If your home is small and compact enough to the point where you feel like packing up and moving, hold fire. We may have a few solutions that are much easier – and considerably less expensive – than a house move.

Any interior designer will tell you that the best way to make a small home feel big enough for you and your family is to have a great big clear out, clever use of available space, and smart storage. We are going to look at a few of these here.

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Increase the functionality of your existing rooms

In an ideal world, we would have a room for everything, but unless you can afford a mansion, it generally doesn’t work for us like that. If space is a struggle, look at how you can combine the functions of two rooms into one, so you have the room for everything you need. For example, that wasted corner of your bedroom may be able to be turned into a home office. The garage could also double up as a utility room, and so on. 

Increase your storage

You have Kallax units and storage boxes everywhere, don’t you? While these are brilliant for storing things, take a look around your home and look at more creative ways of increasing your storage. There are some wild ideas on Pinterest, but more simple ideas include building cupboards or shelving under your stairs, over the door shelving and racks, and using that wasted space over your stairs. These are ideal for storing things that you do not need to access too often.

Look at inspiration from micro-homes

You know when you walk around IKEA and ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over how they have the room setups? Well, why not take inspiration from those? They show some fabulous ways of organising your furniture and utilising little corners of your home. You can also check out Pinterest and look at how the tiny apartments make the best use of their ‘bijou’ homes.

Make the most out of your loft

Most of us have a loft, but we very rarely use it in the best way. Sure, it may need some reworking to turn it into a room, but a loft conversion is a lot cheaper than moving house if you need an extra room! If that isn’t a feasible option at the moment, you could board the space out and find out more about loft ladders for easy and quick access. 

Repurpose the wasted areas

Look at your hallways and corridors and landings – pretty much of all them can be used for storage in some way, whether it is bespoke cupboards and cabinets built into wall cavities or, as we said above, shelves above the stairs. You just need to think a little bit outside of the box for some great ideas.

You don’t have to move house to get more space. A good ol’ declutter (think Marie Kondo – if it doesn’t bring you joy or serve a purpose, get rid!) and some creative thinking, and you will have the space that you need. 

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