How To Maximise Space In A Small Home

When having low square footage in a home, it is absolutely critical to utilise every inch of it in a way that is, in an ideal world, multi-functional. In situations like these, every bit of floor space needs to be well planned at the very least – unless you like perpetually feeling like there is not enough room in your apartment or home for all your things, and you enjoy feeling cramped in a claustrophobic space.

Sound like a nightmare? Most people think so. Making the effort to maximise space in your small home has to offer or investing in some multi-purpose furniture – it is worth the time, financial investment, and work that’s involved.

Without further ado, read on for a few tips on how to squeeze every last square inch out of your cosy little abode to give it greater functionality and give yourself more space to spread out.

The Law of Verticality

Using vertical spaces is probably the most important principle when it comes to optimally using space for things like storage. When you think about it, the cubic footage is far greater than the square footage and it is just a matter of finding the right tools to take advantage of the extra space you may not even know you had.

There is hidden space under the stairs, on the walls, even on the ceiling when you begin to implement creative shelving and start to suspend things like beds. Your bedroom can be suspended from metal wires, or even folded into the wall like a fold-up couch, saving you all that horizontal space for a living area or even a kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen, you are going to want as much room as possible, so clearing room for the storage of essential cooking items with vertical spacing is a must. Simply installing hooks in the ceiling or walls allows you to hang your pots and pans with easy reach, making more room available for actual cooking, eating, and entertaining.

Use Negative Space Wisely

Half of the trick to making a home feel more spacious than it actually is, is having empty, unused spaces. While this may sound contradictory, the prudent use of open areas allows the inhabitants of a home to feel less cramped, while also assisting in the functionality of moving around or being able to rearrange furniture when the situation calls for it (like when a larger group of friends come over).

This principle is doubly true of public spaces that see the most traffic and get the most disorderly with very little effort. Having sofas that double as storage space and other multifunctional pieces of furniture can open up a space to make it more inviting and less cluttered.

Maintain Order

What use is all that vertical space if you do not actually put things away when you are done using them? It is as essential to be constantly picking stuff up, cleaning, and having a “home” for each item that you actually use, as it is to have a designated space for it. Doing so will help create visual continuity with the décor you have chosen, and will let you enjoy the open sight lines in the negative spaces you have worked hard to keep tidy.