How to add space wıthout extendıng

Craving more room but want to stay put? No problem. Our tips and tricks will help you create more space without increasing the footprint of your home

- MICHELLE GUY

As our families grow or our needs evolve, the homes we live in don’t always feel like they are flexible enough to accommodate these changes. Space becomes a premium, whether that’s because more people are sharing it, or because we need our homes to do more for us — we may need an office space, for example, due to many more of us working from home. The problem can make us promptly jump on those ‘house for sale’ search engines and thumb-scroll through potential houses that could take all of our extra stuff/or people. But moving isn’t always the answer, or an option. Often our homes have the potential to give us more space; we just need to look at them differently. And although extending seems an obvious route, splashing out on a big (and disruptive) build project isn’t always feasible. Thankfully there are techniques, tricks and solutions you can employ that will add space, or at least the illusion of it, to make your home work better for you.

CREATE A ROOM OUTDOORS

Viewing our gardens as an extension of our home is a way to extend the space we have. Alfresco dining isn’t a new trend, but there is a shift towards forming a more permanent, functional living space outdoors that can be used all year round. Extending without extending! Creating a roofed structure to accommodate seating and dining can be done using timber offcuts and corrugated plastic sheeting, as shown here. Incorporate lighting, heating and somewhere to cook and you’ll have an extended, all-in-one dining room and kitchen outdoors.