6 ways to get more from your space

Has the working from home shift suddenly left you with significantly less space than before?

Has your dining table now become your work desk?

Your spare bedroom your office? 

These days, homes need to be more multipurpose than ever before, which has resulted in the clear boundaries between each of your rooms or the areas within your open plan living space getting blurred.

Piles of paperwork on your kitchen surface, your laptop on your sofa, and your work schedule next to your bed; it’s easy to suddenly feel like your home is no longer your home.

And with what you thought was only going to be a temporary arrangement looking more long-term and, in some cases, permanent, now might just be the time to create some clear boundaries between your home and working life.

Get started with these six quick and easy ways to get more from your space:

1. Divide your room up

You don't need to be putting up new expensive walls! There are several different ways you can go about dividing your room that will instantly bring some organisation to your life too.

Shelves

You can use bookcase shelving, or any other form of shelving (ideally with no back, so you can see right through) to split your living areas.

The beauty of this idea, is that the shelves give the illusion of there being a wall and provide you with some handy extra space to store your work and personal belongings.

Curtains 

Curtains are a simple and effective way of creating a divide.

They’re also a good option if your budget’s a bit tight.

Sheer, plain curtains offer an unobtrusive solution that effortlessly blend into your surroundings.   

Free-standing dividers 

Ready-made room dividers do what they say on the tin.

And the great thing is, there are so many different designs to choose from!

Ultra-modern, ornate, slatted, folded, wooden, rattan and material, if you shop around, you’re bound to find an option you love and goes wonderfully in your home. 

2. Switch your furniture around

If your room/living space doesn’t have a focal point, such as a fireplace or media wall, go ahead and move things around!

You can still try if you have got a focal point however, things could look a little disjointed if you create a new focal point in addition to your original focal point. 

Ideas-wise, use large furniture, such as your sofa or dining room table, to clearly set out one area from the next.

Use colour to create zones by putting furniture and other belongings in a similar shade all together.

Put all of your pictures up in one corner of a room to give it its only identity and make use of macrame woven hangings to separate areas without creating a barrier.

3. Move the chair or table that nobody uses 

We all have one! Instead, move it to an area of your home where it will be used.

Then use the space where it used to sit to create an area that’s far more useful, e.g. as a corner home office, reading zone, play area or a place for pet beds.

4. Put a small console table or sideboard behind your sofa 

It’s the norm for sofas to have nothing behind them, especially if they’re against a wall.

But if they’re in an open plan area, and there is space to put something behind them without causing an obstruction, positioning a small, non-bulky small console table or sideboard right behind, will make that void really useful.

Use it to put useful items or ornaments on or, depending on the space you have behind you, you could turn it into a desk.