Make Over Your Small House

Wouldn't it be great to live in a clean, inspiring, and exhilarating place? You can and should, even if your house is small!

The state of our homes has everything to do with the state of our lives. Let me say that again: a messy or unorganized home reflects the same state of its owner. Do they feel relaxed and clearheaded when they come home? Of course not! Coming home to clutter and darkness only makes you feel worse.

Change your space, change your life.

Your home should be your relaxing and stylish sanctuary, no matter the size. Give your home the makeover it needs to be your uplifting place.

A quick word before we start on the suggestions contained herein. As we say in the creative world, you must learn all the rules before you can break them. There can be stylish exceptions made to any of the guidelines here.

This is the critical first step in making over your small space: paint your walls light.

Dark shades and deep hues will make your house seem smaller. You don't live in a cave! Some designers can get away with dark colors but usually it is only pulled off on very expensive houses that have an expensive decorating scheme or are just so large and with enough windows for lighting.

What color(s) should you pick? I recommend light off-whites and earth tones. Think refreshing. If you live in a small house then consider painting the ceilings white, even if the walls are a different hue, because it will make the room look more spacious.

Pick a color scheme first if you are going to use multiple shades. While earth colors usually go together well there are other combinations that will only work if you REALLY make them. Purple and orange, for example.

When in doubt, use white. Avoid the brightest white that is often a little bluish -- go for a softer white. It never fails.

To make the house feel open and airy you must add some light.

What's your window situation like? If you have a big picture window or similar feature built into your home, now is the time to remove the heavy curtains or dark shades. Let the light in. The light is absolutely instrumental in our making over your space!

This room has a nice clean feel, free of clutter or darkness.

If you have "regular" windows then it is IMPERATIVE you uncover them and let that light in. In terms of psychology, nothing is better for you and your home than daylight. It's healthy, it's free, and it changes throughout the day and gives a nice variety of moods. We'll get to window treatments in just a bit.

Fact: More light makes your house look cleaner. Even a dungeon of a room can be turned around with PAINT and SUNLIGHT!

Have you uncovered your windows yet? Go and do it now. And if you can, open the windows for a bit and get that air flowing and the breeze going, especially if the room is rarely used.

So now is the time to appraise the amount of light received by each of your rooms. Is it enough for the daytime? Different rooms have different requirements. Of course you want your kitchen to be cheerful, clean, and well lit while your bedroom is probably going to be OK with just the windows during the day.

In short: light paint, bulb fixtures, mirrors, and wall alteration.

"You want me to knock down my walls - are you crazy? This was supposed to be inexpensive!"

Relax! I am only presenting you with the tools that I use when renovating. The process is however much easier than you think as long as you take care to distinguish load-bearing walls from non load-bearing walls. If you have a small house then I highly recommend that you consider removing a section of wall, even if it is only a cutout.

In my own house the living room is adjacent to the kitchen and both rooms are very small. Light would come in from the east or west but only one room would be lit naturally at any given time because they were separated by a wall. Once I took out a 5'x5' section of the wall (leaving a short division between rooms and extending the top of the doorway across the ceiling) both my kitchen and living room became 100% brighter and bigger.

Another thing I like to do is add light fixtures to switches. This ads the necessary light when the sun goes down with the convenience of the wall switch. Sometimes you move into a house with plugs that are already routed to a lightswitch and you can simply purchase a standing lamp (you can get them inexpensively) and plug it in. So easy!

For your ceiling and wall fixtures, be picky and consider flourescent options because of their whiter spectrum options and also power savings. When in doubt, go with minimal decoration and silver or chrome. Don't get a one 40w bulb light fixture! Be serious about lighting your home and spend the money for the features (dimmer, etc) that you will want. I also recommend that you consider track lighting, both on the ceiling and on the walls, to add light to areas of focus. Add some compact flourescent bulbs to your regular fixtures and see your house BRIGHTEN UP instead of yellowing as happens with regular incandescent bulbs. There are lots of good uses for tungsten lighting, but less and less for our purposes.

