Creative Ways To Make The Most of Your Small Spaces

By: Mia Williams | Published: Sep 14, 2023

Trying to make the most out of the interior of your home can save you both space and money. Luckily, with a little creativity, your small space issues can become a problem of the past. Most homes experience clutter when it comes to organizing each room’s layout and their necessary tools, appliances, and decor.

However, there are also numerous ways to maximize your rooms by condensing your storage and using every available nook and cranny. Here are some creative ways to make the most out of your small spaces as inspiration for your own home layout.

1. Go Nouveau With a Fold-Out Dining Table

A pull-out dining table actually exists — and to think all these years we’ve been letting our dining tables rule over our dining areas. To say the least, it’s a superb idea for a small space, making room for our workout sessions or whatever else.

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Also, with the table folded away, it will give your dining area a neat, clean look. Maybe get a large enough plant that will fit on the table but look good on the floor when the table is gone.

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2. Enlarge the View by Hanging Mirrors on the Wall

Imagine this room without the mirrors. It would look considerably smaller. Mirrors have a way of playing tricks on the eyes of the beholder, and this is a good thing for a decorator because it produces a lot to work with.

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Mirrors can make a room look almost twice its size. This blue contrasted with the white is also a gorgeous touch. Plus, you cannot help but gaze at yourself when you’re around a mirror, so you’ll always know if your hair looks nice.

3. Go Back in Time With a Warm Window Seat

A window seat may sound like something from the past, but window seats are practical and pretty. Use a thick, comfy cushion, so you can snuggle up there with a good book on a spring day or with a soft throw and the dog on a cool fall evening.

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The storage space below the window seat would make a great place to store those books and throws. You may even want to throw on a couple of decorative pillows.

4. Cast Clutter Underneath Your Feet With Under the Floor Storage

You see it on movies and television but not too often in real life, and there is not much of a good reason why. It’s a good idea, really — under the floor storage. It doesn’t just save space. It takes up no space.

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digitaltrends.com

Plus, since it’s mostly only in entertainment, a thief is not likely to consider searching for storage under the floor. You would probably be safe to keep valuables there.

5. Maximize Your Refrigerator Space With Hanging Fridge Drawers

These super-handy hanging fridge drawers make lots of extra space in a crowded, small refrigerator. A single person has only a little of this and a little of that, and it’s hard to keep it all organized in your fridge, so you can find it when you need it.

yemek.com

If you want white to match your refrigerator or if you prefer an array of bright colors, they make these useful hanging drawers for you in any color. It’s time to maximize your fridge space.

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6. Opt For a Coffee Table That Won't Reveal Your Mystery

If you are living in a small space, you must make room wherever you can. This coffee table is a great creative solution for how you can do that. You can use this coffee table to store your remote controls, coasters…whatever you find yourself in need of most often while you are vegging on the couch.

kudayta.com

As long as you don’t have kids, you could even hide things in your coffee table that you wish to remain a mystery to visiting family and guests. Just remember to take the remotes and coasters out first.

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7. Keep Everything Handy With a Cupboard Under Your Staircase

To survive in a small space, every empty space must be utilized. That is why these cupboards under the staircase are such a great idea. Some spaces are small cubbyholes, but most of them are tall and deep drawers that can store tons of stuff.

life.hu

The location is quite handy, as well. Right in the hallway and relatively close to any room on the ground floor, you’ll have easy, quick access to whatever you need to keep here.

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8. Live the Life in a Compartmented Apartment

Some apartments, it seems, are just not laid out well, but this one is compartmentalized so that it works for looks and utility. There is a shelf for everything you could possibly think of.

delta.ir

They liven up the space with that Kelly green couch, but you could add even more bright color contrast for a gorgeous solution to your problems with small spaces.

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9. Use Small Glass Furniture to Trick the Eyes

It only makes sense that a small space works better with small furniture, but what type of small furniture works best? For one, go with glass top tables. Because they are clear, they make the room appear larger than normal tables.

bradsknutson.com

If you must go small, and are opting for a glass top, you will need to concentrate on the design of your piece. This table is the perfect example. It has all the pizzazz. It may be small, but it isn’t silent.

