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Making the Most of a Smaller Home

Making the Most of a Smaller Home

It’s not uncommon for people to downsize their homes. In today’s market, buying a large home is sometimes less practical and attainable.

Choosing a smaller home doesn’t have to be disappointing. There are plenty of benefits of living in a smaller home. In fact, some people’s main motivation to choose a smaller home has nothing to do with a tight budget. Smaller families may just not require the space of a larger home, or empty nesters may decide their large family home is no longer necessary. For the environmentally friendly folks, a smaller home equals a smaller carbon footprint.

However you end up in a small home, whether it was a preference or the only affordable option, you should make the most of your smaller place. Follow these tips to optimize your small home to reach its full potential.

Get creative with multifunctional pieces

When you downsize your home, you’ll no longer have room for everything you had in a larger space. There are some things you just simply cannot live without, though. Instead of panicking, get creative with multifunctional pieces — two (or more) uses in the place of one!

Don’t have the space for a guest room? Opt for a pull-out couch in your living room that can double as a guest bed. Wish you had an office area? Find a table that can double as a desk. Need more seating in your living room but don’t have space for another chair? Use an ottoman! You can store blankets or other items on the inside and use it as a seating area to maximize its functionality.

Be smart with your storage

Everyone has that one spare room that eventually becomes filled with all the junk that doesn’t have a place. When you downsize your home, you may not have the availability for an extra room. Instead, you’ll have to get smart about your storage options.

Just like the ottoman, there are many ways to find opportunities for storage areas in everyday items you’ll already have. Store baskets under your coffee table to organize your items rather than letting them pile on the top. You can also find benches and other seating options that have storage areas below. Your bedroom can also be a great place to optimize your space. Use a bed frame that has storage underneath to save some floor space.

Go big on the essentials

Adopting a minimalistic attitude is necessary when you have less room. If you don’t, you’ll make yourself vulnerable to cluttering up your space, which leads to increased stress, anxiety, and risk for injuries.

Consider the essential furnishings in your home and go big on those items:

The couch. You’re going to want a great couch to make your living room a fun and comfortable place to hang out. While a large couch may take up a lot of floor space in your living room and prevent you from being able to have other items like side tables, it’s an important focal point that will pull your whole room together. If you choose a pull-out sofa to double as your guest room, make sure it’s comfy! Another great option is a u-shaped sectional that can give you a lot of seating space and leave plenty of room in the center for your coffee table or ottoman.

Your bed. We spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping, so it’s important that you find a great bed to come home to each night. You may feel pressured to get a smaller bed when you’re in a smaller space, but do yourself a favor and go for a bigger mattress that allows you to get the restorative sleep you need. You can find a bed frame offering storage underneath rather than worry about a dresser taking up floor space. Don’t lose sleep over this decision.

Dining table. Finding space for a dining table can be challenging if you don’t have a specified dining area; however, it’s an important part to your home. Not having a table to sit at to eat is incredibly frustrating, especially if you’re used to spending dinner time gathering with your family. This table will be the home of all your best meals, memories, and laughs with the friends and family who gather here. If you can’t find a way to make the space work, consider a wall-mounted dining table that you can pull out when needed.

Keep it clean

In a smaller space, any bit of clutter or small piles of the “stuff” that ends up filling our homes will feel like a mountain. In a larger home, maybe it wasn’t as obvious. But when you downsize, you’ll find that it’s important to value clean spaces.

Tidying up doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal. There are simple habits you can incorporate in your daily life to keep your home presentable. Plus, now that your home is smaller it won’t take as long to cover all your bases!

If you go into a smaller house with a positive attitude, you can make it your dream home. Get creative with your spaces, keep your areas clean to avoid cluttering and the claustrophobic feeling, and know when to go big on the pieces in your home. This way, you’ll make your small home functional, stylish, and comfortable.

Use personal decor items

With a larger home, you may have felt the need to fill all of your spaces up with decorative items to the point that you were just using filler pieces. In a smaller home, this won’t be necessary. And this can be a good thing!

Living in a smaller space can encourage you to be more intentional about your decorative items. Instead of finding filler pieces, keep it personal. Use items with meaning and memories behind
them to provide accents in your spaces. This will help your smaller home feel even more cozy.

If you go into a smaller house with a positive attitude, you can make it your dream home. Get creative with your spaces, keep your areas clean to avoid cluttering and the claustrophobic feeling, and know when to go big on the pieces

Author’s bio: Laurie Larson is a freelance writer. She writes on home, health, and happy lifestyle topics.

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