Living big doesn’t mean you need a wide property with a land area that can fit in a pool and a landscaped garden. In fact, it’s mostly a matter of perspective and how you efficiently make use of the space you have.
Even with a narrow block, you can make your two-storey home feel spacious with the right planning. To do this, you can apply the following tips and tricks to help you feel comfortable in your current home and feel as if you live in a cozily wonderful mini castle.
1. Add up a balcony
Adding up a balcony to your second floor will create more floor space for your narrow lot. Moreover, with a balcony, you will also be adding an extra “chill out” space for you, your family, and other guests to enjoy.
A balcony will give you additional square meters of space without affecting your ground level footprint. This means you will still have room for a large backyard or a double garage as well.
2. Take advantage of light
When it comes to a narrow lot, light is your best friend. Good lighting help create an illusion of space, making your home feel bigger than it actually is. To take advantage of light, here’s what you can do:
- Install French doors to open up and allow fresh air and natural light in to make your home feel less constraining and suffocating.
- Hang a mirror or any reflective surface on the wall to bounce light around the room and make it feel larger.
- Utilize glass as much as possible to create a sense of space and light. Bigger is better so opt for larger windows and extensive glass doors to help bring the outside in.
3. Do some spring cleaning
Before you move into your narrow home, you should make sure that you already got rid of items you no longer need. Bringing them along with you to your narrowly-built home will only occupy already limited space. Be practical and throw out items that will only end up as clutter.
4. Keep things off the floor
In a narrow home, you should treat your floor space as a rare commodity. As much as possible, keep your things off the floor and create distance around your furniture. For instance, rather than letting your television sit on a bulky cabinet, you can have it mounted on the wall instead.
You can also think out of the box by making use of multi-functional furniture. These are furniture pieces that serve more than just one purpose like an ottoman or sofa bed with built-in storage. Multi-functional furniture is a smart investment for a narrow lot house where you have already limited space.
5. Integrate an open plan
An open plan style makes a narrow house feel spacious. By opening space upwards or removing walls, you can introduce a feeling of being in a much larger room.
With fewer walls to separate rooms, you can enjoy more natural sunlight which can do wonders in making your home seem more expansive.
6. Avoid hanging dark curtains
Hanging white curtains or drapes in similar light colors as the room help avoid contrast. Alternatively, jolting differences in curtain colors will make a room feel much smaller.
When styling a narrow lot home, you have to keep things simple. Aim to create consistency and symmetry by simply repeating light colors.
7. Utilize attic or under-the-stairs storage
Another clever idea to save space is by storing things in the attic or under the stairs. The benefit of attic storage is that you can store rarely used items like Christmas decorations, old family photos, and even old crockery. For your under-the-stairs storage, you can keep clutter-causing items like small, rarely used appliances, boxes, books, or your ski equipment.
Instead of cramping your garage to store seldom-used items, you can keep them in the attic or under the stairs where you can access them easily. You may also opt to spend a little extra for custom drawers and shelving so that you can have all the storage space you need.
8. Go for a single large statement piece
Be smart when purchasing items for your home. For instance, rather than having five chairs take up the space in a room, pick one large sofa instead. The same technique applies to your art pieces or photographs.
It is a wiser idea to have a single bold focal point on the wall, for example, than drawing the eyes around a room where bits and pieces of everything are crowded.
Consult the pros
Every homeowner has his or her own ideas about how to make the most out of the space they have. However, nothing beats talking to an expert to ensure that your interior design choice goes well with your available space. A custom home design specialist will have experience designing hundreds of homes and the know how to handle any space or design challenges.
With a custom home designer, you can share your ideas and come up with a design that is sure to fit your vision of a dream house no matter how limited the space may be.
