5 Tips on Making a Small Home Cozy and Functional

Our family of four moved into a much smaller house last year and we love it. Our house is cozy and functional. If you’re in a similar situation, keep reading to see how we maximized every square inch and get my Top 5 Tips on Making a Small Home Cozy and Functional.

Why We Bought a Smaller Home

We downsized for a few reasons, but the two main reasons were to move closer to family and to find a more affordable housing situation.

Before the move, I knew I would have to make drastic changes. Our new home had much less closet space, a smaller kitchen, and one main bathroom!

I’m pretty creative but making our new smaller home cozy and functional has proven to be quite a challenge.

If you’re in a similar situation or tinkering with the idea of moving into a smaller house, I have 5 tips to help you get the most out of every square foot of space.

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5 Tips on Making a Small Home Cozy and Functional

1. Dual Purpose Rooms

Our 1950’s Cape doesn’t have an extra room for an office. To make things work I was able to add a desk area to our living room and relocated filing cabinets to a nearby closet to keep things looking tidy.

My desk also has a glass top. It looks light and airy in the room as opposed to another heavy piece of furniture.

With the right mix of furniture and storage, even a small room can pull double duty without looking over stuffed!

Looking for more home office ideas, check out my post and an update on how we’re currently handling home schooling and home office space for our family of four: Home Office Ideas for Small Spaces.

2. Add Shelving

Our cape doesn’t have decorative nooks or built-ins to display artwork or even a few books.

To work around this, I added shelving anywhere I could.

And, you don’t have to run out and buy shelves either, we made a table and two media shelves (above) out of wood we had laying around after we renovated the 4-seasons room in our old house.

Wood pallets work great too! If you’re handy (or your significant other is) then you can make custom shelves to fit your space and needs.

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3. Simplify Your Decor

When decorating a small space less is more. Pick just the accent pieces and artwork you love and don’t try to fill every nook, cranny, wall, and corner with stuff. I had to give a lot of my artwork and accent pieces away because I didn’t have the space for them.

Related Post: 6 DIY Interior Design Tips to Decorate Like a Pro.

4. Get Rid of Stuff Weighing You Down

I put this one last but you’ll probably have to address this sooner than later! If you want to be able to function in a smaller space but are still trying to keep everything you had from a larger space, I can tell you it won’t work.

I’m a bit of a minimalist so decluttering comes easy to me but even I still have things I’m holding on to (for now). It’s perfectly normal to hold on to things for a season especially if you’re renovating or getting used to a new home.

If you’ve tried to downsize but are still drowning in stuff and need a few down to earth tips on decluttering, check out my post: 5 Easy Steps to go from Pack Rat to Minimalist.

5. Get Creative

Don’t be afraid to do your own problem-solving. Sometimes even small changes can make a huge difference. Here are a few creative solutions to get you started:

• Open up an entryway by turning a closet into a mudroom. Remove the closet doors, add a few hooks, and a small bench. We did this in our previous home to open up a tight entryway.
• Spend some time planning out your bedroom closets and buy organizer systems to maximize your closet space.

• Need more space in the garage? Try hanging bikes and seasonal items overhead to free up floor space.

If you need more small space inspiration try Pinterest, Amazon, or visit an Ikea Store in your area. There are so many great ideas and products out there to make your space cozy and above all functional.

If you have a great small space solution you’d like to share, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!