Choosing Fixtures for the Small House:

In a small house you often make the rooms perform multiple functions and you will need to light accordingly. In my own living room (for example), not only do I have a comfortable seating area but also an easel for painting and my desk setup. When the space is limited it must work double-duty, and so I have both a dimming overhead light and a standing light with two bulbs.

Using Mirrors:
Decorative and regular mirrors add a nice touch and a lot of perceived spaciousness to the space. Since they are flat they don't take up much room and all you need to do is hang them up. Light paint and a good mirror open up a space like you wouldn't believe.

Window Coverings Should Keep It Light:

With the exception of nighttime, you should be taking full advantage of the sunlight that enters into your home. Sunshine is instrumental in making your light walls and mirrors work to their full potential. Let the natural light flood your home and you will see a decrease in laziness and depression.

Are your current treatments from a decorating fad you went through? There have been a lot of bad trends in window coverings, and now is the time to get rid of them! I'll give you my list in a minute.

The good news is that the simplest materials (often inexpensive) are exactly what you need. This time there is no bad news!

The cheapest and easiest (and by far my first pick) are sheers. If you have many windows under 36" then you can outfit them each with a single panel and a curtain rod. Less than $30 per window and its done. There are so many panels and rods available, for every budget.

What do I mean by sheer? Anything translucent, in this case. You do not have to get the gauze-like curtains or the ones with the silvery sheen. So many varieties in fabric and color are available, and again my recommendation is to go light -- both in color and fabric density.

Choose something that will let the light through. You will find that it also offers a good degree of privacy. If privacy is indeed an issue for you step outside your house during the day and try to see in. Do it at night as well, and then simply add layers of fabric panels and pull to suit your needs during the day.

Chances are that your house is probably already furnished. The good news is that you have a place to sit, a table to eat on, and a bed to sleep in.

The bad news is that it might be holding you back and cluttering up your rooms, even if they are small.

Some pieces just don't belong in the small house. So if you house is small, I recommend that you really consider the "value added" of the china cabinet, huge armoir, large executive desk, sectional sofa, and/or California King sized canopy bed. Unless you are the only person in the house with very few belongings the above mentioned items are just decreasing you perceived and livable space.

So now you must take a good look at your belongings and be ready to part with everything that isn't working for your home.

At this news you might be asking "Is this going to cost me an arm and a leg?"

No, it isn't! If you already have furniture then the good news is that you have tradeable or salable advantage. You will pay little out of pocket. If on the other hand you do not have any furniture, you still do not HAVE to spend a lot of money on new quality furniture.

You would be surprised at how much "like new" secondhand furniture is available to you. Out of the showroom and shrink wrap the value of a piece of furniture decreases dramatically, much like home appliances and automobiles. If you are renovating on a budget then you should always keep this in mind!

The following are my recommendations for furnishing the small home.


Bedroom:
-One bed, Twin to Queen.
-One nice simple headboard. I leave the footboard off.
-One dresser that is "mens style," that is to say that it is taller than it is wider. A good dresser should be about 4' tall, 3' wide, and 1' deep. Avoid the "long and low" or "womens" type unless they are small in footprint.
-Small-diameter table or nightstand. No bigger than 1' across the top, should be the height of your bed.
-A mirror somewhere, for dressing purposes and to give the feel of spaciousness.

Bathroom:
-Countertop to ceiling mirror if you can.
-Pedestal sink is best, cabinets sink OK, but no double sinks.
-No or minimal wall cabinetry unless it is recessed.
-2-3 small Corner shelves. White is best for wood but glass is very sharp looking.

Living Room:
-Small sofa or loveseat. No sectionals, no big couches, and definitely not two couches.
-Coffee table or 1-2 side tables with storage drawer
-Cabinet to hide television set if you own one (unless it is a flatscreen, in which case mount on the wall).
-A good chair, for additional seating, if you have room.

