Space-Saving Furniture: Make Your House Feel Bigger

By Tim Snyder
Published on July 8, 2013
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A drop-down table, storage bench and shelves are space-saving features that improve the livability of this 140-square-foot home in Snohomish, Washington.
A drop-down table, storage bench and shelves are space-saving features that improve the livability of this 140-square-foot home in Snohomish, Washington.
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Chris and Malissa Tack live in this 140-square-foot tiny home in Snohomish, Washington.
Chris and Malissa Tack live in this 140-square-foot tiny home in Snohomish, Washington.
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Murphy beds fold up behind shelves or inside cabinets when not in use, creating efficient, multipurpose rooms, such as in this Washington, D.C., apartment.
Murphy beds fold up behind shelves or inside cabinets when not in use, creating efficient, multipurpose rooms, such as in this Washington, D.C., apartment.
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The cabinet at right conceals a fold-down Murphy bed to quickly convert this small living space into a bedroom.
The cabinet at right conceals a fold-down Murphy bed to quickly convert this small living space into a bedroom.
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Empty walls can be put to work with space-saving furniture, such as this drop-front desk from ImprovementsCatalog.com.
Empty walls can be put to work with space-saving furniture, such as this drop-front desk from ImprovementsCatalog.com.
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Shelving offers opportunities for both storage and display, and packs a lot of function into a small space in this 648-square-foot home in Franklin, Maine.
Shelving offers opportunities for both storage and display, and packs a lot of function into a small space in this 648-square-foot home in Franklin, Maine.
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Sleeping, dining and cooking each has its place in this cozy log-cabin room.
Sleeping, dining and cooking each has its place in this cozy log-cabin room.

Efficient home design will never go out of style because of a condition that prevails in most households: The amount of stuff coming in exceeds the amount of stuff going out. Clutter is especially problematic in small homes or apartments, where it can build up rapidly and defeat the efficiency of small-space living. The solutions are to reduce the number of objects you own and use specially designed small-space furniture to better organize what you keep.

Home Storage Solutions

The following five-part plan is based on my years of experience finding extra storage space for clients, most of whom were challenged by tight budgets. Every one of these steps can help declutter your home and solve your storage and organization problems.

1. Multiply Your Multipurpose Rooms

Getting double duty from a single room makes a huge difference in any size of house. Some of the best space-saving furniture to help you create multipurpose rooms was designed and built hundreds of years ago, when living spaces were really small. The drop-leaf table is an excellent example. This classic convertible can be a freestanding piece of furniture, or designed to attach to the wall (see Image Gallery). Either way, the table takes up little space in its dormant mode. But a living room becomes a dining room when the leaves are extended.

You can add an office to any room with the right piece of furniture. Locating a drop-front desk in a corner gives you a small office that can be closed up easily when the room is needed for other purposes. Even better, a wall-mounted drop-front desk folds up into a small, inconspicuous cupboard (see Image Gallery). And a desk on wheels can be pushed out of the way when not in use.

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