Small spaces and minimal square footage are no longer deal breakers for renters and home buyers across the nation. Millennials, baby boomers and conservationists are looking to downsize their living space, carbon footprint and the responsibilities associated with owning a large piece of property and floorspace. Smaller homes and properties call for less cleaning, landscaping and property taxes, and they encourage you to use every inch of your space wisely. If you’re looking to downsize your space, check out the following tips:
Show Don’t Tell
While the idea of downsized living is appealing, the reality can be a tough pill to swallow once you start envisioning cramming an entire house-worth of stuff into a smaller space. It makes you claustrophobic just thinking about it! The best investment you can make in your smaller property before you show it to prospective buyers or tenants will be to show them just how efficient smaller living can be.
Storage Is Everything
Shelving makes everyone’s inner neat freak happy. Install it in unexpected places to help keep buyers optimistic about storage space. The bathroom is an overlooked spot where shelving is desperately needed. There are tons of do-it-yourself storage ideas for installing everything, ranging from cool industrial shelving with super cheap lumberyard scraps to cute and clever ideas using old dresser drawers and ladders. It may not be your prospective tenant or buyer’s personal style, but it will get their mind working in the right direction.
If there is no room to add storage space in the bathroom or kitchen, get creative by staging the space with furniture with built-in storage. You’ll also find surprisingly useful applications for a rolling cart that can be rolled in a room when necessary, and rolled into an inconspicuous spot when not in use. Think about a kitchen-dedicated rolling cart that doubles as extra counter space while cooking as well as extra serving space when rolled into the dining room.
Little Luxuries Matter
When living in a small space, it’s the little luxuries that matter. Consider ripping out old gross carpeting and laying down faux wood. It’s surprisingly easy to do yourself, and you’ll save a ton of money in labor. Another even more cost effective flooring solution is the increasingly popular acid stained concrete. It’s not as intimidating as it sounds and has a super cool, modern vibe that millennials will gush over. Just be sure to have some rugs in the living and bedrooms to keep it feeling cozy.
Bathroom renovations can get pricey quickly. If you don’t have the money to invest or the room to build dual sinks and a roomy bathtub, your best bet is to install a relatively inexpensive luxury shower head. Even if your water pressure leaves much to be desired, a rainfall shower head will make them feel like they’re back in Costa Rica on vacation. It just takes a few tools and a small investment in a new shower head. They start at around $80 and go up into the thousands.