Photo Credit: Justin Beckley via Compfight cc
Small spaces can be restrictive and frustrating. The BBC website claimed that the UK has ‘some of the smallest new homes in Europe,’ and many houses also have only a pocket handkerchief sized garden. Worse still, some houses have little or no outside space at all. If your property only has a small space outside, don’t despair – here are five projects that can help you make the best of that area.
- Making the best of the great outdoors
Whether your garden is minute or you can only access the outdoors through your window, there are many tricks you can use to enhance your surroundings. Trellises are ideal. You can fix them onto your garden wall or even place them on the wall surrounding your windows. Take a look at the Ashridge Nurseries website to gain some ideas and inspiration about what to plant against your trellis. You don’t have to stick to flowers; strawberry plants can be encouraged to drape their tendrils along the side of a sunny wall.
- Use your furniture wisely
If your flat is tiny, you don’t want to clutter it up with too much furniture. With some clever shelving options you could knock down a wall between the kitchen and living space (provided it’s not a load bearing wall) and use the shelving to increase the light in your flat and store more objects too. You could always use a bunk bed for your children, which will free up space below the bed to use for homework or an additional play area.
- Create an illusion
Every inch of space is important if your home is on the miniscule size. The magazine House and Garden suggests using mirrors to enhance natural light. This will always make a room appear larger than it actually is. Hang a mirror close to a window so that the light can bounce off the mirror and flood into the room. You can get a cut to size mirror quite easily so you can choose just how much room this mirror can take up.
You can also create an illusion of space if you replace your roof with skylights in order to make the most of the valuable source of natural light. You may have to work with or receive advice from a professional builder in order to carry out this project.
- Paint is important
Another way of making the most of your small living space is to choose your colours for your walls wisely. You don’t have to stick to magnolia; crisp white walls always look good. If you really must have a feature wall – they’re not suitable for all small spaces – then make sure the colours you select don’t dominate your home. Purple and black may look dramatic in a large house but will look overwhelming in a smaller space. Bright blues or dazzling yellows might be more suitable.
5. Hang things from the ceiling
Kitchens can look very cluttered. One way to overcome this problem is to build cupboards so that any surplus kitchen equipment can be stored away. Investing in a ceiling rack is an ideal way of dealing with saucepans and utensils.
By the end of these DIY schemes you won’t have increased the space in your accommodation at all, but you will be making far better use of the available room and that’s a major bonus.
*This is a collaborative post*
Great tips! We’ve just converted a garage into a playroom and could do with implementing some of these tips!! X
Thanks for sharing this great ideas! I agree about this mirror strategy, it really makes the space larger and open. Storage is also an effective way to clean your space. I used shelves in my condo, and so far it minimizes the clutter in my room. I want to try repainting my furniture with bright colors. Thank you for the tips!
These are really important and effective ways to make the best use of smaller space in our home. I am going to buy shelves and cabinets to store households and de clutter my room. Thanks for sharing this post.