Buying a rundown house, tearing it down to the studs, and re-building it has taught my husband and I A LOT – especially when the house we bought is very small. The reality is, that was all we could afford, so we decided to make it work.

This meant being smart with how we designed the house, including focusing heavily on efficient storage space, as well as incorporating furniture and styles that wouldn’t take up more space than it needed to.

We’re still working on everything, and we’ve definitely made some mistakes that we’re planning to upgrade soon.

However, this process has allowed us to understand the do’s and don’ts of efficiently designing a small space. I’ve decided to compile that into a list for you all, which summarizes what I’ve learned, as well as the ideas out there that I’m inspired by.

So, let’s jump into it!

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Sliding Doors

Sliding doors, commonly seen in the style of barn doors, are a great way to maximize the amount of space you’re working with. With regular doors, you have to keep space open for the door to swing open and closed.

If you’re really struggling with laying out furniture in a small space to the point that everything feels too cramped together, you’d be surprised to see how the layout of your space can change when you don’t have to reserve space for a door to open and close.

Here’s a photo of my own living room and the doors that separate it from the master bedroom. Not only does it add a nice farmhouse touch to our rural home, but it also allows us the flexibility to arrange our tiny living room the way we like without having to leave space for a door that swings out.

My husband built the doors, and we bought the hardware off Amazon. We love a good DIY project!

Not a fan of the farmhouse style? No worries! There are lots more minimalistic space-saving styles out there like these:

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Folding Dining Tables & Chairs

Not only are there so many different styles of dining room tables with foldable wings, but you also definitely want to consider a table with extra storage.

Here’s our NORDEN from Ikea – 6 storage drawers and 2 foldable wings. Although I love this table, I must warn you that it IS heavy.

The takeaway here is that a table with folding wings is a must – and 6 extra drawers for storage really do go a long way in a small space.

We also found matching folding chairs at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Although I’ll be honest and say there are better quality chairs out there (as explained in this blog post I wrote here)

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Couches & Beds

Remember! The key is to find furniture with as many storage options as possible!

My bed has pull out drawers like these:

And if you need LOTS of extra storage in your small home, there are options where the base of the bed can be lifted as well:

If you enjoy hosting, then you may have to get creative with sleeping arrangements for guests in a small home. In my situation, because my husband and I live three hours away from family, we needed to create as many sleeping areas as possible for when family comes to visit.

We do have a classic futon that folds into a bed for 2, but unfortunately…. no extra storage. Our biggest challenge right now is just finding the space to keep extra bedding for guests.

Once we have a little extra room in our budget, or if we see a good deal on Marketplace, we’re planning to switch the futon for a foldout couch with storage like this:

Image source: Ikea

On top of that, we also have a day bed that pulls out into a king sized bed, with 3 storage drawers! It makes the comfiest reading nook too when we don’t have guests.

Image source: Ikea

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Coffee Tables & Footrests

Another great way to store smaller items would be through ottomans, poufs, footrests, and coffee tables with storage compartments.

My husband and I found a vintage picnic basket at a yard sale that provides a great amount of extra storage and doubles as our footrest. It’s also lightweight and so easy to move around with it’s handles when we need it out of the way (Our next little project is to fix it up a little more and add a cushioned top, because it definitely needs a little bit of TLC).

If you’re looking to explore repurposing vintage or thrifted items, then check out this unique concept for a coffee table! I’m absolutely in love with this idea – especially because of all the extra storage it comes with. The best part is the added flexibility in selecting your preferred suit case size to fit your small space.

Small minimalist designs also work great with footstools in small spaces like this one with storage:

And if you like a more minimalist approach for a coffee table, take a look at what we did with our DIY circular coffee table with a lower shelf for small storage (inspired by the LISTERBY Ikea table!)

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Extra Pantry Space

One DIY project we did that my husband and I absolutely love is our pantry. We took the space under our stairs and added an Ikea shelf for extra pantry storage.

We added a door to keep the area looking a little tidier, as well as to keep the mice out of the pantry (we do live in a very old house).

If you have the opportunity to create a little nook like this, I’d definitely recommend it. It makes a huge difference when it comes to storing extra food in a small space!

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Hanging Pots and Pans

On the topic of kitchen spaces, our biggest game changer was also creating a DIY hanging rack for our pans.

We found a discarded oven rack that perfectly fit the space where we wanted to hang our pans, gave it a coat of black spray paint, and now we’ve created very handy extra storage space!

There’s nothing that drives me crazier than trying to sift through heavy cast irons pots and pans in a small kitchen cupboard. And as an added bonus, all of our cooling racks easily slide on top as well.

I must say, being able to display our cast iron pans also adds to the overall farmhouse aesthetic of our little house.

If you have any shelves in your kitchen, then you can incorporate hanging pots and pans like this:

So many possibilities for both store-bought and DIY projects.

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Key Takeaways

Here’s the reality: if you’re living in a small space, you simply have to get creative with storage solutions.

Always look for furniture that comes with extra storage compartments – whether its a dining table, a couch, or coffee table.

Compact furniture and design is your best friend. This means dining room tables that can fold in or out, day beds that can turn into king sized beds when needed, or sliding doors instead of doors that swing in or out to maximize space.

Good luck on your storage and space making journey! I would love to see any space-saving projects you take on in your small home.