These Tips Will Help as You’re Maximizing Small Spaces in Your Home
Without further hesitation, confined rooms can give you an undesirable, stifling aura of claustrophobia. Surely, you have wondered how to turn those overly cramped spaces to light-filled, spacious interior zones. At Bright Windows, we list some of the most pragmatic tips on how you can free up and maximize the small spaces of your home.
Maximize Window-to-Wall Ratio
Turn your dim rooms to expansive interior spaces by simply switching from low to high window-to-wall ratio. Artificial lighting costs aside, do keep in mind that a low ratio is a no-no, especially if you are aiming for an energy-efficient measure. By merely tearing down an approximate square area of your blank walls to open up block-outs for your window units, you can welcome natural light even into the darkest corners of your home.
This simple exposure move on renovation or retrofitting can garner your home an impending 180° functional and cost-effective aesthetic change. From dimly-lit to sunlit rooms, you can now enjoy the energy savings from your lighting costs and revel in the feeling of openness – all because you have maximized your small spaces using this design principle.
Utilize Vertical Space
Just because your home scores low on floor area, doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t turn to its vertical counterparts such as walls to compensate for the lack of abundant square footage. Put those blank walls to good use by adding tall bookcases and features artworks higher than the eye level to achieve an illusion of a higher ceiling.
Since advanced glazing technology can now turn your custom window concepts to reality, the staple floor-to-ceiling windows should be on your must-have item list, particularly if you are a contemporary homeowner looking to maximize your small spaces.
Use Materials for Optical Illusion
Here are tried-and-tested tricks of the trade: collaborate with your designers to specify furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) which have translucent and opaque qualities to bounce off sun rays and reflect light on your small spaces. Dress your walls in a parallel manner with infinity mirrors to achieve an impressive optical illusion of dimensional spaces.
However, buying off-the-shelf interior pieces initially might lead you to the do-it-yourself route later down the road. In a case-to-case basis, maximize your small spaces with some of our clever multipurpose space-saving ideas: custom storage under staircase or kitchen countertops, convertible furniture, or loft addition for any unusable space above.
Paint It White
Among any other color on the spectrum, white has the highest solar reflectance index (SRI) with a value of 100, while black equates to 0. The lower the SRI, the more likely that a material tends to get hotter. This is the exact reason why white feels cooler for your eyes than the dark hues of black, so if your aim is to maximize your small spaces, utilize a white color palette to exude a refreshing vibe.
Connect Your Spaces
Make your compact spaces seem bigger than they are by connecting them from outside-in to inside-out. Open plans have become the bread and butter of any designer in the modern era. Bask in the sun when you go with glass walls or sliding doors to extend the breadth of your living-dining rooms with outdoor sunrooms, all the while still maintaining a threshold divider in case of a privacy need.
Shift a change in your mindset that maximizing small spaces requires drastic measures. Make your every square footage count through the space-saving solutions of our expert window specialists. Please browse our website for more information or schedule an appointment in our Manhattan showroom located at 135 East 57th St 18-106.