If you happen to live in a house that has a couple of bedrooms and a garage, perhaps even a basement and/or attic, then you have lots of places to put your “stuff”. And that makes it easy to buy “great deals” when you find them or add to your collection of holiday decorations on a whim.

But what if you don’t have all that space? Where do you put not only the things you love, but your shoes and shirts? And how do you make the space “feel” spacious and comfortable without having stacks of items on every surface?

Here are some great tips to achieve just that:

Create Zones

-Give some thought to the things you do and create space accordingly. Do you need space to work and if so, how much? Would you like a designated space for dining? There has to be a sleep zone, and a zone for relaxing is always nice.

-As you identify these, group your personal belongings accordingly and then incorporate visual cues like paint colors, floor rugs, even pieces of furniture spaced strategically to divide the zones in to their appropriate areas.

Trick Your Eye Into Seeing More Space

-Mirrors are a terrific and simple way to do this. They can be small or large. Wall mounted or sitting on tables. Singular or grouped together. You can place them on the wall at window height to create the illusion that there actually is a window in the spot. It expands the space. You can even put a large mirror on the wall next to the side of  your bed so it looks like an entrance to another room.

-Hang curtain rods at ceiling height and hang curtains that are the full height regardless of where a window starts and stops. The vertical visual creates the illusion of bigger.

-Place your lighting strategically so your eye goes to different heights and locations in the space. You can do this by combining the use of floor lamps, table lamps and wall sconces.

Use Furniture That Multi-Functions

-A bench that also works as a table or tables that can be used as seating. Murphy (or Wall) beds are terrific space savers and the design options offered today are quite diverse. There’s actually a Wall Bed that also serves as a desk. It’s amazing. Here’s a link to a video if you’d like to see it in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1QZCCB6QKw

Build In Storage At Every Opportunity

-Display space is nice, but not as important as storage when space is tight. Keep in mind that you can “go up”, meaning that you can use the walls as “vertical storage” with shelving or cabinetry.

-Using baskets and boxes helps keep things looking nice and stylish while still functional and increasing overall storage capacity.

Combining even a few of these tips into your living space, whether large or small, will help you feel better, find things more easily and live life more stylishly.

And consider customization because custom storage options make use of every inch of space and can be personalized to fit almost any purpose. Give us a call if you’d like some help figuring out custom storage solutions for your living space.