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10. Read or Rest in a Versatile Storage Nook

Isn’t this little nook just amazing? The possibilities are endless in this tiny room. You can read comfortably with pillows and a blanket, all the while utilizing the shelf for an essential oil diffuser. You can nap and set an alarm.

expatworld.club

Under the bench, there is room to store all your blankets and pillows for company. The shelf folds up just in case you need to use the nook for all-out storage of something like a mattress and box spring.

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11. Elevate Your Bedroom in More Than One Way

Elevating your bed works in more ways than just one. First, of course, you lift it higher off of the ground. This obviously makes for more storage underneath, but what type of storage?

eyphoto.net

This is where second comes in. Use a beautiful bed skirt, and look for lovely shallow baskets that will slide underneath your bed. You can elevate your bed right now with some cinder blocks and 2″ x 4″ wood planks.

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12. Make Them Smile With a Triple Trundle Bed

When you have more than one child in a bedroom, it’s especially important to make the room fun. With this triple trundle bed and a little imagination, you can take your kids’ room to the next level.

basnews.com

When this pull-out bed is pushed in during the day, there is plenty of room for the children to spread out their toys and play. At night, though, there is also plenty of room to get a good night’s sleep for school the next day.

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13. Hang Bookshelves Over Your Doors to Give the Space Personality

A space that is most often totally wasted is the space over your doors. Sure there’s not a lot of stuff that will fit in a space so short, but after a little thought, you can get creative. For example, use it to store some books that you don’t need to access very often.

inmyroom.ru

It makes sense and it looks nice. Plus, you don’t have to relegate the shelves to only books, just to short stuff, like knick-knacks or small plants.

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14. Consider the “Kiddom” Dream — A Play World Under the Bed

Wow, what fun! It’s a world of play that just rolls under the bed at bedtime. This is such a phenomenal idea for kids. With three drawers, you can play at least three different ways, but with open play, the worlds go far beyond that.

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The top tier is designed to let your child make, play, and display whatever they want — a city for cars to travel around in, a river by which Army men can take sides, or an auditorium for a fashion show. Then the drawers underneath give your child a place to store their toys and figures when playtime ends.

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15. Open Up Your Kitchen With a Murphy-Style Kitchen Table

Hardly anyone has enough space in their kitchen unless they just don’t eat there. A common issue is that the kitchen table sometimes can be a catch-all. One way to avoid this is with a Murphy-style kitchen table. Just fold it out when you need to use it, and tuck it away when you don’t.

decorspace.net

The cupboard inside gives you room to store place settings, salt and pepper shakers, a sugar bowl, and more. Between the table legs is a pocket storage area for your Farmers’ Almanac, your favorite book, or whatever you need at your fingertips in the mornings.

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16. Organize and Modernize Your Kitchen With a Pegboard

What a wonderful idea! Whoever thought of this was a genius. Keeping your pots and pans in your cabinets not only takes up tons of space but also tends to scratch your pots and pans. Plus, it is a chore to take them all out and unstack them just to get the one you need.

pictaram.com

With a pegboard, you not only can get the pots and pans out of your cabinets but also things like your colanders, graters, cooling grates, and cooking utensils can be hung as well.

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17. Get Double the Use Out of Your Shelves

Shelves are useful as they are. They give us a place to store stuff that would otherwise be in a box somewhere or in a drawer. So, when you talk about doubling the use you get out of them, that is really something. Here is how you do that — by using the underside of a shelf, as well.

olaworld.us

What a great idea this is! Just attach the lids, fill your jars, then screw your jars onto your lids, and let them hang.

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18. Hide Away a Full Closet Under the Stairs

When there are two of you, and often when there is only one, in a small space, it’s hard to find enough closet space. This under-the-stairs closet is a wonderful remedy.

life.hu

There are racks for hanging clothes, drawers for unmentionables and accessories, and even racks for shoes. The question here, really, is — Why haven’t you thought of this before?

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19. Get Your Money’s Worth Out of a Triple-Purpose Headboard

This homemade-looking headboard is beautiful and triple-purposed. First, it’s a nice headboard, a piece of furniture for the head of your bed. Second, there’s a shelf across the top for your glasses or whatever you may want to put on it.

goodnewsarchitecture.com

Lastly, there are bookshelves on both ends of the headboard, so that you can choose your book, read it, and put it back all from the comfort of your bed.

