When living in a small home, you may feel quickly overwhelmed at not having the square footage you need for daily functions. Small living spaces can lead to stress as well as an overabundance of clutter when not organized properly. By learning how to make simple upgrades to a small space, you can enjoy your home, no matter how tiny. Below are a few little-known suggestions as to how you can enhance your small spaces.
Pocket Doors
One of the best ways to update a small home is with pocket doors. Older homes traditionally included pocket doors in such areas as the dining room or bathrooms and laundry spaces. This type of door phased out over the years but has been making a comeback as of late. By installing pocket doors, you can gain wall space for furniture placement or further organization of the home. When you have a regular door in the home, it swings open and closed, which eliminates the usable square footage. By adding a pocket door within the wall of the space you can pick up as much as ten square feet or more depending on the room size. A renovation specialist can quickly help you determine where a pocket door can be installed to gain space in the home.
Shelving
Having additional floor space can contribute to creating a larger feel in a smaller home. When you have bookcases or large storage cabinets in the house, the rooms can feel cramped. To upgrade a small space, consider creating cut-out shelving in between the studs of the wall or adding shelving higher up, even above the door frame. Moving shelving and artwork higher up on the wall will bring the eye up, and make the room appear larger.
Instead of creating traditional shelving in the home for the organization, consider adding custom shelving within the walls. Creating built-in’s between the studs can give you more space as the shelving is inside the walls, creating a smooth, flush finish. This is something a contractor would have to help you with and is a short project that can seriously change the look of any living space.
Downsizing Furnishings
Many times, people have larger furniture pieces in small spaces. This can make the room appear smaller. By upgrading your furnishings to smaller items, it creates an allusion that the space is larger. Perhaps trade in your large recliner for a smaller accent chair. Choose more streamlined sofas instead of larger, cushier options so that the furniture does not take up the bulk of the space in living areas. For bedrooms, consider a Murphy bed installation which is a great option for office or guest rooms. A Murphy bed fits into the wall and is brought down when needed; this is a custom project option that a contractor can assist with and quickly makes a room appear larger.
These are just a few options to help your small space seem bigger with simple upgrades. Take time to review your home to see how such changes might be of benefit. At ACR Ltd., such options are no issue for our expert team. They can easily assist with a modern redesign for your home. Contact us today to see how you can renovate your home.