14 ways to add space without extending

If you've run out of room with little possibility of building outwards, don't despair - there are many ways you can better utilise the space you have

- JO DYSON

Nature abhors a vacuum,' said Aristotle, and like the Ancient Greeks we're also very good at filling every space with something, be it clothes, shoes, bikes or ourselves. If you feel you've outgrown your space but you don't want to move home, your natural instinct might be to get plans drawn up for an extension. At this point you might get more than you bargained for as build prices are at an all-time high owing to a shortage of labour, and material cost increases.

Other factors have also changed how we use our homes - many are spending more time working from home since Covid, and with rents skyrocketing, grown-up children are living at home with the parents for longer. More than ever our homes need to be flexible spaces, incorporating many different requirements, so they need to work efficiently. So what are your options if an extension is out of reach but your home is at maximum capacity and you need more space, be it an office, utility room or more bedrooms? Don't worry, there's a whole host of cost-effective conversions, remodelling ideas and clever interventions you can try...

1 Create more functionality