With rental rates souring over the past year, and rates expected to increase even more in 2016, many people are looking to downsize into smaller homes. Downgrading into smaller living spaces requires learning how to make the most of what space you do have. In some places, like New York City, renters live in some of the smallest apartment homes, ranging in size from 78 square feet to 450 square feet. If you are considering downgrading into a smaller home to keep your rental rates from increasing, here are a few useful tips to maximize your smaller living space.
Find Multiple Purposes for Everything
Depending on the number of rooms in a small apartment, you should look at ways in which the rooms can be used for multiple purposes, rather than one. The kitchen is a great example, as most people only consider this room for cooking and eating, which is not the case when you do not have the square footage. You can convert a section of the under-counter space to make room for a compact washer dryer combo and also make the kitchen the laundry room.
With cabinets and closets, do not overlook the dead space on the back of doors. These areas are great for adding small shelves and increasing the amount of space you have to store food, clothes, cleaning products, and so on. To maximize space inside the cabinets, use pullout bins so it is easy to access anything you put toward the back. In addition, pullout bins give you various options for storing loose items, like putting silverware and utensils in cups, rather than placing them in a drawer, and thus freeing up the drawer to store something else.
Select Furnishings That Do Not Get in the Way
The idea of having furnishings cramped into a small apartment leaves little free space. The best thing to do in smaller homes is to use furnishings that can be easily stored away or out of sight when they are not required. In cases where your living room is also your bed room, a Murphy bed or sofa bed are perfect. Both provide somewhere to sleep, but are easy to put away to recover the space.
You could also look at a fold-down kitchen table mounted to the wall with foldable chairs. When you want to eat or sit around the table, it is easy to set up, but, when it is not in use, it is not taking up space. Basically, you will want to look at your walls and ask yourself how you can incorporate furniture against the wall, or into it, to fit more furniture into the tiny apartment.
By taking the time to look at the different ways you can utilizing living spaces and discover multiple purposes for them, you will be able to live comfortably in a smaller home and keep your rental rates down. To learn more about space-saving combination washer and dryers, please feel free to contact FJS Distributors, Inc. at 800-875-1533 and speak to a representative about compact LG Washer Dryers.
