When living in a small home that you absolutlely love, that has charm, but is lacking in space with no room to expand there are a few fairly low cost alternatives you can try.
- Try removing doors to living areas to open areas up, so you can see through the house giving it a more open concept.
- Use white based cabinetry in the kitchen to allow light to bounce around the room.
- Try a cream colored countertop to blend with white cabinets.
- Keep space above cabinets open to increase the sense of height.
- Use furniture that has legs to give you the illusion of more floorspace.
- Another form of illusion is to use a glass table top with views of the floors.
- The use of large mirrors , or a grouping of mirrors will also make a room appear larger.
- And while we are talking floors, keep them all the same. For example don't mix, carpet, tile, or wood in a small home, use the same throughout.
- Use larger decor pieces instead of a bunch of smaller items, it will highlight and showcase your room.
- When using lighting, recessesd is best. Using hanging fixtures brings attention to them detracting from the space.
- Monochromatic tones work best, with interesting fabrics that are sophisticated but comfortable.
- Try to stay away from dark colors especially with rugs, pillows or bedding.
- White paint on the ceiling will make the room look taller, and if you use ceiling fans use white ones to blend in to the ceilings.
- Keep things open in the bath, using a half wall instead of a closed room for toilet area.
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Cindy Bryant is the owner of Redesign Etc. Home Staging & Redesign Specialist in Houston, Staging Your House To Sell By Professional Home Stagers! Our goal is to get your home sold for top dollar in the most cost effective way!
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Areas Served: Houston, River Oaks, Tanglewood, Bellaire, Piney Point, Mid-Town, The Heights, Montrose, Texas Medical Center, The East End, West Loop/Galleria/Memorial, Downtown, Museum District, West University, Spring Branch, Royal Oaks-Lakeside, League City, Clear Lake City, Friendswood, Kemah, Seabrook, Pearland, Sugar Land, Spring, Cypress, Tomball, The Woodlands, Kingwood. And all areas down to Galveston Island.
We use the door removal trick frequently here in Hawaii but it's for a different reason. Most homes don't have A/C and the humidity makes closets a bit stale after a while. Many remove closet doors to let air circulate better. The trick is to get sellers to put them back on so it looks better!
Great tips. I am a big fan of small houses. Once peple realize how little space they really need to live comfortably they are often amazed. Well designed and well used spaces are the key. I once lived in a studio apartment in which the sleeping alcove was created by placeing bookcases that were seven feet tall across a section of the space just large enough for a bed and a night stand. It had built in shelves and drawers in the closet so there was no need for a dresser. The bookcas provided both privacy and extra storage yet because it did not go all the way to the ceiling it still left a sense of openess and light.
These are great tips Cindy! People so often think small spaces/small decor - but as any stager can tell you - lots of small items makes an small area feel cluttered - your right on a few larger decor items really make a great design statement!
Great info Cindy! Small spaces done right can make an even bigger statement sometimes! Happy Holidays to you :)
Cindy -- good tips here. I agree with using larger decor pieces instead a several smaller ones -- they never show properly in photos and often lack the impact the space needs.
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HI Cindy- Nice list of tips for people. I like to also use small canned lighting to 'uplight' darker corners. More people are asking about small spaces...the local newspaper just had me contribute to an article on 'Faking Space'. I liked your tip on the flooring..it drives me crazy when there are too many types of floors in one space! Regards-Kathleen G
Richard- In Hawaii, you don't need doors, I would love it!
Deb-I do too, there is something comforting about them. I'm just dying to buy a cute little beach bungalow!
Margaret-Big is good, I like big!
Wendy-Thanks, Merry Christmas to ya!
Maureen-True, cameras never pick up the small items. Thanks, for the feature!
Kathleen-I saw a small house that had 5 different types of flooring in it. Not good!
I love staging small spaces and inflating them with staging!! Great post Cindy!!!
Flooring is the palet and makes a huge impact on space look and feel, how right you are.