When you are starting out in life, on your own or as newlyweds, picking up the keys to your first home will be a momentous occasion. Your first residence away from your family, a place that you can call your own, is a precious gift. No matter how small it might be, it is likely to be very special for you, and you will want to make it as comfortable and personal to you as possible. Unless you are fortunate enough to be independently wealthy, your first home is probably going to be of a more compact size, from which you can aspire to a bigger place in the future. Because it is likely to be on the small side, you will need to be clever about how you use the space to get the most out of it.
Storage
Although you won’t have had the chance to accrue lots of possessions yet, you will still need clever storage solutions for your new home if you want to keep everything uncluttered. Small spaces need to be very well organised, so that it is easy to access things and put them away afterwards. If it’s tricky putting anything back where it belongs, you’ll find things start to get left out, and very soon you’ll be overwhelmed with clutter. You need to sort out which items you are likely to need on a regular basis, and which you will need less often, so you can store them in the most appropriate place. In a small home you will need to make use of every little bit of space, so it’s a good idea to look for ideas on space saving ways to store your belongings. If you have a browse on the Internet, you’ll find ideas for clever storage units you can buy, and for the thrifty, there are some ingenious ways to make your ownstorage solutions.
Fit everything to the size of the room
Furniture and appliances come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and if you have very small rooms, it’s best to go for undersized versions of everything. Rather than trying to cram a large three-seater sofa into your living room, go for a compact two-seater with a matching chair if there’s room. Apply this principle to every room, so in the bathroom check the standard bathtub size and go for a smaller version that will take up less space. You may even be able to re-orientate the tub to a different position if you replace a standard sized one with a compact model, in effect creating more space.
When it comes to ornaments and accessories, go for the minimalist approach, or at least keep the knick-knacks under control. The higher the number of items that are visible in a small space, the more overcrowded it will feel; and while cosyis nice, cramped is not a good idea. However small your first home, with some clever approaches to using and maximisingthe available space, you will be able to make the most of your environment.
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