15 Aug 5 Ways to Maximize Your Home’s Square Footage without Expanding

There’s a lot to be said for the Quad Cities’ smaller homes. They’re easier to maintain, more affordable, and they promote simple, uncluttered living. But, sometimes a home that’s less than 2000 square feet gets a little crowded. No matter if you’re adding to your family, working from a home office, or need room for guests, the time may come when more space is necessary. When you want to maximize your home’s square footage without adding to your home, it takes some careful, well-thought-out planning. 

Here, we offer our tips to make your home more comfortable and functional for your needs. Smaller footprint homes tend to offer ways to maximize your home’s square footage without adding on or undertaking a huge renovation project. Here are five ways you can get the space you need without expanding.

5 Ways to Maximize Your Home’s Square Footage

Adding onto your existing home is certainly an option, but a major addition can be disruptive, costly, and take away from your home’s aesthetic. Moreover, construction projects take time, and when you need space, you want it sooner rather than later. Here are our top five tips to maximize your home’s square footage without expanding.

1. Optimize Your Storage

The current trend is all about living simply. But, there are some possessions you just can’t get by without. Even so, you surely don’t want clutter taking up floor space when you can optimize your storage to minimize your mess.

One way to add storage and optimize the space you have? Built-in bookcases and shelving. You can display special items and add doors and drawers to your built-in shelving to hide those items that may add to the clutter. 

If you have stairs, the area beneath those stairs provides a perfect nook to turn into a storage closet. Go vertical with wall-mounted cabinets, floor-to-ceiling shelves, floating shelves, and multi-purpose furniture like storage ottomans.

2. Work with What You Have

Work within your existing floor plan but reconfigure the placement. The kitchen lends itself to this plan very well. Maximize your home’s square footage by altering the cabinet configuration. Make the most of the space you have and view your kitchen with an eye for wasted space. Change where you place your appliances. Expand your counter space as well as your storage space by adding a peninsula. While you’re at it, update your kitchen in the way you’ve always wanted and make the most of the square footage you have.

3. Change Up Your Interior Space

Open-concept floor plans tend to make a home appear more vast than the square footage actually is. If your main living area is made up of rooms that are walled off from one another, tear down those walls. Opening up your floor plan instantly gains you some square footage and makes everything more spacious. When you open up more window space, the flow of natural light increases the effect. 

For example, if your kitchen is separate from your adjacent dining room, open them up to each other. The same goes for the family/living room. When you take down the walls, there is that much more room to move freely about your home. And your designated areas have more floor space as well.

4. Go Up, Not Out

Lofted beds in kids’ rooms aren’t just fun; they maximize your home’s square footage. When you go up, the space beneath can be utilized for storage, a reading/play nook, or even a place for another bed. 

Adding a loft to a playroom provides a perfect spot for a TV or video game area for your older children, or a cozy spot to unleash their creative side and make crafts. The loft can also be utilized for storage. 

5. Finish Unfinished Areas

If you have an unfinished basement, finish it and maximize your home’s square footage without expanding the footprint. A finished basement or attic adds immense property value as well, so your return on investment is great. That finished basement or attic can become a home office, a guest suite, a teen suite, or a spot to escape to and enjoy some peace and quiet. The sky really is the limit.

More Ways to Maximize Your Home’s Square Footage

Eager to learn how you can maximize your home’s square footage without expanding the footprint? Contact Seiffert Home Design today and speak with a member of our professional design team. Together, we can create that extra space you need without diving into a home addition.