Building a house is many people’s dream. It can be preferable over buying one someone has made all the design choices for. However, cost can be a significant barrier. You might only have enough money to build a small, modest one now before your budget allows for something larger in the future.
While small homes can present a few space challenges, you might be surprised by how creative you can get with your design choices to maximize usable space. If you’re thinking about building a house with a conservative footprint, consider taking these actions:
Buying Multi-Functional Furniture
After using a design and build company like Byrd Design and Build to build your home, you might now be in a position to start furnishing it. Consider buying multi-functional furniture that can perform several functions while only occupying a small amount of space.
For example, an expandable dining table only has to take up a great deal of room when you have guests over. You might also look at sofas with storage chaises. The more requirements your furniture can fulfill, the fewer pieces your home needs to have.
Be Careful With Colors
You’re likely already spending a great deal of time thinking about house colors, but don’t just consider what you like. Think about what will make your house appear larger than it is. A number of interior colors can be worth exploring, like off-white, clean white, pale blue, and taupe. These colors can make your home appear calming, fresh, and open. This can be important when the main areas are quite small. However, knowing which colors can have the opposite effect is just as important. Stay away from dark colors that make walls seem closer together than they really are.
Use Corners
Many homeowners don’t know what to do with the corners in their homes. When space is limited, you can put them to use with specially-designed corner furniture. Corner desks, corner shelving, and corner sofas can all be great ways to use those previously unused corners and free up space in other parts of your house.
Trick Your Brain
You don’t have to have more space to make your brain think you’ve got more space. You can make rooms appear larger by hanging artwork at low heights, buying furniture with long, exposed legs, installing mirrors on the walls, and providing clear pathways from room to room. Sometimes, even opting not to have rugs on your floors can be an excellent way to make rooms look larger than they are. A few additions and removals might make more of a difference than you think.
Opt for Wall Hung
As you’ll be building your own home, you have a great deal of freedom surrounding the fixtures you’ll have within it. If your budget allows, consider wall-hung fixtures and fittings that give you more perceived floor space in a modern bathroom. Floating wall units and wall-hung toilets can sometimes turn a previously cramped bathroom into one with plenty of perceived space.
A large home is undoubtedly more convenient than a small one for many people. However, you might be surprised by how functional a conservative floor plan can be. Take some of these actions above and start enjoying your brand new build.