Living Space:
Consider a pull-out couch in case company comes. Use a coffee table that is open and doesn’t take up visual space. Use pouffs for extra seating or as a foot stool.Â
Bring in plants to “visually round” out room corners. And let in the light!
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you always have to choose small-scale furniture. You don’t want your rooms to look like a dollhouse.
Kitchen:
In a small kitchen, white paint can be your very best friend. It can open up a kitchen like nothing else can and lightens the room. White is usually right, is my motto for big expanses and walls.
Dining Space Or Eating Area:
Bathroom:
The blue just pops against the white walls. This room will surely wake you up!
The blue knobs set the vanity off perfectly. Blue has been sprinkled all around. On the walls, the trash can, the window treatment, etc.
Your eye has the white to rest on, then POP, there is that bright blue to make you smile.
Taking The Plunge:
Don’t let the thought of scaling down to a smaller home intimidate you. Purge the things you don’t really use or have a deep fondness for. Move only what you truly love.Â
Settle into your new digs with the confidence that, should you die, your loved ones won’t be digging through all that clutter in the attic or basement.Â
Selling things you don’t need will beef up your bank account and make you feel more secure.Â
You will have more time to get out and do what you love, because your small space doesn’t take much effort to clean. You have more time to just enjoy life.
And finally: CLEAR THE CLUTTER! Better Yet: TOSS THE USELESS MAIL AS SOON AS YOU BRING IT IN.Â
You will learn all sorts of new ways of making your life easier, and thus, more fulfilling.
Hi. I haven't commented in a long while because we have been moving. My husband found a job back in our hometown in Kentucky and we are so happy to be here. We've rented a small ranch which is the same size as previous homes, under 1200 square feet. But our problem, as usual, is our stuff doesn't fit well in a conventional house with its walls and little rooms. We have a lot of hobby stuff that requires some work tables and shelves. My dream is to have a very small living/kitchen/sleeping area connected to very large garage or loft or barn where all of the hobby stuff could go. In the meantime, I'll visit here for some creative solutions to small space issues.
This is a great post! We have embraced the "less is more" idea and we couldn't be happier! I love the coziness of smaller homes. These idea are so pretty!!
I love white and light. More storage and less clutter are also definite winners. xo Laura
Our home isn't all that big but it's our dream home and to some, it might not seem in the "dream home" category but to us it is and we are thanful. I often think back to one particular house I lived in as a child. Two bedroom, one bath. Probably about 600 sq. ft……maybe, maybe less. It had a front and back screened in porch. I loved playing in that house, especially those porches. I was ages 3 – 10, when we lived there and it was late 1950's to early 1960's. Such a simple time. When I see a house similar to that old house, I tell my husband how I would love to have a house like that for our golden years. Funny what life does. We grow up in some homes that are small, that don't have central heat and air, that had wooden floors instead of fancy carpet and we can't wait to leave. Then when we finally have our "dream home", we want what we use to have. As a teenager, I remember thinking that my friends who lived in brick homes with central heat and a/c and carpet, were rich people!
some great ideas and lovely pictures. Storage always seems to be an issue for us.
LOVE LOVE LOVE the bathroom!
Love the ideas…except I hated my banquette in my kitchen, it's now sitting in my basement hoping someone will buy it off craigslist, I also paid big bucks for it. But I did like the storage it provided. What I didn't like is 1) we like arm chairs, and 2) you can't move them around. My furniture never sits in the same spot more than 3 months. I love the kitchen…love small space posts.
The first pic is the best because they bought curtains to match their kitty! 🙂 🙂
Thought I love that kitchen…to me that is a large kitchen, lol..I'll take it! 🙂
I'm in love with that kitchen.. I am already deleting a few things from mine.. Seems like I went from no decor to too much so I'll scale that back this weekend;
that bathroom is adorable and would sure help you wake up in the mornings.
Brenda…..small is much more comfortable to me than grand. Good photo example choices.
My house isn't all that big and I used to think I wanted a bigger one, but now that I'm older I am glad I don't. I still need to declutter. I started that job some time ago, but got sidetracked and need to get back at it. After seeing what my cousin has to deal with when my aunt and uncle passed last month, I'm determined not to let that happen to my children! He will be months and months going through everything.
Cheryl, I help a friend with her estate sale business. That has opened my eyes to de-cluttering before my kids have to do it someday.
I am in love with that bathroom!! lol..
I loved all these images Brenda!
Growing up in a cluttered house made me not want to have clutter around me. I think that is another way to make a space not look as small as it is. My house is always neat (not always clean) because just a couple things left out make our small space look even smaller.
Adding a window seat, with storage, made a huge difference in our dining room. We have the seating without the clutter of lots of chairs.
Where did you move your buffet?
i love all the pretty ways you shared to enhance a smaller home. I know SO many people that have held on to their large house after they've become empty nesters and it doesn't make any sense to me. Then they complain about how much work there is to maintain it. I like the cozy factor of a smaller home myself. My grandparents did it right though. They both downsized dramatically and were able to enjoy life in their elder years.