It’s safe to say that life is always changing. And what was once suitable for you, can often be outgrown. This can be applied to so many areas of life, but one of the most prevalent is your home. From when you first move out of your parent’s home, to when you get your first ‘starter’ home, your needs change. And then, when you have a family, they change again. Even as your family grows you may find that you run out of room pretty quickly. And so, you may want to try and acquire as much space as you can to accommodate that. But when you love where you live, you don’t always want to move. So, adding more space to your home could be more suitable. When you want to add to your curb appeal, this can work too. Let’s take a look at a few options that might help you.
Converting Existing Space To New Uses
Possibly the best option that you have, is to convert some of your unused spaces into space that can be used for what you need it for. Do you use your garage or basement? If not, you could get some more space this way. Maybe a games room, movie room, office, or space for the children to play.
Designing Creative Solutions To Use Space Better
Sometimes there are simple design solutions that can make a big impact. I live in a loft apartment and there are no walls to divide space. However, by strategically hanging curtains around the bed area we've added some privacy. Likewise, I have a bookcase that cuts across a corner that serves to hide storage boxes and I built a photo desk under the stairs that can be used for photography but then covered up with a Japanese screen when not in use to hide my lights and other gear.
Redecorating And De-Cluttering
If you are simply looking to make your existing space more comfortable vs a complete change of purpose then redecorating and de-cluttering is a good option. When we first moved into this apartment, my wife and I had a big leather couch and other items that were simply too bulky. Our TV area looked like a furniture store. After swapping out those items for something more compact - but still super comfortable we had more space and could walk from one side of the room to the other without tripping over objects.
Extending Your Walls
If moving stuff around inside doesn't work - you may want to think about extending your home. This is never the first step since it's a dramatic change to your house, it's going to be messy and expensive. Do you have space to expand? While most American homes sit on lots with plenty of space to build out additional walls, other parts of the world aren't as lucky. For instance, people in London have found a unique solution with house extensions and I'm sure you can find an architect in the US to do something similar for urban spaces. By creating more square footage it adds tons of possibilities to how you can use it. If you can add more room to the living space, you should find that your home and quality of life altogether improves. Speak to an expert contractor to see what can be done here.
Enjoying
Finally, when all of the work is complete, you’re then going to want to make sure that you can actually enjoy your new space. After all, you’ve worked so hard to make it just right, and you’ve dedicated time waiting for it to be ready. It’s always nice to make the most of it when you can. Host dinner parties, make a fuss at regular meal times, have movie nights – do whatever you need to so that you can really get the most of the space you’ve created.