Office:

-A desk with a small footprint and chair with a seat that can slide under the desk
-Small filing cabinet that doubles as a small table. Light wood is best.
-Attractive storage and "homes" for any special items you use. For example I have a strong 2'x2'x2' basket I use to hold supplies. It sits on the ground and when closed my printer sits on top, since my desk space is limited.
-A nice floating wall shelf (I recommend this one) for CDR's, books, or whatever else you might need. Notice it is a "floating" wall shelf that requires no ugly brackets and has no footprint.

Spare room?
If you do have an extra room in your small house I would not bother making it into a guest room. Space is a premium in the small home and chances are you already have another room working double-duty. If you do find yourself with spare space (or even an entire room) consider dedicating it to a hobby or activity you enjoy. Artist's easel, drafting table, yoga and meditation space, sewing or crafting, reading or writing, etc. If you don't have a hobby that you need room for in the home then perhaps you can turn it into a pleasant and organized room for storing things that you rarely use. Not the Christmas tree lights - think a coat rack with heavy coats, neatly stored appliances, or bookshelves full of books. The key words are PLEASANT and STYLISH. It shouldn't feel like a garage or attic.

If you have come this far then CONGRATULATIONS! You are well on your way to renovating your small space. If you are taking my suggestions and cutting out the visual clutter (even if it means letting go of some things you have had for a very long time) then I applaud you.

Contrary to how many people decorate, your walls are not an afterthought. Yes they perform a necessary function, but without the right touch of adornment the effect will be cell-like.

What is the focal point of the room?

Don't let this question scare you! You don't have to masterplan your environment at one time and then stick to it. While some home may have built-in areas of focus to work with there are many more that are waiting for you to wave the magic wand of COLOR and create it.

Up to this point we have been stripping the space of the excess and overdone. Big furniture, we now know, is not at home in the small house. Large window decorations and dark walls only inhibit us and decrease our perceived amount of space in the room. We are now abstaining from the ornate, the distracting, and anything harsh in design or pattern.

So what do we do with our walls?

To create a good feeling for the room and a focal point my number one recommendation is art. GOOD art. Good art does not mean posters, lifeless old lithographs, or a big price tag. It doesn't mean a famous name or a knock-off image. In fact, a crappy poster or reprint often achieves the opposite of what we are after.

And what are we after? Just one good piece per room that gives you a good feeling and reflects vibrance, joy, and color. If you are unsure about the addition of color, why not try some black and white photography (well presented of course)?



For the small house you will only need one (medium sized and larger) good piece per room. And you CAN find good art to fit your budget. Giclees, for example, are affordable and much easier to come by than an original piece (of which there is only one). If you choose a piece (painting or otherwise) that needs to be framed then put in the time to get the right frame to make it stand out. Framing is an art in itself and can make pieces look spectacular.

For examples of original art and giclees that can inspire you in your space, try visiting an online gallery such as MKArtPro.com. You can see the work of course but in the best online exhibits you can see the art in a complementary setting. It is practically trying it before buying it.

Why Art?

The benefits of having good art in your home are many and extend beyond the tangible. Art is cultural. Art is spiritual. And it brings an ambiance to your space that you can't get from a couch or an armchair, no matter the embellishment.

In addition, art is flat, and so when you hang up a painting the effect is dynamic but the ramifications on perceived and livable space are next to nothing. It must be stated of course that your art must be properly presented (framed, under glass, or gallery wrap) and when ready may be "near flat," maximum of three inches in depth.

It's been said that the more stuff you have, the more places you need to hide it. And it's true!

One of the keys to living happily (particularly in a small house) is being able to put away all of your stuff. Getting papers off the dinner table, getting the coats and bags off the arm of the couch. Organization is off the topic of this guide, just an essential part of enjoying your space.

It's a lot of work to get a house in shape. For your own sanity and enjoyment however it is essential to keep it that way.

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