After years of managing a bustling family home, it’s easy to see the upsides of downsizing. It’s amazing how cutting down on chores and clutter can free up time and boost your quality of life!
Still, you’re only human. Downsizing to a smaller home is an adjustment, and you’re bound to feel a touch cramped every now and again. You really need to maximize the space you have to enjoy your new home to its fullest.
Here are a few helpful organization and decorating tips that’ll help every corner of your custom home feel as spacious as can be!
1. Embrace Clever Kitchen Design
In smaller homes, even a well-thought kitchen layout can feel cramped by clunky appliances.
To help offset this problem, one design expert disguised her 30-inch refrigerator, 18-inch dishwasher, and microwave with matching cabinet panels! Instead of having stainless steel ruin the flow of the area, her kitchen has the appliances covered with an eye-catching design!
2. Sleek Furniture is Your Friend
The same design expert mentioned above also discusses the value of sleek, less cumbersome furniture in smaller spaces.
For instance, a sofa with tight-track arms and slipper chairs fills this role quite nicely. Don’t try squeezing a coffee table into the living room or lounge space ‒ it might seem like a necessity, but it’s not an economical addition to a smaller home. End tables take up far less space and can hold coffee and books just as well!
3. Shine a Big Light on Your Small Space
With a crafty combination of ceiling lights as well as table and floor lamps, quality lighting can do wonders for smaller spaces.
Proper lighting tends to provide an airy, spacious and comfortable vibe, no matter the size of a home. Light fixtures in general take up minimal space, so they won’t clutter your home.
It’s most crucial to position your lighting so that it illuminates dark corners while offering the requisite task lighting for optimal comfort and practicality.
4. Fill Awkward Spaces
Just because a given space in your home is a touch off-kilter doesn’t mean it can’t help your layout feel larger! We’re talking about that empty space under the stairs, the cozy window nook, or the tiny powder room off the garage.
No matter the size, you can turn those topsy-turvy nooks and crannies around your home into a design statement. Decorating these smaller areas gives your home character and livens up the room.
5. Doors Provide Valuable Surface Area
If there’s one thing homeowners with small spaces overlook, it’s their doors. And no, we’re not talking about doors as an obstacle to furniture placement! With a few hooks and racks, you can put the back of a door to use as a storage area. You can hang pots and pans on pantry doors, or store bathroom products on vanity cabinet doors, to give only a few examples!
You’ll save plenty of space while keeping everything that you’ll need to use within easy reach.
6. Mirrors Create the Illusion of Space
Expertly-crafted mirrors make for charming home décor no matter the size of the space. But in smaller spaces, mirrors can also trick your brain into seeing greater depth and space throughout your home! Mirrors are illuminating because they bounce and scatter light across your living space.
Even if you haven’t got a free wall for a new mirror, large-leaning mirrors are very on-trend right now. Just place it against the wall and voila! You’ve expanded the space and established a quirky, modern, and eclectic vibe.
Living Large in Your Small Space
With a few design and organizational tricks, you’ll quickly find that your home has more space than you thought! Remember: you don’t need to live in a castle to feel like royalty in your home. You just need to love every square inch that you have!