If you have a relatively small space and live in a house, city flat or have an out building you could renovate to function as an extra living space, you may want to think of how you can make it work for various purposes. For example, you can combine features within the room for office use, living room use, spare bedroom and dining room. You could even combine the lot. You may ask how? Did I hear you ask how?
Its a good question. Let me try to answer how this can be done.
Firstly, it has to be said that a smaller space needs to be carefully considered. Every small space requires… you guessed it space! Space enough to not make you feel cramped and uncomfortable but to give you that cozy feeling or as they say in Denmark “Hygge”. Hygge over there is quite a phenomenon and everyone bases their interiors on this principle of Hygge. In my understanding it is a mixture of a cozy space (small being probably more “Hygge” than large) and a space that functions well in a way that can be likened to the Chinese philosophy of Feng-Shui. Simply put, Feng Shui is a balanced well thought out space that is not at all cluttered but has a pleasant polarity and functional well placed furniture.
It is always best to start from scratch. What I mean is imagine your space as being completely empty.
What is the main function of it?
Make a list in an order of priority. For example, number 1 (eg. Living room) is the most important function and lastly number 4 (eg. Spare bedroom) is used occasionally so is last in priority. Start this way and imagine the empty room to firstly accommodate a living room and gradually include other functions. If you always keep the order of priority and try to keep things simple you should come up with some good ideas.
Then imagine or even better draw a diagram, make notes etc.. for each use for the room and gradually map out how they could work. At least have a few ideas that you could pass on to someone who might be doing the work for you. With some basic well thought out planning plus the input from a good handyman you will surely generate top solutions.
Office Space:
If you have an alcove or in-set by the side of the chimney, it could be perfect for putting up shelves and below could be a desk surface a bit larger in depth than the shelves. Even if your room is completely square or rectangular, narrow shelves still work well and below could be a desk that folds down to save space. A handyman or carpenter could install these with ease and if being a simple structure would not charge through the roof.
TV Mounting:
Having a TV in a room if sitting on a table or cabinet takes up far too much space. The most space efficient option by far is to mount your TV on a wall. You can go as far as having a direction adjustable mount if you need to move it to suit wherever you are sitting. It frees up space for other things and makes for good viewing conditions. Its a simple job but you’ll want to get it done properly.
Bedroom Options:
My absolute top solution is to have a high up bunk platform wooden structure with Office space below.
If you have a high enough ceiling this is the ultimate example to space efficiency. Its like a mezzanine bunk bed made of wood, do you know what I mean? You can even buy these in flat pack kits but custom making them out of wood is the ultimate way forward and surely will give massive appeal to your room and even your property when coming to have it valued. So going that extra bit further to get a custom conversion skillfully made to fit your room is really a top choice.
The simplest option would be to buy a sofa bed, and you can get some very good ones. A sofa bed being such a large and dominant item would need to be sketched out in your plan so that everything else you’d want to fit around it. Eg, as mentioned above: Office space & Tv Mounting. These things would be worth bearing in mind when making your plans.
Specific Zone Planning:
A good tip for getting the most out of your space is to firstly imagine it as being empty and then introducing sections of the room for certain activities eg, work space, TV watching, Eating, Sleeping etc. For example a bay window where there is lots of light might be a nice spot for reading. Or a corner could be a good place for 2 people to eat at a table top that folds down and that could also be used as a desk for working.
Decorating & Lighting:
When you have mapped out the functions of your space and thought about what furniture might appeal to you. Don’t forget to consider firstly the decoration of the room. What colours do I want the room to be? Do I want wallpaper? The lighter the more spacious and clean the feel is and the darker for the more cozy feel. Maybe a combination of the two are worth considering.
Secondly when you’ve decided on a good colour scheme then think about lighting, but also in good combination with furniture placements. A mixture of ceiling lighting and lamps is a nice balance.
To conclude, hopefully a good approach and some ideas were presented here to help encourage you to vision how you might get to fulfill your aspirations. As with anything if you make a start and come up with some well thought out plans its the first step to getting a great result.
To communicate your ideas with a local multi skilled tradesman or Norwich handyman may also be a good way forward. If you need certain fixings, fitting or installations and you are on a budget you’ll want to know how much everything will cost. You can then plan or design accordingly with their help.
Good luck and best wishes for all your plans.
Handyman 