For five years, our family of four lived in a 100 year old cottage, which was about 7 squares in total.
That’s pretty tiny when you consider the average four bedroom brick and tile is at least 20 squares!
There was barely room to swing a cat, yet we managed to live happily, stylishly and comfortably.
Not surprisingly, along the way we learned a lot about stylish storage ideas and even found some benefits of tiny house living!
If you are living in a small house, here are some of our top tips to help you decorate and optimise your storage solutions.
Dual Purpose Furniture. Choose furniture that serves a dual purpose where possible. For example, in our lounge room we had a big foot stool that served as extra seating AND the top came off, revealing valuable storage space inside (we kept our photos and albums inside). We also used a cane chest as a coffee table, and one of our sofas pulled out into a double bed for visitors.
In the master bedroom, consider having a murphy bed – one that folds up into a cupboard or wall during the day, when not in use. (We had one in our caravan when travelling Australia, and it’s a fantastic space saver. Plus, you don’t have to make the bed! We just chucked the pillows up on the shelf, straightened out the quilt and folded it away each morning).
Inspiration at Ikea. The footstool I mentioned in the above tip? It came from Ikea! Ikea really are the experts when it comes to decorating small houses. Jump on their website, check out their annual catalogue, or visit a showroom, for heaps of inspiration on how to make small space living, work!
A Clear Winner. Glass shelves help to keep a feeling of space, while providing space for knick-knacks, and other items. We bought a heap of glass shelves for next to nothing from the recycling shop at our local tip which the hubster installed in the living room – they were worth their weight in gold!
the foot stool works as an extra seat 🙂
Utilise Caravan Technology. Caravans and RV’s can also provide you with nifty ideas for making the most of a small space – beds that lift up revealing storage underneath; or even just beds with drawers underneath. The dining room in our small house was so tiny – and was also a thoroughfare to the only bathroom, plus the back deck – so we ended up ditching our dining table, and attaching an old door to the wall. The door was narrower than a table, and by attaching it to the wall, we gained extra space to more easily access the sliding glass door to the deck.
is the bathroom. Told you it was a small house!
Get Hooked. We had hooks behind every door, and on many walls. Each one serving a valuable purpose – a place to store robes, belts, saucepans, towels, bags, … well you get the idea.
Think UP! Our worker’s cottage had high ceilings but even in a regular height room, think about how you could use the space that is up high. We added kitchen cupboards above the bench tops as previously there were none. Hubster also installed a shelf above the glass sliding door to the deck, so I still had somewhere to display family photos in frames.
Rearrange Your Wardrobe. Have you ever thought about how much vertical space is wasted in most wardrobes? Double your storage by re-jigging the hanging rails so that you can fit two rails, one above the other – because let’s face it, most of our clothes are shirts, skirts or pants (which can be folded over a hanger) and don’t take much room vertically. Check out our wardrobe makeover here.
A Fold Out Ironing Board. Hubster is quite the handyman, and transformed the back of our bedroom door into a handy ironing station! If you don’t have a handy person in the family, you can buy fold out ironing board systems.
Kids Bedrooms. Bunk beds and loft beds are great for saving space – and the bonus is that the kids love them!
What about Bright or Dark Paint? We were told to steer clear of dark or bright paint as it would make the house look smaller. I’m so glad we ignored the experts! We loved our colour scheme – aqua walls with a milky coffee colour trim and thought it really brought the decor of the whole house together. So if you think it might work, give it a try – you might just be pleasantly surprised!
Yes, living in a small space can be a challenge, but I’m here to tell you – it can also be lots of fun coming up with creative and stylish ways to make it work!
Do you have any other great stylish storage ideas for small houses?!
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