Design Tips to Make a Small House Feel Larger

Well I’ve struggled with what advice I should give you all. I’ve been through the remodel process now and I’ve supervised at least a dozen others in the past year. I have a wealth of advice to give you so if you have any particular questions just ask. Leave a message for me on our blog.

The most consistent compliment we get on our home is how cool it is for a little house. Our house is just over 1100 sq.ft. but because of a few things we have done it feels much larger. I thought I would give you all a few tips on how to maximize your space and make your home feel much larger than it actually is.

First here are a few to trick the eye and make the space feel larger.

1. Use similar objects to make your eye go from one space to the other. This can be achieved with simply aligning the trim through one space into the other. Or you can paint things the same color so that your eye reads this as one big field.

2. Use the old adage bring the outside in to full effect. Its true, it works, and it couldn’t be easier. Make your outdoor spaces mimic your indoor spaces. Match as many materials, textures, and color as you can.

3. Layer spaces to create visual interest in the overall volume of a house. That wall doesn’t always have to go to the ceiling, pull it down a little and let the ceiling plane continue to the next space.

Here are some space saving ideas we used.

1. Built ins, Built ins, Built ins. One of the great things about doing your own remodel is that you can build built ins that function for there specific task. We built in our closets and dressers as one

2. Use drawers on you lower kitchen cabinets. It makes it much easier to use every available inch of cabinet space when you don’t have to get on your hands and knees to get to that back shelf.
A few general things that help our house feel large.

1. The biggest advantage our little house has is its abundance of natural lighting. We have 24 windows in our little house, which allows us to use the space framed by our landscaping.

2. Our house wastes very little space for circulation. We dont have long hallways to get to rooms, you walk through each space to enter another. You would be suprised at how much space a hallway take up.

3. You have to have very minimal clutter, you can’t be pack rat. One of the quickest ways to make a house feel small is allowing to much buildup of objects .

If you have any other space saving tips, or you see anything else on our blog you like and want me to comment on just ask. There are different opportunities that present themselves throughout the remodel process and those are the things that make or break a project. So when the opportunity arises go for it.