Adding More Space to An Existing Small Home

When you are looking at a home remember there are ways to add MORE space to a small house. One way is to use a GARAGE for that added space. Instead of having to move to a larger home later the GARAGE can become an office, a recreational area, a guest room, etc. Even our garage when I was a kid had a bathroom. Another solution are those STORAGE facilities like my guy here has at Mr Store It. He has one structure that is 15'x 45' but they go down to 10'x 12'. I saw one that was designed like a barn with even a loft. Hugh Simpson

Clutter & Living in Small Spaces

One way you can successfully live in a SMALL space is get rid of CLUTTER! I am continually battling what I call CLUTTER in the SMALL ONE ROOM space I live in. It creeps up on me and every WEEK I try to unclutter my space. It sure helps so it does not pile up! I watch Love It or List It regularly on HGTV. In the majority of the cases the people who live in the home are CLUTTER bugs. Once Hillary puts in STORAGE areas it seems to amaze the owners how organized the house has become! So before you bemoan and whine about how SMALL your space is DECLUTTER it! Hugh Simpson

COLOR & Living In Small Spaces

Yes, COLOR can be very helpful when you are wanting to make a SMALL space appear LARGER. One trick is to paint one wall in a BOLD INTENSE color and the others in a NEUTRAL color or ALL-WHITE which will which looks like there has been an increase in the dimension of the area. You can also use a COLORFUL RUG to liven up a drab room and helps create an illusion of depth. A SINGLE color scheme through connecting spaces creates the FLOW through the spaces. Next post shows some of the benefits of living in small spaces from a FINANCIAL point of view. Hugh Simpson

Furnishing Can Make Small Spaces Appear Larger

Yes the SIZE of your furnishings can help to make the space look LARGER. For instance,in the LIVING ROOM area if you use LOW profile furniture it keeps the view from being blocked. This especially works nicely when you have OPENESS in your space. Another trick is using GLASS tops instead of SOLID wood or stone ones. What happens is that it opens up small spaces. Also when furniture is UNSKIRTED this creates an illusion of DEPTH. Finally using LARGE scale furniture in a small space makes the room look LARGER. So using furnishings can make your living space appear larger. Next post using COLOR makes the living space appear LARGER Hugh Simpson

OPENESS Makes Small Spaces Appear LARGER

I LOVE OPENESS! I grew up in a small bungalow in Jacksonville, Florida with a Mom who was an self employed interior designer. Our only place that was totally open was our large screen porch. The rest of the house were small rooms with wall openings and doors. Of course this was pretty standard for bungalows in the 1950s. My other site at Barefoot Homes Design shows homes with OPENESS especially the combination of living, dining and kitchen area. Today most people like this OPENESS and like entertaining family and friends. I like the flow of INSIDE to OUTSIDE patio areas with fire pits. Yes taking out walls is NOT cheap and has to be handled by LICENSED PROFESSIONALS. You can create OPENESS by removing part of the wall between rooms creating at least open spaces in the wall. Next post we will look at using FURNITURE to create an illusion of more OPENESS and LARGER space. Hugh Simpson

Welcome!

I LOVE living in small spaces! I am a lifetime single guy who has NEVER owned his own home. I have been very fortunate to barter the majority of my living quarters over the years. I have lived in one room in a house. I have also lived in a 40 room home that had been the summer home of the Woolworth family and I had been asked to caretake it for the owners. NEVER again as I would rather live in a SMALL space any day! I have even lived very comfortably in a 170 square foot tent as part of my Tent Living project you can see at my XtremePreparedness web site. I also plan to live in a hammock soon! I think I qualify to offer you tips on living in small spaces. Hugh Simpson