Written by Rebecca Connolly

Social media would have you believe everyone has endless enormous, spacious rooms in their house with lots of storage and everything having its place. For many of us this is simply not the case. Despite what instagram shows us, nearly every home has a small room of some sorts; an office, a box room, or a cozy snug and they aren't easy to design!

These rooms tend to have to work harder than other, more spacious, rooms in the house. We get asked for help with these rooms often and for good reason. It’s tricky to get right and make the most of your little space!

Small rooms often struggle to give you useful storage, combine this with doors and windows being on two of the four walls this really restricts furniture planning and often leaves you with few choices on layout. Add a large TV and general family clutter into the mix, and they become a real headache!

If you have a small room you would like to redesign, keep reading to see how we tackle these small, but important rooms! 

Get crystal clear on the function of the room

With any room it is really important to identify who is using the room and what its primary purpose is. Think about how you would like your home to work for you. 

Many people are tempted to jump straight to - what colour shall I paint it/ what style shall I go for/ how can I make it flow from the rest of the house. However important these questions may be, they are being asked too early. 

Instead think - What would make your life easier? Free up more space elsewhere in your home? Provide a solution to a problem you are currently facing? 

Ideally once you have decided on the function of the room, it would be great to get us involved with the project. We start with a video call and take a brief from you to learn all about you, your family and your requirements. We take away the stress of designing the room for you - winner!

If you don’t know where to start, or need some inspiration, let us help you! Simply click here.

It’s all about storage & clever multifunctional pieces

Practicalities are next. What do you need to store in the room and have you considered building furniture to make the most of the floorspace? There are some really fantastic (and inexpensive) shallow wardrobes and adaptable pieces of furniture on the high street but they might not go far enough. It is important to make use of every bit of a small room and any dead space just won’t do here. Built-in furniture is going to be more of an investment but it's tailor made for you and how you want to use the room!

This is also where you can think about multifunctional pieces of furniture. Such as sofa beds, pouffes or chairs with hidden storage, storage baskets, desks which doubles up as a dressing table and cabin beds for childrens rooms. If you have a piece of furniture that can do a couple of things it will help to declutter your small room.

@dustsheets_and_decor

@broadwayhomespace_

Focal point and layout

Small rooms still need and deserve a focal point. Sometimes we forget that when you are in a room your eye naturally searches for a focal point, something which grabs your attention and anchors the room. This could be a fireplace, an amazing feature wallpaper, a large media unit, or a beautiful painting. 

Top tip: A well placed mirror can also provide this, as well as helping to make the space look bigger.

For us it's always about layout. We spend a lot of time exploring layout options in a client's room. We look to see the optimum layout to suit their way of living. There are some tools you can use for free online which help with layouts or you can ask us for some expert help to transform your small room!

Are you struggling with the layout in your room? Click here our Midi Living package is the perfect solution!

Style

Some people are clear on their personal style, whilst others couldn’t tell you the different styles out there. Identifying your style can be really tricky - we could write a whole blog on this alone. 

After our video call appointment we send our clients some initial inspiration pictures. We do this to see what they are drawn to and to show we understand their needs for the room. But we also do it to push them and stretch their thinking on the possibilities for their space. If you are trying to identify your style by yourself Pinterest and Instagram are both a really great starting point. Save your favourite pictures and then take some time to look back and see if there are any common themes. Are you leaning towards dark walls and rich wood tones? Or do you like bright white and light wood interiors? Once you know what you like you can delve deeper and learn what styles these looks belong to.

@welcome_to_no.1

@hygge__quartier7

Furniture

Now that you are clear on layout and style you can begin looking at furniture for the room. We often see clients who already have a piece of furniture that is far too big for their room and it dominates the space so much and compromises the entire look. By doing this in the correct order it will limit the amount of mistakes you make and save you money!

Have a chat with us and find out how we can help you. Book a free discovery call with us today!

Colours & textures

Colour schemes have a huge impact on the way we perceive a room. There are so many different colour combinations to choose from and it is also so personal.

The one thing that can make or break a room; Paint colours! Paint can drastically change how a room feels to us. It is really important to know what direction the room faces as this will help you know what colours will work in the room and also which ones to avoid! 

One of the most common things we hear is that if a room is low on light and small you have to paint it white to make it feel bigger and brighter - but that is not always the case.  A light paint colour can actually often appear stark and cold as the colour is very static. It needs to interact with light to give it life and so is much better suited to larger bright spaces. A dark colour like navy absorbs more light and can actually blur the edges of a room, creating a perception of depth and making it feel larger, and warm and cosy. Don't be afraid to use dark bold colours in north facing rooms and instead embrace the dark and choose paint in dark greys, navy and jewel colours.

@ohmyedwardian

@doing_up_the_derbyshires

 If you have any questions about designing any room in your home, get in touch! We know that designing a room can be daunting, and we’d love to help you. With personalised help and advice, you could be transforming your room in no time!