bunch of my crap.
1. Don't divide up spaces with freestanding screens, bookcases, credenzas or sofas to make "Entryways", "Sitting Areas" and "Sleeping/Office Nooks" - Keep large pieces closer to the walls.
2. Don't use several little rugs - One oversized rug always make a room feel larger, more luxurious and more cohesive.
3. Don't fill a room with too many small pieces of furniture and small objects. Rather than having two different dressers, choose one larger one. Rather than a bookcase and TV stand and a cabinet, get an integrated wall system with enclosed storage.
4. Eliminate Pattern & Limit Color - Stick with textures and a limited palette of colors to make a room feel larger. If you must have a patterned fabric - choose a single fabric for multiple purposes such as your draperies, pillows and the upholstery for a chair or ottoman.
5. Get rid of the Desktop Computer - When it comes time for a new computer, choose a laptop that can be used anywhere and stashed in a drawer or cabinet when you're not using it. If you can eliminate a 24x48 computer desk and chair, that's @ 16 square feet of floor space that you've freed up and your home will instantly look less like an office.
Choose furnishings with legs.
Ooops... title's been fixed but one of the last paragraphs still promises 10 tips. LOL.
bebsf I disagree with tip no. 5, depending on the type of desktop unit and lifestyle you have. A desktop computer like the iMac is a wonderful small space solution. My 24" iMac is my media centre; I watch movies and tv and listen to music on it, which eliminates the need to have a tv or sound system. I also run my company on it. I have a laptop for the times when I'm not plugged into 120V power, but I couldn't imagine spending all my work time on a dinky laptop. Carving out a real home office with a serious computer in an RV makes me look at lot more serious to potential clients and fits in perfectly with the way I live in my small space.