Smart Square Footage: Maximizing Space in Your Home

When designing your home, one of the first questions often asked is how many square feet do you need? It shouldn’t be just an arbitrary number you think will work, but a calculation based on how your family lives, works, and plays. And keep in mind that while space is certainly a factor, bigger is not always better. The livability of a home and how it fits with your family’s lifestyle truly determines the comfort of your home, and, likely, how long you will stay in your home. Space efficient house plans help you to maximize space without sacrificing livability.

An infographic about maximizing space in your home.
An example of a home built to maximize space.

Designers can create space efficient home plans that make smart use of every square foot, enabling homeowners to live large in a smaller home, make day-to-day living more comfortable, and storage dreams a reality.

A few things to consider when designing your home to maximize space.

Design with your family in mind

When designing your home, it’s important that there is enough space for everyone to gather comfortably. A good rule of thumb is that for every bedroom in your home, you should have seating for at least two people in your home’s gathering spaces. For instance, if you have a three-bedroom home, the family room and dining area should each have seating space for 6. For a four-bedroom home, have comfortable seating for at least 8 people in those spaces. 

Create generational living spaces

It’s becoming more & more common to live in a multi-generational home that can include grandparents, parents, kids, and even grandkids. Whomever you live with, it’s important to have living space for each generation to call their own. Create a teenage hangout space in the finished basement, a home office for the parents, and a sitting room or sunroom for the grandparents to enjoy. 

Dual-purpose rooms

By creating dual-purpose rooms, you can maximize space, or square footage, without increasing your home’s footprint which can be a costly mistake. Rather than have the food prep area and eating area separate, many home designers create space-efficient floor plans by eliminating the rarely-used formal dining room. Rather, a large kitchen island with seating can provide the space to prepare food, while visiting with family and friends. Your kitchen becomes the true “heart of the home,” and a place for everyone to gather.

Open floor plans

Create sightlines to borrow views between rooms. That will make it feel bigger by linking spaces together, literally and figuratively. Define spaces using furniture rather than walls. If you do need a divider to allow for privacy at times, consider using a sliding pocket door or glass French doors, which allow a space to go from concealed to available quickly and stylishly.

Rethink dedicated rooms

When it comes to having a dedicated home office, consider whether it’s truly necessary. Designers can use that space for something more suitable for your lifestyle that will be used on a more regular basis.

There’s no need to give up your office space altogether though, as a small alcove office tucked away in a nook offers the private, functional space that you need while freeing up a room. Or sneak a desk into a second floor hallway eave and your stair hall becomes a centrally located, multi-purpose computer room.

Move the laundry room upstairs

With most bedrooms on the second floor, laundry day can mean a lot of trips up and down the stairs. Consider a second floor laundry to eliminate the up and down, while also opening up more space on the main floor of your home. 

Plan ahead for storage

Rather than relying on furniture for storage, build bookcases, pantry storage, and shelving that won’t project into the room and take up precious floor space.

With a little creativity and help from our design team, you can create a home that is beautiful & functional and fits your family’s lifestyle. Compass Homes is here to help guide you through the building process so that your home is uniquely yours, with more thought and quality per square foot. Contact us today to get started building your new home.


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