Those who have been home this summer may have noticed the lack of order within their homes. As the fall season approaches with an unprecedented school year, it’s time to cultivate calm orderliness. Whether by doing it yourself or with the aid of a professional, small and large home spaces alike can reach their potential. Multifunctionality and simplicity go a long way when it comes to home organizing and maximizing. With the right knowledge, any home can feel large, open, and unique.
The first thing to consider when organizing and maximizing small spaces is what the space will be used for, says Marci Kuver, designer and owner of The Stage Home Staging and Design. Keep functionality and personal style in mind when visualizing possibilities.
“Any time that you are trying to maximize space, it means you need to have some organization and there are some great decorative ways to organize that can be out in the open for the eye to see and they still look neat and they still look purposeful,” says Kuver.
It’s common for the bedrooms of homes to be the most cluttered and out-of-balance, says Kara Gidley, designer and owner of House of Five Design. Many people use their bedrooms as a catch-all space, especially when there are guests.
“It’s easy to shut off and close the door, and I think a lot of times people forget that you want your bedroom to be somewhere that’s relaxing and an escape,” says Gidley. “You don’t want it to be filled with clutter and you’re trying to find stuff all the time.”
Online resou
rces like Pinterest are helpful for gathering ideas and discovering possibilities. An e-design consultation with a design professional can provide a map for the ideal end goal and how to get there from the comfort of your home, says Gidley.
Apart from online tools and hourly rates that professional organizers work by, start by pre-organizing, says Kuver. By assessing the pre-organized space, one can truly begin to visualize and determine how much storage will be necessary. After pre-organizing, it’s time to purchase, she says.
A key component to organizing and maximizing small spaces is to keep it in scale with the room, says Kuver. Based on the dimensions of a room, people can determine which furniture would match the scale of the room best. Sales representatives at furniture stores are equipped to find what you’re looking for when you know dimensions, she says. The goal is for furniture to be proportional to the room in question.
Just as important is the color, openness, and lighting of a room. Go vertical with storage and decor, say both Kuver and Gidley. Utilizing the full height of the wall is going to make the space feel larger. Light or neutral-colored walls and ceilings paired with mirrors reflecting light sources will make a space feel larger, they agree. Achieve a feeling of grandness with windows by placing a curtain rod just below the ceiling, measuring the curtain to barely touch the floor, says Kuver.
“Allowing as much natural light to come in is really important, so if you’ve got a window or two, allow those windows to really provide you with the illusion of more space,” says Kuver.
For those who have limited mobility, adding decor, storage, and shelving should still be done vertically, says Kuver. However, it would be beneficial to customize their space to tailor to their needs and preferences.
“Anything higher than where you can stand and lift your arms comfortably, make that decorative, says Kuver. “And keep your storage and your organizational pieces at your eye to lower level, just to make it easier on you as a person to bring down and put back up.”
Bryan College Station has a lot of home good stores to explore when organizing and maximizing home spaces, such as Home Goods, At Home, Target, and Walmart, says Kuver. Memberships and couponing for these stores can go a long way for those on a budget, she says. Streamline purchases and be willing to shop around for home goods, such as baskets.
“If that’s pricey and you need to save elsewhere, you can try to shop more smartly on your decorative items at a better time,” says Kuver. “Spend your money on what you absolutely need, but then what you want but don’t need, leave that to the end.”
Revamping and changing up the tone of a living space is a journey of expression. The result of understanding space, contemplating style and personality, and working towards a vision is the fresh sense of order unique to the homeowner.
