Creating Maximum Space In Your Living Area

We all need space. Whether for relaxing, entertaining, playing, working, cooking, eating, or indulging in your favorite hobby, we need room to spread out. While you can’t magically expand the walls in your home, creating maximum space in your living area is well within your reach. As well as our single-family homes, Cothran Homes builds townhomes throughout the Greenville, South Carolina, area, so we have experience in making the most of every square foot of living space. Start with de-cluttering. When you look through magazines, you probably see perfectly organized, professionally styled rooms. Everything is in its place. It’s appealing, isn’t it? These rooms take a minimalist approach by removing all extraneous objects. You can do the same. Clutter causes a space to look smaller than it is. Look around your living area and pinpoint the areas that gather too much stuff. Put it all in a box and then re-start your decorating, putting back only the items that add to your ambience. Subscribe to the “less is more” philosophy. Apply the same approach to your décor. Reduce the number of photos in your room. Choose your favorites. Swap them out occasionally. Set a goal for yourself, like “I will reduce the clutter in this room by 30%” or “I will purge the things that aren’t worthy of my valuable space.”Create small spaces within a larger one. The open floor plan is popular because it allows for easy flow from the living room to the kitchen and dining area. Without the walls that close in these rooms, you can use the living space any way you’d like. Set up a corner of the room as a reading, homework, or hobby area. Define each nook with task lighting and an area rug.Respect your closet space. Here’s another space that is poorly utilized. From pantries and linen closets to bedroom and storage closets, you could likely make better use of these vital areas. Many closets become repositories of items we just don’t want to deal with at a given moment. Throw it in the closet. The less that item is used, the farther back it goes—which means it has little or no value.One closet at a time, empty the content. Everything! Evaluate what you have. Discard any expired products (medications, foods). Donate clothing, accessories, toys, linens, and other things that are in good condition but have out-lived their use in your home.If you need more room, fill underbed storage boxes with anything that you use only occasionally, like seasonal clothing or holiday décor.As you replace the contents of each closet, organize them. Put smaller items in boxes or baskets, with a label identifying them (Snacks, Soap, Socks). Then, before you resume tossing things in your organized closet, ask yourself, “Does this belong here?”Think “multi-purpose”. Look for furnishings that serve more than one purpose, like an ottoman with storage. Choose a coffee table and occasional tables with drawers or shelves, rather than just a solid surface. Use vertical space. You can use your walls for more than artwork. Place decorative hooks and hang baskets that you can fill with towels, keys, mail, small toys, magazines, and other items that clutter your horizontal spaces. Use over-the-door hangers or attach hooks to doors (bathroom, closet, laundry room) to get clothing and towels off the floor and counters. Get creative with wall shelves, like attaching open cubes and making shelves out of game boards.You can surround yourself with the pieces of your life that make you happy, without overdoing it. When you’re ready to explore a total change of place, look at Cothran Homes’ communities, floor plans, and move-in ready new construction homes. Then talk to us about maximizing the joy you get from your living space!