#Collaborative post
There’s no place like home, but sometimes we need a change.
If you’ve been looking around and feeling the itch to move house but you don’t want the upheaval or stress of selling and buying, upgrading your current home is the next best thing.
When you want to switch things around, refresh and revamp, or make more space, we’ve got some top tips to inspire you.
Decor and Style
Borrow tricks and strategies from interior specialists to make any room feel more spacious.
You might need to reduce the amount of furniture you have, but if you don’t want to part with anything permanently, self storage could be your answer. The cost of self storage is probably less than you think, and lets you save precious items without them taking up space at home.
Other ways to make an area feel bigger include:
- Replace traditional doors with sliding alternatives, especially if multiple doorways in a room limit your furniture options.
- Ditch the sofa. Chairs fit where sofas don’t and offer more versatility in terms of grouping. Of course, it depends on your lifestyle and family choices, but it could be an option to think about.
- Use mirrors to reflect light and add depth. They can make narrow rooms feel wider or short rooms feel longer. And they reflect light, so can make a room feel brighter.
- Lift furnishings off the floor. When you’re buying new items, choose ones on legs. Even short legs lessen shadows, giving the illusion of more floor space.
- Learn to use colour. Limiting the colours in your decorating scheme can create a calmer, more harmonised feel. Choose pale colours to make rooms feel bigger and fresher. You can still indulge in brights, but save them for accents in soft furnishings, rugs, ornaments, or artwork.
Clean, Bright Surfaces
Clutter creeps up on us. It would be lovely if clearing the decks was a once and done task, but that’s rarely the case. It’s more of an ongoing project to keep on top of.
Storage furnishings can help hide everyday clutter such as TV remotes and games controllers, tablets, magazines, and device chargers. Swap simple tables for those with drawers, have baskets, shelves, or tubs to help quickly tidy up toys.
Go through cupboards and drawers, and deal with items you’re no longer using. Things get shoved to the back and forgotten, then before you know it there’s no room for the stuff you are using. If your cupboards are full of items for safe keeping, consider packing them up securely and putting them into self storage. You’ll know they’re safe but have much more room for everyday items.
When you’re considering items for your storage unit, include kitchen appliances you rarely use but want to keep, out of season items such as sports kit and clothing, or garden and DIY tools. Self storage facilities are nearly always located in easy-access places, so fetching items back when you need them isn’t a chore.
Once you’ve cleared your storage areas at home like this, you’ll have lots more space to tuck things away. It’s lovely seeing neat, clean surfaces everywhere, and instantly makes you feel like you can breathe again.
Use All Your Space
Vertical spaces are often overlooked when it comes to storage. You can nearly always fit in an extra shelf or two, even if you think there’s no room.
Primary coloured shelving in kids’ rooms is cheerful and fun as well as providing somewhere for toys and games. Fit them at an appropriate height to help you encourage kids to keep their own rooms tidy.
Awkward areas can suddenly become useful too, with shelving. Under the stairs, over doors, in alcoves or in narrow gaps between kitchen cabinets. If you don’t want shelves running up the walls in the living room, think about a single long one at picture rail height. You could either run it all the way around the room, or just as a feature on one wall. High shelves can be very useful for displaying precious or delicate items you want to keep out of the reach of pets or curious children.
Once you start looking round, leaving behind preconceived ideas, and figuring out different ways of doing things, all kinds of space-saving ideas come to mind. And it can have its own momentum because when you’ve achieved a great look or a new efficiency in one area, you’re keen to do it again somewhere else in the house.
Sometimes, moving house is the only way, but often a simple rethink can make the house you’ve already got become perfect again – and rescue you from all that stress and expense.
