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My small living room
The home you live in was perfect when you bought it. However, times change. Whether your family has grown or your lifestyle has changed, the fact that the property no longer feels right must not be ignored. After all, you’ll never feel truly happy if your home no longer meets your needs.
So, what options are available to you or your family when your home feels too small? Let’s find out.
Upsize Your Home
Perhaps the most obvious solution when your home feels too small is to buy a bigger property. Even if you have encountered previous financial problems like Debt Management Plans, it is still possible to get a mortgage. Lenders will assess what you can afford to give you a better understanding of the situation. Once you know how much you can borrow, you’ll be able to see whether upsizing is a realistic path.
If you are not tied down to a specific location, looking at cheaper locations could be the answer. Alternatively, consider buying a larger property that needs some work done to it.
Extend Your Home
Loft conversion featuring Velux centre pivot windows
When your home feels too small and moving home isn’t an option, an extension may provide the best alternative. This could happen courtesy of a loft conversion or extending out into the garden with a glazed extension. Understanding the regulations regarding planning permission forms a key part of your preparation. Still, extensions are often the perfect way to increase the living space.
Aside from making the home feel bigger, it will add value. So, if you might be planning to sell at a later date, this is another issue that should be taken into account. Take a look at what your neighbours have done in your street. This will give you a good indication of what will successfully get planning permission.
Change Your Decor
EasyStorage self-storage
Increasing the physical living dimensions isn’t the only option when your home feels too small. Changing the decor can transform the atmosphere inside the property. Expert designers have provided valuable tips on how to make small rooms feel bigger. Ultimately, though, decluttering and allowing more light into the home are the keys to success.
You can save a lot of space by going digital, trading books for ebooks, CDs and Vinyls for streaming services and photo albums for digital photo storage is a good start. You can also sell any unwanted goods to help fund any future items that may be purchased for the home makeover.
If you’re not quite ready to let go of all your things permanently, you could consider putting your belongings into self-storage so they are no longer stored at home but you can access them whenever you need to. This can help you streamline your home and give you that extra space that you desire.
Use Your Garden
TG02 Garden Office & Music Room from Garden Retreats
When internal spaces feel too compact, the outside areas could be your secret weapon for success. A garden shed could be used as a recreational space, home gym, or office. Meanwhile, an outside decking area can bring a whole new dimension to the property. Removing the pressure from inside living spaces will make a huge difference to your life.
Alternatively, if you have a garage, this is another popular choice. A simple conversion can make the property feel far less cramped. In turn, your relationship with the entire property should see a noticeable upgrade.
Go Open Plan
Open-plan kitchen-dining-living-room featuring the Cassie sofa from Furniture Choice
Unless you’ve had more children, the bedrooms are probably still capable of satisfying your needs. If you do have a spare bedroom, consider how else you might use it to make your home work better for you.
It’s more likely that it’s your downstairs living spaces that feel too small. Not least because we spend more time at home than ever before. An open-plan kitchen-dining room-lounge can transform the look and feel of the main living space, making the home feel more social and less crowded.
If you feel like your home is no longer big enough for your needs, it’s worth examining all the options to see which one will work for you and what you can achieve within your budget.