When Your Home Feels Too Small: Why Smart Storage Beats Moving
July 2012
Space – do you feel like you are bursting at the seams
If you are bursting at the seams you can go on a diet. However, if you feel like your house is bursting at the seams what do you do? Do you feel you need a bigger house? Have you considered saving the stamp duty and relocation costs by staying in your home with some small alterations?
We often find that residential clients feel they need a bigger home; however, we sense this is due to the amount of items they own. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with owning items; however, they all these items need a home. You may not necessary need a new home; you may simply need clever storage solutions. An often quoted comment is ‘a place for everything and everything in its place.’
Before exploring physical changes, we often start with a Master Plan or feasibility discussion. This allows us to step back and assess how your home is actually being used, where pressure points occur, and whether the feeling of being “bursting at the seams” is a spatial issue, a storage issue, or a combination of both. This early thinking can reveal that small, targeted interventions may deliver far more value than a larger renovation or extension.
How do you create more space without adding an extension?
Depending on your needs this may be as simple as creating a loft space within your existing ceiling that can be accessed by a drop down ladder; so rarely used items taking up prime storage space can be stored away.
This is what we are doing on one of our current projects where my clients will store their camping equipment. On another project we are dropping the ceiling to the bathroom to create storage above; this means my clients can stay in their home rather than moving on. Then there are the obvious solutions like additional joinery; which can be expensive but more economical than moving. The creative solutions can be endless. Personally we think storage is the key to any successful residential project. We are often surprised at the lack of robe space in new homes. How many of us have clothes spilling into the robes of the other bedrooms? Clever and adequate storage is critical. We are sure a number of people relocating could have prevented their move by addressing their inadequate storage issues.
If you have a project in mind, start a conversation with our studio.