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- BIG design ideas for small spaces
BIG design ideas for small spaces
07/14/2008 - By Ariana Knittel There are many things you can do to make your small house/space look bigger and make the most out of what you have. Create illusion, know how to save space and create opportunities for storage, and choose a color or patterns that open up the area.
Create Illusion:
First off, draw attention upward and get more use out of your space vertically. This will draw away attention to the lack of floor and square footage space. Try starting curtains and drapes above the window and let them fall to the floor, creating a longer view of the room and of the house itself. You can also keep building up! Tall cabinets and high shelves overtop of other furniture saves space and give you a place to put things that you may want to keep out of reach or have no other place for. You may need a ladder to get up there, but if you put items that are rarely used, it will not have to happen too often.
Use mirrors to create illusion and open up rooms that seem cramped. They must be strategically placed so they serve the correct function, but done the right away can create the impression that you have more space than you really do. Hanging a mirror in a narrow hallway, opens it up and guides you to the rest of the house without feeling closed in. Spread out pictures and paintings to avoid clutter and having too much going on.
Storage and saving space:
Adding built-ins is one of the best ways to save space. Built-in cabinets, bookshelves, and eating areas are lifesavers and an easy fix for people with small houses. In the kitchen, there are options for pull out microwaves and built-in, pull out cabinets for garbage or recycling. Creating more floor space is always a great way to make your small house seem bigger. You can also consider putting stools on one side of an island in the kitchen, creating an eating area if you don’t have enough room for a table.
In other rooms, especially bedrooms, storage bins are a convenient, practical way of putting things away that are not regularly needed. Under-the-bed storage bins that are low and shallow can store seasonal clothing that you are not wearing now. For example, sweaters in the summer and summer dresses in the winter can be stored to give you more closet space and alleviate overstuffed drawers. Vacuum bags serve the same purpose and can neatly put winter coats away or holiday items that are only used on special occasions away. There are storage bins that can fit in every kind of space, so find the ones that suit your arrangement best.
Shelving units and overhead shelves, can be built in and allow you to display things, or put a basket up for mail, keys, or other items that can clutter up an area. On ground level, benches or coffee tables can dual as a chest. They can open up to store items that do not need to be sitting out. You can even start by adding a chest to the room and then attaching a large cushion to the top of it for seating. This is a great example of multi-purpose furniture. You can even get furniture that you can be optional. For example, if you have company over occasionally, have ottomans, stools, or other chairs on hand that can be stored while not in use. Even use tables that have leaves so you can have the option of entertaining more guests while keeping enough room in your dining area when you’re not.
Choosing color and pattern scheme:
Keep things looking classy and crisp. Stay with one style in a small room so that you don’t have too much going on and the room seems to close you in. Also, try to stick with light colors. Avoid dark colors that close off and shrink a room and don’t provide a lot of options. Another thing to remember is the proper use of windows. Allowing light to shine in and brighten up the house, gives the same concept that light colors, light paint and light materials do.
Every room should have a little bit of its own personality, but try and stay with colors, prints and themes that don’t clash. You want the rooms to be separate from each other, but you don’t want too much going on in one small house. Make visitors know that they’ve entered into a different room because of the different scheme used, but make sure that it’s not too drastic and doesn’t seem to flow with the rest of the house. It also helps to keep the flooring the same. Keeping with the same type of flooring or similar shades of carpet, eases the eyes to travel around and see continuation. People will see that there are more rooms to explore while in another.
Created by CMDS