In recent years, our homes have changed. They’ve become multifunctional and are working harder than ever before – not only a place to eat, sleep and rest – but our living spaces are now WFH areas, social hubs, play zones and more! And, according to data from the Department for Levelling Up, the average floor area of a UK home has gone from 104.6 square metres in 2017 to 87.9 square metres today.
So, whether you have a small pad, a tiny room or just lots of people to accommodate, find space-saving tips from our top picks below to get your home ready for spring.
Follow: Three Boys and a Pink Bath
@threeboysandapinkbath is the fun and colourful Instagram account belonging to Sofie Hepworth – currently living in a 450 square foot, self-built garden studio with her husband and two children, while they renovate an old Victorian coach house that will become their main house.
Sofie documents how they’ve been living in the studio for a year, with a possible 6 – 12 months more. It’s filled with a wonderful riot of vibrant colours and plenty of nifty ideas such as using wall space to hang folding chairs, adding wheels to your sofa and attaching a desk to the wall. And that’s not it, we’re also loving her progress updates giving us lots of gorgeous décor inspo!
Watch: George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces
Now showing on Channel 4, the show explores the extraordinary world of small builds, where people turn tiny spaces into the most incredible places to live, work and play.
The current series features a vintage café in a caravan, tiny library, houseboat and DIY home to name a few – a real mix of different spaces to draw inspo from. Thankfully, this is series 11 so there are plenty of episodes to catch up on and find something similar to your own project.
Credit: George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, Channel 4
Browse: Apartment Therapy
apartmenttherapy.com is a treasure trove of a website covering a whole host of topics such as organising and cleaning, home projects, house tours and much more. Including expert advice, shopping guides and how-to’s, the site aims to show “how people are making their homes more beautiful with true-to-life tips for a range of budgets”.
What’s more, the award-winning site has a “Small Spaces” dedicated section – full of brilliant real-home case studies, providing little tricks for small space living.
Read: The Interior Design Handbook
Written by interior design consultant and Swedish blogger, Frida Ramstedt, The Interior Design Handbook comes with over 200 pages of ingenious and practical design advice. It explains – and simplifies – the fundamental principles of interior design, giving rules of thumb and tricks of the trade that would be useful to everyone, irrespective of their taste and style.
The book is also not short of clever tips, e.g how using magic tricks with lines can help make rooms appear larger, or how minor adjustments can have a huge impact on the overall effect – without the need to buy new items or rip things out and start from scratch. It’s worth a read!
Credit: The Interior Design Handbook by Frida Ramstedt
Listen: The Great Indoors
This podcast is a must-listen when it comes to all things interiors and everything you need to know about making your place a home. In each episode, TV presenter and designer, Sophie Robinson, and author and journalist, Kate Watson-Smyth, discuss and guide you through the latest trends and topics from the home front.
In this particular episode, they reveal the secrets to small space living covering things like decluttering, storage, negative space and mirrors. So, if you’re into podcasts and want something for your commute or daily walk, this really is a fun and easy listen.
And if you want more ideas, check out online platforms like Pinterest – or speak to our staff in-store for more space-efficient solutions
