How to make your home feel bigger

Does your house feel smaller than it is? ​

​Does your house feel small and claustrophobic? We can’t all afford to live in large houses. In fact, many choose small houses, they’re easier to clean and cheaper to run. Houses are shrinking in size in many cities as land and construction costs increase. But we can make small houses appear and feel larger.
​#homerenovationideas #homeimprovementtips ​#smallhouses #tinyhomes

"we can make small houses appear and feel larger."

How you can make your home feel larger

• As discussed in our article Simple Ways to Improve Your House Part 1 - Creating More Space, we can add storage (Creating more space in your home with extra storage)and reduce the size of furniture. Do you need a large table at the entrance or could a narrow one be equally as good? Could we make do with a smaller dining room table – maybe one that extends when necessary for bigger gatherings?

"Light reflects and bounces off white making rooms appear larger."

• Dark walls, carpets, countertops and cupboards make rooms appear smaller. Paint your walls, trim and detailing different shades of white. Light reflects and bounces off white making rooms appear larger.

"Be clever with the way you use space"

• Even dark furniture makes a room feel full, even cluttered. Have the basics light coloured and then add splashes of bright colour as an accent. 

Case study: We moved lots of furniture from one home to our next home. The house we left had large rooms which were very light and the house had an Italian style, so we had lots of large solid wood furniture. The new house was slightly smaller, it had a modern style, but some parts of the house were dark. The large items of dark wood furniture looked out of place. I bought a can of white paint and painted the bookcases and desk white. The stools in the kitchen got a coat of silver paint. Suddenly the furniture brightened the room and suited the modern style of the house.

• Consider hanging large mirrors in the entrance, in the main bedroom and in the bathrooms. Careful not to overdo the mirrors though!
• Be clever with the way you use space. Is there an unused corner, or place under stairs or under washbasins that’s not properly utilised?

• Relook at window treatments. Heavy dark curtains protruding into the room take up space and make the room appear smaller. Installing blinds or shutters that sit within the window opening requires less space, it’s neater, and if they are in light colours they help brighten the room. Choosing Window Coverings for Your Home
• Mount things like the television set on the wall.
• Use furniture that has additional storage, like beds with drawers under them and tables with shelves underneath.

• "Make your outdoor area a secondary living space."

• Make the outdoors part of your house. If you have a patio or veranda, how does it connect to the house? Doors that open back wide makes the outdoor space feel part of the indoor entertaining area, especially if the floor finish on the veranda is the same (or similar) as the indoor space, or it looks like an internal floor finish. Consider how you can use the veranda more by for instance covering it with a roof, extending it, covering the floor with tiles, installing a ceiling fan for summer and a heater for winter, and perhaps, zip down insect screens or blinds. Not only is the veranda an addition to the indoor space, but with doors wide open it appears as though the house extends out further than it does. Make your outdoor area a secondary living space.
• Make better use of a balcony in the same way.

• Adding skylights can brighten rooms.

Advantages of small houses

We can't all live in large houses. They are often unavailable, or certainly very expensive. But large houses cost more to cool and heat. They require more cleaning. While smaller homes are usually more sustainable, taking less resources to build. It's not necessary to live in a large house if you use the available space wisely. Do you need a large house?

​Small rooms and small houses can be made to appear bigger by installing more storage and using some of the tips above to maximise space and make the rooms appear larger.

What tips do you have to make small houses appear bigger?
 
Happy remodelling and renovating.
#homeconstruction #homeimprovement #homestorage ​

Other Useful Articles:
Are you wasting money or adding value with your home renovation?
​Simple Tips to Make Your Small Home Feel Like A Big Space
7 Tips for Home Renovation on a Budget

​This is an extract from the author's book  'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses: Volume 2 - Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home' 
​© 2022 This article is not to be reproduced for commercial purposes without written permission from the author.

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Want to learn more about designing, renovating and building houses?

​Paul Netscher has written 2 easy to read books 'An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses - Volumes 1 and 2'. An Introduction to Building and Renovating Houses Volume 1 deals with Hiring Contractors, Managing Construction and Finishing Your Home.  and Designing your ideal home Volume 2 deals with Finding Your Ideal Property and Designing Your Dream Home. 
​("Great for those that DIY. Very helpful in home renovations!" said a Reader on Amazon.com 5*****)
These books are available from Amazon and other online bookstores in paper and ebook.

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