Words by Lindsay Mather, AD Clever
It’s always the people who’ve been there, done that who have the greatest advice. Marathon runners can tell you the tricks to getting up early for a jog without thinking twice. Bakers can do the same re: whipping up amazing cookies every single time. So, the brave souls who live in tiny homes? They are undoubtedly your best bet for tips on making compact rooms work their hardest. Houzz did us a huge favor and questioned more than 200 homeowners who live in places under 1,000 square feet to figure out what they really do to maximize space, then released the findings in its 2017 Small Homes Survey. We immediately took note of the top five ways people make the most of an itty-bitty room with just decor, and we think you should do the same.
Here they are, straight from the space-challenged:
48% are obsessed with area rugs
To squeeze a living area, a dining nook, and an office space into a single room, you need an abundance of space-defining rugs to indicate where one destination stops and another begins.
36% have a Maria Kondo furniture situation
No matter how much you might want to ignore this fact, it’s undeniable: The more stuff you have in your house, the smaller it’s going to feel. Limit the amount of large furniture especially (e.g., don’t bring home yet another armchair) and your place will appear to grow three sizes.
35% are fans of mirrors
Yeah, yeah, mirrors are pretty. But more importantly, they are the next best thing to a real window, creating a new “view” where there was once just a blank wall. Plus, they bounce whatever light is available around the space to make it a little brighter and you a little happier.
Image: Weylandts
28% judge furniture for its ability to be rearranged
This is not the place for a 300-pound dining table that takes four people to nudge it a few inches. Your house is small, remember? You need to be able to rethink the layout on the fly to suit whatever you’re doing at that moment. Compact, lightweight furniture for the win.
18% love convertible pieces
Speaking of furniture, every item you bring home should also be multipurpose. Otherwise, it’s a waste of precious space. Think an ottoman that can become an extra dining table, chairs that can turn into nightstands, and a couple of stools that can quickly take shape as a coffee table.
Images: Unsplash