Is your home a little cramped at the moment? Well, it’s safe to say you’re not alone. Here are 3 beautiful ideas for small spaces.
Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash
As more people trade big suburban homes for garden flats and high-rise apartments, the demand for space-saving innovations on the home front has gone up.
Most people start with furniture. The latest global trend is to work extra storage space into everything from your couches to the space under your window sills. But storage alone doesn’t make a spacious house. There are many other space-saving ideas to try; some might surprise you.
Palette
White is the first color that comes to our mind when we think about creating the illusion of space. While white is the obvious choice, it’s not the only space-enhancing color.
Shadows are Your friend
Dark colors on your walls can make smaller rooms feel more spacious by creating a perception of depth. A deep blue or dark green can obscure the harsh corners of a room, making it difficult to tell where the walls end.
Don’t avoid patterns like the plague
The right pattern can add character to your home without sacrificing precious space. You can either put a bright wallpaper pattern on your entire wall or frame a smaller section out with small strips of wood or cornice.
You could also go the traditional route and keep decorative patterns for soft furnishings. A more contemporary way to include a pattern in your space is by using different shades of the same color to create an embossed effect on wood, walls, or floors.
Texture and tactility
Try to create more visual and tactile interest in your space. You don’t need loads of open space to bring a rough, rustic texture into your rooms. Apart from being more resilient to stains and damage than soft materials, textured pieces distract the eyes from the size of a room. Pillows, end tables, and ottomans are brilliant items to enhance with texture.
Storage
Maximizing storage is where most people start when they want to make space feel bigger. A popular theory is trying to make a place for everything, without making this evident with massive shelving units.
Hybrid furniture
Intelligent design has led to a revolution in how interior designers and craftsmen produce furniture. The new trend is to combine chairs, sofas, and even staircases with storage space. Whether it means an armchair with modest shelving in its arms or a staircase that functions as a bookshelf, hybrid furniture has made a massive mark on the interior design scene.
Kitchens are the epitome of hybrid furniture with innovations like corner pantry units and overhead wine storage. However, so much energy is spent on maximizing space in the living areas that kitchens can sometimes be dull and uninspired. With a large variety of grains and colors, solid wood kitchen cabinets are a great way to add character and style to the most multifunctional space in your home. One way to make your kitchen look bigger is by taking your cabinets up to the ceiling.
Steer clear from too much clutter
Even though it’s wise to make the most of the space you have, too much clutter is not the answer. Clutter is easy to overdo because most of our clutter is often sentimental. The general rule is if you don’t use it often, an item is classified as clutter and shouldn’t be visible. Conquer your clutter by:
- Sticking to a few photographs, decorative pieces, and functional clutter like books and magazines.
- Realizing that not every empty surface in your space needs to be covered.
- Balancing the sizes, shapes, and colors of the items you choose to display.
Although it’s often labeled as an arduous task, decluttering your home is an excellent way to declutter your mind as well.
Layout
Apart from built-in storage, there are other hacks to make the most of your space.
Size and placement matters
Many people think that to make a place look more extensive, you need smaller furniture pieces. However, smaller pieces often make space feel even smaller. Instead, opt for a few large-scale pieces to offset the size of the room. Another way to make a room look bigger is to keep furniture a few inches away from your walls.
Unconventional furniture choices
Why is it necessary to have a massive built-in headboard and bedside tables? It isn’t, instead go for an unconventional choice like a wall-mounted headboard and a rustic bar stool or kitchen chair next to your bed. Apart from bedside tables, there are many more uses for the humble classic kitchen chair.
Extra uses abound for your grandmother’s antique storage trunk. Use a storage trunk as a coffee table or even add a few cushions to it for the perfect place to sit. A modern storage trunk works just as well for a more contemporary touch.
Conclusion
Maximizing a small space and adding character and style doesn’t have to be complicated. By using a new color palette, maximizing storage, and creating an efficient layout, it’s infinitely possible to make your space beautiful and functional, no matter how small it seems.