With house prices increasing at an annual rate of 11% and average rent hitting record highs across the UK, this is probably the worst time to consider moving to a larger space. If your current home is cramped, you surely must do something about it, but this doesn’t necessarily mean moving.
Whether your family has outgrown the house or you’re feeling squeezed in the current space, there are changes that can provide extra storage and free up some room for your expanding life.
Convert the loft
Renovating your loft can add both storage and value to your property. You can turn it into a home office, an extra bedroom, or a playroom – there is a whole host of loft conversion ideas to try.
You might simply wish to fit extra storage by adding wardrobes and dressers for out-of-season clothing, bookshelves for books you’re hoarding, and a buffet for glassware you don’t often use.
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Shake up the garage
Not only is the garage great for storing seasonal decorations, but you can turn it into an entirely new room. Build your home gym or a recreational chamber where you can keep all the noisy equipment, such as gaming consoles, a cool sound system, TVs and a treadmill.
If you’re hoping to turn the garage into an investment, transform it into an Airbnb with its own entrance. You can also make it your home office to be able to focus better. Whatever your family needs, your garage can be used for a plethora of purposes.
If all this sounds a bit ambitious, you can keep the garage function but add in extra storage with an Auxx lift, maximising the storage space in the height of the garage.
Multifunctional furniture
If you’re unable to create new rooms, invest in a few pieces of multifunctional furniture. Think coffee tables with drawers, daybeds or futons, modular sofas, storage ottomans, and bunkbeds with storage.
You can browse online or go shopping for creative multifunctional pieces – from convertible chairs and stackable beds to floating desks and mirrors with shelving.
Hidden storage
Organising the spaces available in your house can help get the most out of your wardrobes, drawers and cupboards. Use dividers in your drawers, add hooks and hangers to your wardrobe’s doors, use hanging shelves inside the closet, and keep shoes in plastic stackable crates.
As kitchens are full of things, it might be easier for it to get messy, and you don’t want to waste cooking time looking for a spice or a utensil. Arranging your kitchen cupboard can make it easier to find things and tidy up after preparing food.
Boxes and bags can be put away under the bed or over the wardrobe, and why not use that awkward space under the stairs to store cleaning tools? Hidden storage can help manage clutter and clear up some space for movement.