Small-Scale Living Tips and Tricks for Every Teeny Home
From where to squeeze a home office to secret storage locations around the house, these strategies will make the most of a small space
Laura Gaskill
13 October 2014
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance checklist. My favorite pieces to write center around the emotional aspects of home and savoring life's simple pleasures. Decluttering course + discount for Houzzers: https://www.lauragaskill.com/welcome-houzzers
Houzz Contributor. I cover decorating ideas, Houzz tours & the monthly home maintenance... More
From multipurpose rooms and smart-space planning to flexible, floating and transparent furnishings, Houzz is brimming with ideas to help you look at your home in new ways. Re-imagine a tricky room – or your whole house – with these tips and techniques. When you want to read more on a particular topic, just click on the story links below.
Planning your space
From tiny one-room studios to railroad apartments, not all small spaces are created equal – get a handle on the best way to arrange furniture in your space by scoping out how others have handled similar space issues.
For instance, in a living room with many doors and windows (like the one shown here), pull your seating arrangement together in the centre of the room, and use matched sofas or armchairs to create a cohesive look.
Get the guide: 11 Ways to Lift the Impact of Your Small Living Room
From tiny one-room studios to railroad apartments, not all small spaces are created equal – get a handle on the best way to arrange furniture in your space by scoping out how others have handled similar space issues.
For instance, in a living room with many doors and windows (like the one shown here), pull your seating arrangement together in the centre of the room, and use matched sofas or armchairs to create a cohesive look.
Get the guide: 11 Ways to Lift the Impact of Your Small Living Room
Storage and organising
From trading in your bulky desktop computer and sound system for a sleek laptop and iPod dock, to embracing folding furnishings and seeking out sneaky storage pieces, there is a lot you can do to win the battle with clutter in your small space.
Get the guide: 10 Smart Tricks to Find Extra Storage at Home
From trading in your bulky desktop computer and sound system for a sleek laptop and iPod dock, to embracing folding furnishings and seeking out sneaky storage pieces, there is a lot you can do to win the battle with clutter in your small space.
Get the guide: 10 Smart Tricks to Find Extra Storage at Home
Getting furniture off the ground is a great way to maximise space. Consider a floating dish rack, a bike hanger, or even a loft bedroom above the kitchen. Another smart trick: Widen the window sills so they can double as shelf space.
Get the guide: Floating Furniture: Can You Handle the Suspense?
Get the guide: Floating Furniture: Can You Handle the Suspense?
When you rent, you may not be able to justify springing for custom built-ins – but there are plenty of other ways to tuck smart storage into your apartment.
Craft an office out of a tiny closet, tuck blankets and board games into a coffee table and hide baskets in unused space beneath furniture.
Get the guide: Study Nooks: How to Squeeze in a Home Office Anywhere
Craft an office out of a tiny closet, tuck blankets and board games into a coffee table and hide baskets in unused space beneath furniture.
Get the guide: Study Nooks: How to Squeeze in a Home Office Anywhere
If you can splurge on a custom detail or two, you can really go wild with smart storage ideas. For instance, why not add recessed shelves, hidden cabinets or a flat-screen TV on a panel that pivots?
Get the guide: 20 Storage Ideas That Say “Now, Why Didn’t I Think of That?”
Get the guide: 20 Storage Ideas That Say “Now, Why Didn’t I Think of That?”
Decorating tricks
Decorators know there are certain things that always make a small space feel more spacious: transparent or mirrored furnishings, cleared floors, simple upholstery (skip the ruffles) and well-lit rooms top the list.
Get the guide: Live Big in a Small House: 25 Tricks to Expand Your Space
Decorators know there are certain things that always make a small space feel more spacious: transparent or mirrored furnishings, cleared floors, simple upholstery (skip the ruffles) and well-lit rooms top the list.
Get the guide: Live Big in a Small House: 25 Tricks to Expand Your Space
Consider also making a few bigger changes to visually expand your space – choose a tight colour palette and stick with it in every room, use strategically placed focal walls and swap solid interior doors for glass ones.
