Need more space? 9 ways to gain more space without moving

Now's the time to talk to your local Fix It Renovations specialist about a 'Think Big' renovation project for your home - adding more space or developing your attic, opening up your home with bigger windows and glass doors, building a deck or outdoor living area, or changing your existing layout to make more of your existing space.

Here are 9 great ideas and tips to get you started. Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest, so we'll start with simple, inexpensive ideas:

Tip #1: Use paint to open up your rooms

Dark rooms always appear smaller than lighter ones. A coat of white paint on your ceiling can work wonders, opening up your rooms and making them seem bigger. By painting the decorative trim between the wall and the ceiling white too, you create the impression that the ceiling is wider than it is, minimising the tunnel-vision effect. Use pale-coloured paint or wallpaper on your walls. Cool colors make walls recede.

Tip #2: Keep it simple and uncluttered

It may seem obvious but clutter and big pieces of furniture take up valuable space and make your rooms look smaller. Remove anything unnecessary and use more compact furniture. In a bathroom, consider replacing a vanity with a pedestal sink, and if you don't use it, replace the bath with a shub or just take it out and keep only the shower. Wall-hung vanities, toilets and storage units provide a greater feeling of space by opening up floor space.

These tips involve more expense without the need to alter the basic structure or shape of your home:

Tip #3: This one will floor you

Install flooring, whether it's wood, tile or patterned vinyl, in a diagonal pattern to help make rooms appear wider than they are.

Tip #4: Let the sun shine in

Older homes often have small or poorly positioned windows, and they're often draughty. Reconfiguring with larger windows and glass exterior doors to take full advantage of the sun, views, indoor-outdoor flow and your lifestyle will not only make your home lighter and more spacious, but makes sense in terms of energy efficiency as well. In rooms which don't have windows, such as internal bathrooms, use skylights or solar tubes to bring in natural light.

Tip #5: Spread out without creating a bigger footprint

In traditional New Zealand bungalows and villas, bumping out bay windows was a common architectural trick for gaining precious square footage and natural light without increasing the home's footprint. It's still a great idea today.

If you need more than a quick fix, here are some tips that will really make a difference to your home:

Tip #6: Re-think your inefficient floorplan

Wish you had a bigger living room, kitchen or bathroom? Or that your kitchen caught the afternoon sun? Altering your floor plan and changing rooms may not be the major you think it is. Often it's a case of thinking outside the square to find solutions that will make your home more efficient, functional and friendly.

Tip #7: Build out

Rather than moving from the home they love, more and more people are choosing to add the space they need to create the home they will love even more. This can but doesn't necessarily mean building on new rooms. Often alternatives such as adding a deck, conservatory or pergola can provide you with all the extra space you need.

Tip #8: Build up

If you need more storage capacity, it may be a good idea to convert all that "wasted" space inside your roof into a loftspace (but you'll need to build a subfloor to avoid falling through the ceiling). If you have plenty of space up there, you may be able to develop a whole attic living area, which is especially worthwhile if you have the potential for views, or don't want to compromise your outdoor living space, or want to create a truly separate space for yourself. Skylights or dormer windows will open up this normally dark space to natural light and the outside world.

Tip #9: Create a basement or make better use of your existing one

Another place to look for extra space is under the house. Usually this is a damp, dark place, but with a little flair, there's no reason if you have some room down there why you can't convert it into a fantastic family or rumpus room, workshop, garage, or separate flat. If you don't have space, digging down or raising your whole house are possibilities worth considering.

There is no limit to the possibilities. All it takes is a little imagination, and some advice and ideas from your local Fix It Renovations owner, to achieve everything you've ever wanted from your home.

And as we said at the start, now's the time to get started...