Having a new home means figuring out how to get the most out of your space. You can easily create more room by following a few simple tips. It's even possible to literally add more space if you find that you need it. These changes will have a big impact, and they will make your house feel like it is less cluttered and more open, making it a home.

Add Shelving

Shelves are a great investment because they can be used for multiple purposes. Adding bookshelves can mean creating a place for reading material to be visible and easily accessible. Adding storage shelves offers a chance to place items out of the way when they are not in use. You can even add shelves in your closet to store clothes if you don't want to waste space with a chest of drawers. The possibilities are endless, and the overall effect is of more living space. Adding shelves can be a DIY project, or you can hire someone if the design you need is more complicated. Identify what you want the shelves to be used for so you will choose the best configuration for your home. There are even shelves that lean gently against a wall and take up very little space. They resemble small, decorative ladders and are great for holding towels or other bathroom paraphernalia without taking up too much space. Make sure any shelves you choose are installed correctly and properly attached so they won't tip over on anything or anyone. Once secured, start stacking them with whatever you'd like to display.

Add Another Garage

If one garage is a good idea, what about two? If you need two garages to park your cars, you can even add a third. Adding a garage gives you the opportunity to create a space outside of your home that can work for storage or productivity. There are different types of garage designs that you can look at depending on if you need space for storage, your vehicles or for a workshop. Choosing the right design will help you maximize your space, no matter how you want to use it. An extra garage also leaves the interior of your home more spacious since your tools or storage boxes will be outside. Everything is still easily accessible, but you've made more room inside. Using a garage to store recreational vehicles is a great investment since they stay in better condition while covered by a garage. You will also avoid the cost of a long-term off-site storage facility. Many people have found an extra garage is the perfect place for their side hobby or business to flourish, and they create a space for this exact purpose.

Make the Closet Multitask

Closets are perfectly tucked away little nooks that can do so much more than just hold our clothes. Whether you have a walk-in closet or a small room for the basics, it can be transformed to do more work and free up other space in your house. Turning closets into mini office nooks is the current trend, and it's not difficult to do. You can use a desk that hooks to the wall and folds up when not in use. Pull up a chair when you need a designated place to work and remove it when you are finished. You don't need another space of your home to serve as an office, and a closet nook doesn't take up much room when it's not in use. It's also possible to create a fun reading nook for kids within the closet. Add a bean bag, twinkle lights, a few blankets, and wonderful books, and you have a hideout any child will love.

Keep Your Space Tidy

Even if you have a home with a ton of space, clutter is going to make it look small and messy. The more items that are strewn about without a proper place, the less open room you have to actually live and move in your home. Create routines that keep your space tidy and follow through with them. Have a designated place for every item, and don't purchase items unless you know where they are going to go when you bring them home. Keep counters and floors uncluttered and do any tidying that doesn't take more than five minutes the second you notice that it needs to be done.

Invest in Mirrors

You can create an illusion of space that is spectacular simply by using mirrors in your home. Placing a large mirror behind a couch looks classic while also opening up an entire room because of the reflection. It also uses up dead space on the walls. Mirrors make wonderful headboards, and you can buy window style mirrors to hang that will have visitors sure they are looking into another room. It will take time for them to realize they are looking at your room reflected back at them. Mirrored closet doors add to the function of your home, while making a space seem larger. Don't be afraid of large mirrors. They reflect more space and open up the feel of any room instantly.

Store Out-of-Season Items

You won't need your bulky winter sweaters in July, so store them. Bathing suits should not clutter your drawers in December, so make sure they don't waste space in your drawers. Under your bed is a great place for items that you don't want to get rid of but that can't be used at this particular time. Storage boxes make it easy to fold up clothes or other items and slide them under the bed until they are needed. Label the containers so you can quickly find what you need. You will have more room throughout your home when you give out-of-season items a specific location away from items you use every day. Clothes are not the only items that can be stored. Seasonal items and keepsakes can go in boxes until they are needed or passed down to the person they are being held for in the future.

Use Furniture With Storage Functions

Look for furniture that does more for you than simply offers a place to sit. There are ottomans on the market now that work as furniture as well as storage. You can place remote controls, game controllers and chargers within their storage compartments. You will be able to locate them easily and keep your room from appearing cluttered with remotes. Some people even decide to purchase less furniture if they can store things in the furniture they have. This means you might have an open space where a table would be, and this makes your house look larger.

Play With Light

Walk into the lighting section of any store and prepare to feel overwhelmed. Where do you start when there are so many types of lights to choose from? Consider your space and your needs, and this will help narrow down your choices and create more space in your home. Floor lamps don't take up much space and can be tucked into a corner. Wall lamps are also a lifesaver if you don't want to make room on a table or on the floor for other types of lighting. They attach to the wall, scatter light beautifully, and save your prime floor space for other items. Let in natural light, and don't be afraid to move a lamp around until you make sure it is adding the most space to your room. A lamp should reflect light off your walls and make your room feel larger if it's placed well.