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20. Look Bigger Than Life in a Miniature Vanity

There is absolutely no room, nor adequate light for putting on makeup in a small bathroom. Design yourself a small vanity similar to this one to solve such an issue.

xolivi.com

All it takes is a snazzy but small stool or chair, a couple of floating shelves with sides, and a medium-sized mirror. Place it where you can get ample natural light. Voilà — you have created a vanity personalized just for you.

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21. Clean Up by Tucking Away Your Washer and Dryer Set

Your washer and dryer set can be an eyesore. Even if it is new, it just isn’t the kind of thing that makes a fashion statement, plus, in a small space, it’s going to take up a lot of room.

yalalla.com

Try tucking away your set into a closet. Not only will it give you your space back, but it will also help you feel more organized with all your clothes and washing supplies stacked neatly by your machines.

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22. Make Bedtime Exciting with a Twisted Triple Bunk Bed

Bedtime and kids don’t always go together so well, but it is truly easier if your children have a place to sleep where they feel at ease and happy. Give your kids bunk beds like these.

webstam.com

This twisted triple bunk bed will make anyone’s kids smile. It doesn’t have all the kids jammed up on top of each other, but there is still plenty of room for play and study.

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23. Build an Entire Kid's Bedroom Utility on One Wall

This is a really great set-up for a child. On one single wall, there are places for their clothes, their shoes and accessories, their toys, and their bed.

mulpix.com

Not only is it neat and clean, but it leaves the whole rest of the room open where you could make a reading nook and still have tons of play area. If the room looks a bit plain to you, get out the paint, and throw some color on it.

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24. Keep Your Bedtime Library Close At Hand

Here, we have a really eye-catching project. It’s a drop-ceiling that doubles as a lovely, lighted bookcase. The top is left open, so you can use it to show off your plants or your favorite pottery.

ensonhaber.com

Note that there is a ladder for those who may not be tall enough to reach the books on their own. Also, appreciate the contrast of the color inside the bookcase with that of the room. You will be able to enhance the darker area below with pillows, a throw, or a piece of art.

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25. Stuff Your Stairs with Drawers

An idea that first started in tiny homes, stuffing stairs with all manner of things is a wonderful way to save space. As you see here, every step can conceal a drawer. You can store blankets, linens, towels, shoes, sweaters, jeans, books, and more. The possibilities are almost endless.

eddesign.co

You will find yourself wondering what you ever did before having this much storage space.

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26. Lessen the Hassle with a Bedside Organizer

This bedside organizer can change your bedtime life. Always losing your phone, remote, or glasses? You will always know where they are with this bedside organizer.

xshare.us

You may even be able to get rid of your bedside table altogether with a clip-on reading lamp. They come in different colors, too, to match your bedroom motif.

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27. Eat Bigger with a Bench

Using a bench instead of chairs on the rear side of your dining room table, not only makes a fashion statement of the best kind but also makes room for more people to sit for a meal on that side of the table. Plus, with a thick, cozy cushion, everyone will be vying for a seat on the bench.

jobsnow.co

Go with this sassy “add what you like” look or go with a more perfectly color-coordinated and texture-matched look, but either way, benches can create an effective style.

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28. Slide Baskets Into Shelves to Make Beautiful Drawers

Another great idea for making the most of your small space is to measure the width, height, and depth of your “cubbyhole” shelves and shop for baskets that will fit well inside. This idea means using these baskets like drawers.

thepioneerwoman.com

You can use these “drawers” in your closet to keep accessories like scarves, belts, or purses in, or you can also put this same idea to work in the bookcase or the shelves in your linen closet. More organization means fewer headaches.

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29. Give Them Their Bunk Bed Privacy

Bunk beds are great and all, but they normally aren’t at all about privacy. These bunk beds put an end to all of that. These bunk beds open to opposite sides with a wall on the other side, giving the person complete privacy.

crnobelo.com

With a little creativity, maybe a divider or a curtain, this idea could turn one room into two completely separate spaces.

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30. Organize Your Cleaning Supplies With a Peg Rail on the Door

Our cleaning utensils get stuffed into a closet, and we are so happy that we can close the door because ironically the cleaning closet is always a mess. However, by just doing something as simple as handing a peg rail on the back of the door to the closet, you can clean up a lot of that clutter.

crnobelo.com

They sell all types and sizes of peg rails and hooks that you could use to organize your cleaning closet so that it will be as clean as the rest of your home.

