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Building your home? (Space-saving tips)
If bedroom cupboards are too large, your movement can be siginificantly restricted
By Leonard Gildarie
One of the biggest challenges facing first time homeowners is how to effectively utilise space. Many grapple with placing a cumbersome wall-divider in the middle of the living area, immediately reducing valuable space. Then in the bedroom, more valuable space is taken up by those outdated closets that furniture makers insist are the thing in style.
While wall-dividers may have been great for 20 years ago, the reality is that people are now taking a harder look at what they would have spent, and in keeping with the current trends. Folks are opting for less furniture, more space, daring colours, and windows that let in more air instead of giving that boxed-in, claustrophobic feel.
In a position now to understand how much extra space is critical to my sense of comfort, I thought it imperative to give a few tips from the experts to create space.
Folks of limited finances and an unimaginative group of contractors are confining themselves to building one similar style of home. You can traipse around the country and bet that in any particular village, the design of front invariably is different with spindles higher or lower and some designs. But the remaining portions are the same.
My point is that in most homes, the kitchen does not have a wall separating that area from the living room. What most folks do is place this humongous wooden partition to separate the two areas. That does a couple things. You have less space in your home; you are blocking precious breeze, and from an interior decorator’s perspective, it is a cringeworthy moment.
A recommended option may be backing your sofas to the kitchen and using the dining table to double as another ‘divider’. You simply do not need the TV or stereo set on a wall-divider. More and more folks are facing their sofas to the walls and watching TV there. There are smaller pieces of furniture that can take the place of a wall-divider that you can place your home entertainment systems. Better yet, if you have a nice design idea of a piece that beautifully fits your equipment into a nearby wall, talk to your furniture man…he may give you some ideas.
Most new homeowners move in and then discover that they do not have storage areas. No sweat! My second advice is more of a medium- to long-term one. More than likely you would not want to further clutter your kitchen and living room. Your options are the bedrooms and bathroom…that is if you have one inside the home. The most cost efficient ones that any decent carpenter or contractor can build should not take more than three feet from the bedroom wall and can rise to the ceiling with layers of shelves inside.
I think that these space-saving cupboards are ideal for the smaller homes. But these small tips are only designed to address one of those niggling irritants that always crop up when you have just moved in. If you have been following our past articles, we spoke of the need to plan carefully when building your home. Where to put your TV, bedroom locations, bathroom designs, steps and storage were all discussed. So plan carefully.
Much love and enjoy your weekend. As normal, please drop your comments and advice to [email protected] or call us at 2258491.
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