25 Space-Saving Tips

Nothing makes you feel more cramped in your living space than clutter and confusion. Follow our tips to help you minimize the mess and tidy up your space.

1. Add shelves above doorways.

2. Banish room-darkening shadows with additional light fixtures.

3. Put glass shelves across deep-set windows.

4. Use a chest or an ottoman with storage inside as a coffee table.

5. Put low bookcases along a sofa back: they’ll double as a sofa table.

6. Keep the flooring throughout a small space the same for visual continuity.

7. Line a room with a shelf high up on the wall.

8. Keep window treatments simple.

9. Run a low bookcase underneath windows.

10. Stretch your space to the outdoors by making a patio or deck comfortable and welcoming.

11. Place a large bucket for magazines next to your favourite chair.

12. Line a hallway with bookshelves.

13. Use a wicker hamper as both an end table and storage space for blankets.

14. Buy a coffee table with a drawer for remotes.

15. Carve out shallow display space between wall studs.

16. Use fewer, larger pieces of furniture and accessories to reduce visual clutter.

17. Choose sofas and chairs with plain or textured upholstery rather than vibrant prints.

18. Install shelves around a window.

19. Add window seats with lids.

20. Run shelves up to the ceiling.

21. Buy a magazine rack or stack magazines in flat-bottom baskets underneath a console or coffee table.

22. Take advantage of wasted space with corner bookcases.

23. Think monochromatic.

24. Eliminate obstructions: the further you can see into and through a space, the larger it’ll seem.

25. Arrange furnishings to avoid blocking views of windows and doors.

By Margot Bolin and Jessica Cote, StyleAtTheHome.com