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31. Keep Your Secrets Underneath You With Quintessential Bed Storage

While probably not a great place to hide your valuables, this would be an awesome place for storage of all kinds of things from pillows, blankets, and linens to coats, sweaters, and other winter clothes in the summertime.

uhabit.us

Plus, you don’t have to worry about things rolling under your bed and having to fish them. Box stores sell all different sizes of boxes. You could organize your stuff and take advantage of every inch of space.

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32. Add Life to the Room by Hanging Floating Corner Shelves

The corners of a room can make the space look drab and flat, but something as simple as a few floating corner shelves can make all the difference. Here, two shelves are used to get knick-knacks out of boxes. One shelf is used to show off an old clock-radio, and one is used to sport a healthy plant.

picgrum.com

The stack of books on the floor even looks good with all the other stuff lined up directly above it. This is an inexpensive way to brighten up a room and small space.

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33. Let Your Purchases Pay Double-Time With Rolling Service and Storage

Don’t laugh. It may be more helpful than you realize. Roll carts are great for the service and storage of bars in a small space, but that’s not all. Have to do your makeup routine in the main bathroom but don’t have room there to keep all your personal items? Put it all on a rolling cart, and take it to the bathroom with you.

motherearthliving.com

Have a large family? Use your cart on wheels to hold tubs for dishes, like bus pans. Then, store the clean place settings on the cart for the next meal. Be as creative as necessary in order to get the most out of your wheeled cart purchase.

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34. Simplify Your Life with an All-in-One on a Wall

Any single adult needs three things in his bedroom. He, or she needs, at a bare minimum, a bed, a closet, and a desk, and here, you have it all on one wall. It’s tight, too. You can almost reach down to get your clothes from your bed.

wefollowpics.com

This way, you have plenty of room for a couch, a workout machine, a pinball machine, a vintage Centipede video game machine, or whatever else you can fit into your personal small space.

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35. Save Space and Decorate by Utilizing Your Window Sills

Many people just don’t think of a window sill as anything else but that — a window sill. However, a window sill can have personality. It is a great place for a vase or statue. Best of all, though, window sills are great places for plants.

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Not only is this a great place for your beautiful plants to get noticed, but they can get plenty of sun at the same time.

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36. Repurpose Your Office When Company Comes With a Murphy-Style Bed

This Murphy-style bed would save you a lot of space. You could forego the guest room by putting one in your office for when company comes. Not only does a bed fold out, but when the bed is folded away, a table comes into play. Talk about utility!

pinme.ru

Sure, if you have more than one guest, you’re in trouble, but you probably have a couch. Not everyone has an extra room they can turn into a guest room.

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37. Make the HVAC Unit Disappear

You can do a lot to a room with paint. You can color it, use contrasting colors to highlight parts of it or items in it, or like in this room, you can use what are usually dark colors to make things disappear.

perledelsalento.net

In this photo, that ancient eye-sore of an HVAC unit has all but vanished into the black part of the wall leaving a wall with a white against black contrast that opens up the room and welcomes the sunlight.

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38. Hide and Glide With This Slide-Out Headboard Shelving

Your glasses, phone, remotes, wallet, books, headphones — whatever things you may need, are at your fingertips with just a quick slide. Then, just as quickly, hide them away with a smooth glide.

novi.ba

A good idea and nice-looking, this headboard shelving is great for any room and can be dressed up or dressed down. The photo depicts simple decor, but a splash of red in that wall art with a red comforter, those gray pillows, and a few white pillows — can dress up the space a bit.

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39. Hang Towel Racks on the Door for Utility and Flair

There is probably already a towel rack in your bathroom that either displays a set of decorative towels matching your shower curtain or holds the towel you used the last time you took a shower. The third option is there may be a pair of jeans and a t-shirt on the towel rack and five damp towels on the floor.

beddingcomfortersets.us

Hanging a couple of towel racks on the back of the bathroom door will give you a place to either spruce up a little or get all those wet towels off the floor until it’s time to do laundry. I mean — how many laundry baskets can you have in a small space?

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40. Work at a Desk that Blends In

Some of us like our objects and plenty of them, and others are minimalists. No matter which one you are, if you live in a small space, you simply don’t have the luxury of being able to opt for a desk surrounded by objects.

grejanje.club

Whether it’s a place where you can work or pay bills or a place for the kids to do homework or art, a small desk like this is perfect for a small space. Another plus of this particular desk is that it almost completely blends into the white wall.

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