Whether you want to upgrade a personal residence or you have a home you need to sell, a small footprint can make the job challenging. Over the years, the experts at This Old House have seen the tightest spaces and trickiest renovations. Here are some of their favorite tips for making the most out of a small home.
Temporary Storage
One of the easiest ways to get your home cleaned up and ready to show is to find things that can be put into a mini-storage facility. For many people, the challenge is knowing what to remove. In addition to the obvious stuff like that second couch that doesn’t match that you crammed into the living room, one pro hack is to remove anything from your home that has eyes.
That means family photos, pictures, stuff on the fridge, that ceramic dog that you won from when you played Wheel of Fortune. Things with eyes show ownership and lack of eyes let the potential buyer feel themselves living in your home.
Multi-Use Furniture Hides The Mess
Making the most out of a small area is a trend Millennials are looking for. Seating is crucial in primary living areas. Instead of using dining chairs with thin decorative legs, consider a modern design with boxed bottoms full of storage room for odds and ends. Ottomans that open reveal room for extra blankets, snacks, magazines, game controllers, and much more.
Realtors should be aware of the millennial housing trends in order to make sales within the demographic. Convertible items are extremely helpful for narrow rooms. For example, an office can easily transform into a guest bedroom with a Murphy bed. An ironing board that folds up into the wall is a useful amenity to list in open house notices.
Countertop Wine Racks and Shelves Are Excellent For Entertaining
If you have all the counter space you need and more, then you may like storage racks. A wine rack is an excellent conversation starter. Plus, it comes in handy when you like to entertain. A standing shelf for books is a great place to store recipes, books, towels, and canisters. You can choose something sleek and modern, or go with an intricate design that suits your style.
Stacking storage containers are useful. You can hide large items or keep sauces, fast food packets, and cutlery neat and organized. The best part is these containers are portable, so you can move them as often as you want. If you find they get in the way, then the stuff is already organized for the next place you put it.
Custom Furniture Fits the Space and Makes the Most of Odd Spots
Do you have a unique area in your home? If you have a strange space you want to transform, then consider turning it into a nook. You can create a coffee station, a quiet reading space, or a much-needed bathroom shelf. Building a custom organizer for the master closet can give a crowded bedroom a larger feeling. A weird corner in the hallway may be just the right spot to add a fold-down table or half of a piece of furniture. You can put a can for pens, a notebook, and a table light to leave messages or jot down thoughts.
Add Hooks to Every Room to Keep Things Off the Floor
Nothing looks worse on open house day than a home with coats laying on the back of the chairs or across the couch. A bed full of coats makes the space feel stuffy and may detract buyers. Adding a few hooks inside the closet or along a wall behind the door can give you enough room for all your bulky items and loose accessories. A hook gives you room for backpacks, purses, hats, keys, coats, umbrellas, jackets, and more.
Pot Racks Clear Up Tons of Room in the Kitchen Cabinets
When your kitchen is tiny, finding a place to put your small appliances and extra dishware is hard. One way to free up room is to get your pots and large pans out of the cabinets. If you have space above an island or counter, then you can hang your pots over the area. For smaller rooms, a wall rack is just as handy. You can clear out room for pantry staples or add space for cleaning items or party essentials.
Repurposing a Dresser Provides a Ton of Space Below the Sink
Bathrooms are notoriously small. These rooms are hard to expand unless you have an extra bedroom or a space you can combine to create a larger footprint. Instead of using a pedestal sink or one with an open bottom, adding a table, chest, dresser, or another item with drawers will increase storage space.
If you have the room for a waist-high dresser, then you may put two sinks in the room and additional storage. You can always cut down an item if it is too tall for the space. Custom pieces work well in the bathroom when most furniture does not.
Built-ins are other excellent ideas for tiny homes. You can use any or all these tips to help you increase the popularity of a house you are flipping. By creating hidden storage space or using furniture with dual purposes, you help open up each room by hiding the little things that create clutter. If you live in the house, then these ideas can give you more usable space to live.