Whether it’s a growing family, working from home, or an online shopping habit bursting from the wardrobes, space is at a premium for many, and in the current housing market, moving may not be an option. Maybe you don’t have the space for an extension, or the funds. Whatever the reason, if you need more space, there are plenty of ways to unlock it, using what you have and some clever design hacks.
Of course, it would be remiss to continue without mentioning the obvious: declutter. Easier said than done, of course, so if you’d prefer to hang on to the shoes you wore to your debs and bank statements from 1997, read on.
First, look at all your furniture and see what could be replaced with something more useful: a bed with storage drawers underneath for vacuum-packed out-of-season clothes; a fold-out couch bed that allows you to use the guest room as a home office; or a coffee table with deep drawers in it that you can throw toys into and reclaim your living room after the kids have gone to bed.
Carving out kitchen space
The kitchen is a hardworking room in most houses, and with a build-up of small appliances like slow cookers and air fryers accumulating on countertops, it can seem chaotic with all the clutter.
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Architect Grace Keeley advises going right up to the ceiling with kitchen cupboards: “You might need a little step ladder to get access to the storage at the top, but you’re still making use of every little bit of space that you have, so you’re not wasting any areas.”
If you’d love a utility room but don’t have the space, you could consider taking inspiration from the European way of doing things and relocating the washing machine and dryer to the bathroom. An elegant little utility cupboard will keep them out of sight, and you’ll gain some extra kitchen storage.
Bathroom bliss
It’s well-documented that a quick shower uses a lot less water than a leisurely bath; if you’re not a bath aficionado and think you can live without yours, you’ll instantly free up a whole lot of bathroom space by removing it and replacing it with a corner shower. Not to mention upping your eco credentials by saving water.
For an even more spacious feel to the room formerly known as the bathroom, consider a wet room or flush-to-floor shower tray and clear glass panel screen. The trending style makes the space seem more airy and spacious.
If you’re renovating, it’s the ideal time to build in a recessed wall shelf in your shower too, for a more streamlined look to your shampoo bottle storage.
While you may miss a heated towel rail in the bathroom, underfloor heating means you can get rid of unsightly radiators in all the rooms if you want to. New advances in the technology mean it’s now possible to install it on upper floors, according to Ian Scouler, managing director of TMSG. “Underfloor heating increases the available floor area of a house by 15 per cent,” he notes. That’s a considerable space saving and allows you more freedom to reorient furniture, perhaps putting storage or a bookcase where a radiator used to be.
Making rooms
Attic conversions are a common way to add an extra bedroom, but the strict fire regulations around stair access mean that may not necessarily add value when you go to sell your house. “Quite often you’ll see houses on the market that have attic conversions done, but they can’t sell them as four bedrooms. They’re still sold as a three-bedroom house because the attic room isn’t compliant,” says Keeley.
Small rear extensions of up to 40sq m, a front porch of up to 2sq m, and garage conversions are all allowed without planning permission. Keeley advises that there are some extra rules to comply with when it comes to extensions, especially if there is already an existing one: “Any extensions, when added up together, would need to be less than 40sq m,” she says. You can also build up, but the 12sq m allowed on the first floor in a terrace or semi-detached house, or the 20sq m allowed in a detached house, must also come out of the 40sq m total. “Then there are rules about distances from the boundary. You need to be at least two metres from the boundary if you’re building at first-floor level. And also, there’s a rule about the private open space that’s left after an extension is built, so that shouldn’t be reduced to less than 25sq m.”
Broken plan
Making your home open plan may give an illusion of space, but you lose walls which cupboards and shelves may formerly have stood against. Keeley suggests going down the ‘broken plan’ route instead.
“Try to incorporate pocket doors that just slide away. They are fantastic for space-saving,” she says. “If you can have the flexibility, everybody needs their own space at certain times, especially if you have a family, everybody’s doing something different, and it’s nice to be able to divide a larger space down. But then, if you’re having any kind of family gathering, it’s always nice to be able to make the room feel a lot bigger.”
Stairway to (storage) heaven
While witch’s stairs and spiral staircases seem like a great choice for a space-saving staircase, with a quirky design twist thrown in, those fire regulations will come back to bite you. However, the space locked in by traditional staircases can be rescued. You could fit in a little guest WC, build in a glorious bespoke dog bed, or free the passage through your overwhelmed hallway by making it a storage space for coats, shoes and schoolbags. “It’s a great place to store shoes, vacuum cleaners, all that kind of stuff,” says Keeley. “Quite often, it’s a bespoke joinery item. It’s quite hard to buy off-the-shelf solutions that will fit, but I think it’s worth doing because you gain a lot of space.”
