Space Planning
Space planning is my favorite topic. I’ve always been passionate about creating effective spaces that flow and function exactly the way you need them to. From my experience, one’s environment can create a large amount of chaos and stress in your home when you haven’t implemented effective habits and systems.
- You forget things.
- You have more stress because of visual clutter.
- You feel overwhelmed because you can’t keep track of things.
When you’re busy (and we all are), you can’t expect yourself to keep track of everything. It’s just not realistic. Effective space planning can offer you more peace of mind. You can feel more in control and easily put your hands on what you’re looking for. This month, we’d like to show you to our top 5 ways to save space in your home and create effective storage systems.
Our Top 5 Ways to Save Space and Create Effective Storage Systems in Your Home
Space planning is one of our most sought-out services at Creative Design Solutions. Simply put, space planning allows us to develop a plan to make your existing square footage work as efficiently as possible, while also presenting a beautiful home and feeling comfortable.
Our clients are often surprised by what can be done to enhance their existing space, without necessarily needing major remodels. You don’t always need more space. Often, you just need to use your space more efficiently. This can save you money and save you time and energy.
We start by helping our clients determine their overall goals for their home and for its individual areas. We next consider the flow of one room to another, and how elements such as lighting and window placement affect the visual lines and functionality of the space. Finally, we take a look at the function of existing furniture and cabinetry, and examine how they can be better utilized.
There is often a psychological aspect to space planning as well. We all perceive environments differently. What you love, someone else might dislike. We work to understand your unique perspective and match ideas within your family to create a flow and function you all love.
At home, there are many ways you can increase the effectiveness of your space. Here are our top 5:
1. Change Your Habits
We all have bad habits that lead to clutter. Think about what works best for your own sorting instincts and create a solution that is appropriate for your storage and work needs. For instance, set up a transition space near the entry door to check and store your mail that needs immediate attention and the items that can wait.
2. Pay Attention to Your Windows and Doors
The location of your windows and doors can greatly impact the flow, perception and feel of the room. Pay attention to where they are in the room and if you would prefer them to be in another location or even to be bigger. Sometimes structural aspects of a room like these can be altered without a lot of expense to add space, light and function to a room.
3. Put Your Furniture to Work
Paying attention to the size and scale of your furniture can have a big impact on how your space feels. Furniture can also be multipurpose and serve as a storage unit as well as something comfortable to sit on.
4. Add Shelving
Cabinetry can increase your storage tremendously. Even just adding a shelf or a drawer in between existing shelves can create more space for smaller items like medicine or spices. Add cabinetry to walls to use your vertical space as well. Your floor doesn’t have to house everything.
5. Celebrate the Seasons
For every passing season, there’s a storage opportunity! If you have a clean, dry area in which you can place plastic bins or storage lockers, use them to stash your bulky winter coats, sweaters and boots come spring. By the same token, pack away space hogs like pool toys, garden tools, fishing gear and beach towels when autumn comes.
