We are about to put our house on the market and have started looking at potential new living spaces. We are looking to simplify our lives, well at least the living space we occupy.
The idea of having to maintain a yard and a old home no longer appeal to either of us.
So, we are selling our home and downsizing. Figured less stuff...god knows we don't need as much stuff as we have. Really, it's amazing how much one accumulates when you live in a big space with lots of storage. I bet you there is stuff I haven't touched since we moved in 9+ years ago...that is frightening. So, smaller we go!
That has lead me to think about how one goes about designing and styling a small space.
Here are 10 tips to living successfully in a small space:
1. Use full size furniture: Miniature furniture just makes the space feel awkward plus who wants to curl up in a little chair to read a book on a cold, rainy day...not I!
2. Create an illusion of space: Hang curtains floor to ceiling, strategically place mirrors, use clear furniture like Lucite.
3. Maximize the utilization of everything: furniture that can be used for storage, sofas that can become a guest bed, nesting tables, desks that can be turned into a dining table...you get the picture.
4. Go UP: Make the walls work for you...take bookcases to the ceiling, hang as much as you can.
5. Color, color, color: There is much debate which way to go...light vs dark...the usual story but both can work! Dark colors make the walls recede which gives the illusion of a bigger space...Light colors create a sense of openness.
6. Create "rooms": establish separate areas for all the things you do...sleep, eat, work! This can be as simple as paint color, strategic placement of furniture, temporary walls.
7. Edit to amplify: If you bring something in you better be ready to take something out. There is no hoarding when you live in a small space.
8. Think outside the box: We think curio cabinet means storing curiosities but why not shoes or books, entry halls...turn it into a library. Be creative and shift your assumptions.
9. Treat it like a palace: Just because it's small doesn't mean you can't add glamour and elegance. Live it up by painting the walls in a high lacquer paint, add chandeliers, use lush fabrics.
10. Storage Strategy: Maximize every inch...if you have a small niche turn it into a closet, build shelves and hide it with a curtain behind a bed, store under the bed...it will keep you from going crazy. Promise!
You can make a cozy, beautiful and functional place to call home in a smaller footprint.
I'll keep you posted on our home adventure. Let's see if we really can go from 1700 sq ft to 700.
Ciao,
F