Get the guide: 8 Mesmerising Colour Palettes for Living Rooms
Get the guide: 8 Mesmerising Colour Palettes for Living Rooms
Entry
Whether you have an open entryway, a narrow hall or a front door that opens into a stairwell, small-space dwellers nearly always have issues with entryway storage. Look for slim, wall-mounted storage, such as floating shelves, cabinets and coat trees, to make the most of available space. And in the tightest spaces, wall brackets and hooks are your best friends.
Get the guide: Transform Your Home’s Entrance From Daggy to Dazzling in Just One Week
Whether you have an open entryway, a narrow hall or a front door that opens into a stairwell, small-space dwellers nearly always have issues with entryway storage. Look for slim, wall-mounted storage, such as floating shelves, cabinets and coat trees, to make the most of available space. And in the tightest spaces, wall brackets and hooks are your best friends.
Get the guide: Transform Your Home’s Entrance From Daggy to Dazzling in Just One Week
Living room
A petite living room has to work extra hard. Hide spare seats in plain sight (like the stools shown here), hang curtains extra high to make ceilings look taller and make the most of little nooks with built-in window seats (with hidden storage, naturally).
Get the guide: 9 Design Tricks to Make Your Small Living Room Feel Larger Than Ever
A petite living room has to work extra hard. Hide spare seats in plain sight (like the stools shown here), hang curtains extra high to make ceilings look taller and make the most of little nooks with built-in window seats (with hidden storage, naturally).
Get the guide: 9 Design Tricks to Make Your Small Living Room Feel Larger Than Ever
Dining room
Just because your home lacks a formal dining room doesn’t mean you must go without a proper space for sitting down and eating. Try filling a tight corner with banquette seating or hang a luxurious pendant light over a small pedestal table for two. Define the area with a rug and art or a mirror on the wall – or look for a drop-leaf table that can be pushed against the wall when not in use.
Get the guide: Dining Tables Squeezed Into All Manner of Small Spaces
Just because your home lacks a formal dining room doesn’t mean you must go without a proper space for sitting down and eating. Try filling a tight corner with banquette seating or hang a luxurious pendant light over a small pedestal table for two. Define the area with a rug and art or a mirror on the wall – or look for a drop-leaf table that can be pushed against the wall when not in use.
Get the guide: Dining Tables Squeezed Into All Manner of Small Spaces
Kitchen
Big, sprawling kitchens may get all the press, but a well-designed compact kitchen can be just as (if not more) efficient and beautiful. Think about it – with less space to fill, you can splurge on fancier materials and appliances than you would if your kitchen were three times the size! Try using narrower-than-usual benches to save space in a really tight spot.
Get the guide: 10 Ways to Max Space in Your Tiny Kitchen
Big, sprawling kitchens may get all the press, but a well-designed compact kitchen can be just as (if not more) efficient and beautiful. Think about it – with less space to fill, you can splurge on fancier materials and appliances than you would if your kitchen were three times the size! Try using narrower-than-usual benches to save space in a really tight spot.
Get the guide: 10 Ways to Max Space in Your Tiny Kitchen
Bath
Pocket-sized bathrooms can be quite a challenge to design well – it’s no mean feat fitting a sink, toilet and bathing space in a few square metres. Console sinks, recessed medicine cabinets and floating vanities can help. And here is a bit of counter-intuitive wisdom: a claw-foot tub (albeit a small-scale one) is visually lighter than an equal-sized tub that reaches the floor. Who knew?
Get the guide: Small Bathrooms That Are Big on Style
Pocket-sized bathrooms can be quite a challenge to design well – it’s no mean feat fitting a sink, toilet and bathing space in a few square metres. Console sinks, recessed medicine cabinets and floating vanities can help. And here is a bit of counter-intuitive wisdom: a claw-foot tub (albeit a small-scale one) is visually lighter than an equal-sized tub that reaches the floor. Who knew?
Get the guide: Small Bathrooms That Are Big on Style
Of course, there is also a good case to be made for getting rid of the tub entirely – if you prefer a luxurious shower to a soak, why not just get that space-hogging bathtub out of there? A sleek glass shower can make any small bathroom seem more spacious.
