Sometimes our homes can feel cramped, whether we’re living in a house or flat and no matter the shape or size. Personal changes like finding a partner or having kids can make us feel under even more pressure to have more space in your home to relax.
Homeowners might think that if their place doesn’t feel very spacious that they don’t have any options other than investing a lot of money in an extension, or “upsizing” – the term used to define moving from your current house or flat to a bigger property.
But creating more space at home doesn’t have to involve moving. Indeed, you can even make your home feel like it’s significantly more spacious easily and for free.
Changes to make your home appear to be more spacious
Rearrange furniture: A simple and no-cost option is to move your existing furniture around and create more open space, which will give the impression that rooms in your place are larger than they were before. You’d be surprised at how much open space you can create doing this.
Declutter your home – Another way to create more space without spending any money is to take a serious look at all your belongings and see if you have items you no longer need that are using up vital room. This can be furniture, ornaments, or another other fixtures or fittings that, if removed at zero expense, could help create more space in one or more rooms. Some people in the UK have even spent money to hire advisors who can tell them how to declutter their homes, but that will be seen as a frivolous luxury by many homeowners. Save yourself the expense of hiring a professional and use your own judgment on how you can get rid of clutter in your house.
Add some mirrors – A trick that many homeowners have used in the past, and that works, is to install mirrors throughout the house to create the illusion of more space. Mirrors help to make us perceive rooms as larger than they actually are, giving you the feeling of greater space with only a relatively minor expense of buying the new mirrors.
Install new lighting – Another somewhat low-cost option is to install new, brighter lighting in rooms around the house. The lighter a particular room is, the bigger people will perceive it to be. You don’t have to spend a fortune on fancy lights, so you can achieve this outcome cheaply. It’ll cost you money and time to hire a professional to install new lighting, or you could do it yourself, helping you to further cut down on the price of creating a sense of more space in your house.
Repaint the walls – One more way to create the feeling of more space without having to spend a lot of money is to buy some repaint any dark walls in your home with a lighter shade of paint. This makes rooms appear larger and creates the sense of more space for a very low expense, but you’ll have to allocate sufficient time for the work of repainting the rooms.
Property changes you can consider to create more space in your home
If the simple tricks above like adding more lighting or installing mirrors doesn’t fix your concern about living in a cramped space, there are other options you can pursue without moving. But understand that these steps will require a certain investment of time and money.
Build an extension – This might seem to many people as an extreme solution to a lack of space, but for those homeowners with both the time and money available, building an extension is one option. An extension, such as adding a home office or a spare room, will naturally increase the overall square footage of your house or flat, achieving the goal of creating more space. But it’s only really an option if you can spare the finances and the amount of time required for the work.
Convert unused space – A less-extreme option for a way to make physical property changes that can create more space is to convert an unused room. For example, if you have an attic that is perfectly functional but empty, you could make that into a second living room or bedroom, or some other space that would increase your home’s overall size. But note that whilst converting an unused room can typically be done for low cost or no cost, there might be a need to spend some time and money on these changes if it requires work such as knocking down a wall. Just as with building an extension, this isn’t an option that will work for every homeowner. It will depend entirely on your budget and how much effort you’re willing to invest.
Sometimes moving might be your only option
Although the guide above has some good tips for how you can create more space in your home, whether just the appearance of space or actual extra physical space, it might not always be possible to meet your goals and you may want to move to a larger home.
If that’s the case, and you need a speedy move, get in touch with a cash home buyer like LDN Properties who won’t charge you any fees for selling.
