Space-Saving Tips for Your Home

By Cathy Hobbs | January 15th, 2024

Make the most of smaller spaces


A glass top dining table helps to add a light element to this dining area. (Handout/TNS)

Baby boomers who are downsizing may move from a spacious, roomy house to a smaller, more compact space. These space-saving tips from Cathy Hobbs of Design Recipes can help transform a new house into a beloved home or simply maximize space and aesthetics in an existing home.


With space at a premium, many people are looking to maximize their home environment as much as possible. Whether it’s to accommodate a home office or in-home classroom space for children or just create extra space to relax and unwind, maximizing one’s home foot print is more important than ever.

The reality is, there are certain shapes that lend themselves better than others as far as saving space. Knowing how to make a space feel bigger as opposed to closed in and stuffed can also hinge on selecting pieces of the right shape and material. When looking to maximize space, here are some tips to help get you started. The strategies work together to create delightful, eye-catching works of art.

Space-saving tips

Colors

  • Light colors as opposed to dark colors or dark tones will help to make as space feel more open, spacious and fresh.
Coffee tables in an usual shape help to add elegance and save space in this living room. (Handout/TNS)
Coffee tables in an usual shape help to add elegance and save space in this living room. (Handout/TNS)

 

Be transparent

  • Mirrors can help to make ceilings feel taller and higher.
  • Select glass as opposed to wood for surfaces. Glass and transparency automatically add a sense of airiness to a space. In the feature image (above), the glass top dining table helps to add a light element.
Living room with mirror walls. Select glass as opposed to wood for surfaces. Glass and transparency automatically add a sense of airiness to a space. Mirrors can help to make ceilings feel taller and higher, part of a use of space-saving tips.
Hanging mirrors or artwork vertically can help low ceilings feel taller. Credit: Handout/TNS

 

Shape it up

  • Round shapes as opposed to those that are rectangular or square help to preserve space and make a room feel more spacious.
Hanging mirrors or artwork vertically can help low ceilings feel taller. (Handout/TNS)
A round kitchen table helps to make an eat-in kitchen feel less crowded. Credit: Handout/TNS

 

  • Artwork hung vertically can help to add height to a space.
A living room in an old home with space-saving shapes.
Space saving shapes such as a round dining table and coffee tables help to make a living room feel more open and spacious. Credit: Handout/TNS

 

  • Experimenting with a unique shape can potentially help to preserve space in a room.
A sectional sofa provides seating without overcrowding this living room. (Handout/TNS)
A sectional sofa provides seating without overcrowding this living room. (Handout/TNS)

 

Other space-saving home tips

  • Raising the location of where drapery is hung above a window can help add a sense of volume to a space.
  • Using furniture of a smaller scale can help to preserve space.
  • A single piece of furniture to “ground” a space can help to prevent a room that may feel cluttered or cramped.
  • In a children’s room, single nightstands or desks can serve as a space saving technique.

Related: Simple decorating strategies when downsizing and minimizing


Cathy Hobbs, based in New York City, is an Emmy Award-winning television host and a nationally known interior design home staging expert and short-term rental/vacation home designer with offices in New York City and The Hudson Valley. Contact her at info@cathyhobbs.com or visit her website at cathyhobbs.com.

©2024 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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