Small Space, Big Impact: Maximizing Every Inch of Your Home

Photo byPatrick PerkinsonUnsplash

Decorating a small home but struggling with limited square footage? Discover the smartest tips to maximize every inch of a tiny space!

Design dilemmas come in all shapes and sizes—some are too small to decorate, others have awkward nooks and crannies. But in no way does that mean you can’t have a beautiful, functional space. It’s all about the right approach (and, of course, a bit of creativity). You just need to figure out the tips to maximize space in a small home—and that’s exactly what we’re here to help you with.

Excited? We are, too! Let’s get started.

Declutter

First things first. Declutter every corner of the home. The drawers, the closets, and all conspicuous places like bookshelves and coffee tables. The more clutter you remove, the more space you’ll create.

Pro Tip—Declutter everything into three piles: keep, sell, and donate. You can also create a “not sure what to do” pile for the things you’re not ready to let go of. Store those items in a hidden compartment and revisit them a couple of weeks later. You’ll be surprised at how much clearer you’ll be about your choices 🥳

Limit Your Color Palette

Choosing the right color scheme for your home is more than just having an eye for aesthetics. Scale matters, too. Smaller homes would feel chaotic with too many colors.

A helpful rule of thumb is to pick a few of your favorite shades and stick to them. We love the 60-30-10 rule, where a primary, neutral color dominates the interior, but there’s still 10% room for bold accents to make the space look playful.

Make the most of Windows.

Windows have the power to open up a room without even adding a single brick—your eye is carried beyond the wall to the outdoor view, incorporating it as part of your space.

Take advantage of this expansive effect by keeping the windows bare, or dress them with treatments that seamlessly blend with the color of the walls. If privacy is a concern, simple shades or blinds (that can be rolled up during the day) are a suitable choice.

Use Mirrors

Hang a large mirror to create the illusion of depth in a room with limited square footage. Even small, basic mirrors can expand the sense of space by reflecting light. However, an oversized mirror will have a particularly dramatic effect because it reflects a large portion of the room.

Small Home Tip: To maximize light, position the mirrors opposite a window or a lamp.

Float Furniture

If you pull the furniture away from the walls (read, float the furniture), you’ll create a sense of movement—and make the room feel bigger. Why? Allowing elbow room between the seating and wall creates the illusion of depth.

This is especially helpful for open-plan homes, where creating zones is important to define the space. Floating the furniture also helps improve flow in a small home—it’s a win-win!

Small Home Tip—Choose low-profile furniture with slim legs. This minimizes obstructions, maintaining an airy feel.

Double Up

Tap into wasted space to create extra seating—and storage room. For example, you can utilize a window seat to create a cozy reading nook and install drawers underneath to make room for knickknacks, like linens, entertaining supplies, and dishes. If built-ins are out of budget for you, consider adding skirts to the seating so you can slide inexpensive storage bins underneath.

Make the room multi-purpose.

Swap out basic furniture for pieces that can serve more than one purpose, such as an ottoman instead of a coffee table—bonus points if it's a storage ottoman! Place a tray on top to corral accessories (and sometimes to offer a place to hold beverages). When needed, the ottoman can double as comfortable seating for extra guests.

If thinking outside the box is your thing, try creative multi-purpose solutions, like...

• Murphy bed with integrated table
• A floor lamp with an attached sofa-side table
• Lift-top coffee tables
• Bookshelf room divider

Avoid visual clutter.

Sure, accessories personalize a space like none other. But too many of them can contribute to visual clutter. When decorating a small home, the key is to focus on a handful of well-chosen, well-placed accessories.

Small Home Tip—Stick to natural display spots, like the fireplace, coffee table, or end table. If you prefer accessories spread across the room, keep the color palette neutral and the walls bare. This allows the shapes (and textures) of the accent pieces to be the focal points.

Maximize every inch.

Treat your home's vertical space as extra square footage. Install bookshelves, floating shelves, mirrors, vertical workstations, or whatever fits the area. Then, utilize this extra room created to store essentials: pots, pans, and other crockery (in the kitchen), jewelry and bags (in the bedroom), towels and toiletry (in the bathroom), books, keys, and pictures (in the living room), and so on.