Get the guide: 12 Decorating Tricks to Make Small Bathrooms Work Harder
Get the guide: 12 Decorating Tricks to Make Small Bathrooms Work Harder
Bedroom
What to do when your bedroom barely fits your bed, let alone a full bedside table (never mind both sides …)? End your frustration by choosing hardworking accessories that don’t take up floor space, such as swing-arm lamps, sconces and pendant lights, and use a niche or floating shelf for your things.
Get the guide: 7 Clever Ways to Create the Illusion of Space in a Small Bedroom
What to do when your bedroom barely fits your bed, let alone a full bedside table (never mind both sides …)? End your frustration by choosing hardworking accessories that don’t take up floor space, such as swing-arm lamps, sconces and pendant lights, and use a niche or floating shelf for your things.
Get the guide: 7 Clever Ways to Create the Illusion of Space in a Small Bedroom
If you want to hide a queen-size bed in plain sight, you can’t beat a fold-away bed. You can customise the bed to match your walls and architectural details, so when it’s closed, you would never guess a big, comfy bed is there at all – and when it’s time to sleep, all you need to do is give it a pull.
Get the guide: Tiny Bedroom? These 10 Tips Will Transform It From It From Depressing to Dreamy
Get the guide: Tiny Bedroom? These 10 Tips Will Transform It From It From Depressing to Dreamy
Desk space
When you need a home office but don’t have a dedicated room, smart storage and slim furnishings are your friends. Try building a work surface over a heater on an otherwise unusable wall, tuck your office in a closet or against a sliver of wall, and experiment with pullout desks and creative shelving. Instead of cluttering up the space with a message board, use chalk paint on the wall instead.
Get the guide: How to Work a Work Space Into Any Room in the House
When you need a home office but don’t have a dedicated room, smart storage and slim furnishings are your friends. Try building a work surface over a heater on an otherwise unusable wall, tuck your office in a closet or against a sliver of wall, and experiment with pullout desks and creative shelving. Instead of cluttering up the space with a message board, use chalk paint on the wall instead.
Get the guide: How to Work a Work Space Into Any Room in the House
For a workspace in the bedroom, the key is not letting your tech devices and piles of paperwork take over what should be a restful space. Keep your set-up minimal – a laptop is definitely preferable to a hulking desktop computer in this case. Letting your desk double as a nightstand or dressing table is a smart space-saving move.
Playroom
Goodness knows kids will find a place to play – whether you have a playroom or not. Steal space in a window nook, under the stairs or on a landing to keep your little one’s things neat and appealingly displayed.
Get the guide: Toy Storage Ideas as Beautiful as They Are Brilliant
Goodness knows kids will find a place to play – whether you have a playroom or not. Steal space in a window nook, under the stairs or on a landing to keep your little one’s things neat and appealingly displayed.
Get the guide: Toy Storage Ideas as Beautiful as They Are Brilliant
Multi-purpose room
In a small home, using each room for two or more purposes is a necessity. Think creatively about the space you have, and you may come up with a new combo you love. Why not put a big table in the laundry room, to use for work and folding laundry, or hide a home office in the living room or guest room?
TELL US
How have you made a room do double or triple duty? Share your ideas in the comments section.
MORE
Tried-And-True Tips and Tricks for Tiny Homes Across the Globe
USA Houzz: Eco-Friendly Living in a Tiny Haven on Wheels
Teeny-Tiny Homes That Overflow With Ingenuity
In a small home, using each room for two or more purposes is a necessity. Think creatively about the space you have, and you may come up with a new combo you love. Why not put a big table in the laundry room, to use for work and folding laundry, or hide a home office in the living room or guest room?
TELL US
How have you made a room do double or triple duty? Share your ideas in the comments section.
MORE
Tried-And-True Tips and Tricks for Tiny Homes Across the Globe
USA Houzz: Eco-Friendly Living in a Tiny Haven on Wheels
Teeny-Tiny Homes That Overflow With Ingenuity
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Such great tips and ideas, thank you for posting!