Identify Non-Essentials

There are out of season items and then there are don't really need the items. Identifying non-essentials and getting rid of them is a great way to make more space in your home. Ideally, you will do this as you are packing up your previous home, so you don't drag unneeded items into your new place. However, it's never too late. If you land at your new home with non-essentials, get rid of them. People use different rules to decide what is essential and what isn't. There's Mario Kondo's advice to keep only what sparks joy. There's the belief that something should be beautiful or useful to stay. There's even the concept of Swedish death cleaning, where we throw out anything, we don't want our relatives or friends to have to sift through after we die. You need to decide for yourself what method works for you and what you want to keep. Once you know what you don't want around, donate non-essentials to make room for what you can't live without in your home.

Hide the Cords

Cords running from electronics take up more space than you may realize. They look messy and leave parts of the floor unavailable for use. Luckily, you can purchase items to help you hide the cords or hire someone to put them behind your walls. A room without cords hanging everywhere looks much tidier and doesn't detract from the space in the room. Your eye won't be drawn to cord clutter if you strategically hide your cords. Though this can be a DIY project if you want to make it, don't try to hide cords yourself if you're unsure and afraid of electrical issues. There are plenty of professionals who offer these services. They can also mount items, such as televisions, to the wall at the same time to give you more floor space. It's a simple way to leave your entire home looking more spacious.

Design a Bed With Living Options

A child's room may feel cramped, so don't use a traditional bed and take up too much floor space. Use a top bunk only to create a desk space underneath. It's also possible to purchase top bunks with storage built in so kids will have a place to sleep, store and work all in one. This contained situation doesn't feel cramped, simply organized and purposeful. A top bunk creation that does more than one job leaves the rest of a child's room open for play, and no kid is going to complain about that. Decide before purchasing or creating your own exactly what roles you want this bed space to play. Make sure you customize your creation or purchase to your child's needs. If you need a typical bunk bed with a bed on top and bottom, you can still maximize space since the beds are stacked. It's also possible to use hanging holders on the end of each bed to keep books, flashlights and anything else a child might need to turn a bed into a nighttime sanctuary.

Paint Strategically

A simple coat of paint can make a room look bigger and create more space in the eyes of those within it. You can paint an entire room the white with no undertones and simply jazz up the room with accessories in whatever colors you like. Since white reflects light and offers you a blank canvas to start from, it makes a room feel bigger. Accent walls also give rooms a larger look, and all you need to do is paint one wall a darker color than the other walls in the room. It's an illusion that works. You can also skip painting your walls altogether and simply paint your ceiling. Make your ceiling a lighter color than the walls, and it will feel like you have high ceilings and a larger home. It's also possible to go the opposite of light and add a spacious feel to a room. Painting every wall in a room in a dark color can make it feel more uniform and larger. Even sticking to colors within the same color family can give you a way to accent parts of the room and draw attention to details in a way that makes it feel bigger.

Use the Corners

The corners where the walls meet in your home are not dead spaces. You can find shelves that are made to fit in these corners and use them for storage or design purposes. This approach may make your room look less symmetrical, but that is not a problem. If it keeps items off the floor and makes it possible for you to rid yourself of tables that take up too much floor room, it's worth it. Decide how many corner shelves you need and what you will place on them. Measure well so you place them far enough apart from top to bottom to accommodate the items you need them to hold. You can do this in any room in your home and magically create space out of what feels like thin air.

Hang Pegboards

Pegboards are wonderful tools that can be used to store items or to display decor. Pegboards used in the garage can hold tools and clear off space on the ground. Used in the home, they can keep everything you need for crafting or office work available without making it necessary to clutter up a desk or table to hold supplies. Use pegboards in more than one room and on more than one wall if you choose. You won't need extra space to store small items, and if arranged well, pegboards can add pizzazz to any room while also making more space. Pegboards can even help you create your own space for whatever hobby you enjoy. You don't need an extra room designated for crafting or whatever your hobby happens to be. Strategically placed pegboards mean you can create space for what you enjoy anywhere in your home without investing in furniture that consumes space.

Open Windows

Technically, you don't have to open your windows to receive the benefit of a bigger looking room. You can simply open the blinds or pull back the drapes or curtains. Doing so will add extra light to a room as well as making it look opened to the outside world or extended. Keeping a room completely closed off by having window covers closed gives a more claustrophobic feel to a room. A cheap, simple way to make it look like your room keeps going is to simply open up coverings and leave them open all day. You can close them at night before bed. Of course, if you want some fresh air and don't mind outside noise, actually opening your windows also gives your home a spacious feel. Pull back the curtains and crack open the windows to circulate fresh air through your home and create a connection between the inside and the outside world.

No matter the size of your new home, you can make it more spacious with tried tips and tricks that really work. Plan your space carefully and only keep what you truly want in your home. Don't be afraid to add more room when needed, and enjoy the cozy feeling you have as it all comes together.

If you are looking to list your home for sale, contact me for a free consultation!