Working with a small space (less than 400 square feet) can be a struggle, but I was prepared to create a space that would accommodate a bedroom, home office, living room and dining area. In addition to my own personal belongings, I inherited quite a bit of furniture and memorabilia:
- Bed
- Dresser
- Nightstand
- Desk
- Bookshelf/Hutch
- Nesting Tables
- Dining Room Table
- Dining Room Chairs
- 4 Living Room Chairs
- TV
- 2 Chests
- Piano
- Organ
- Assorted Lamps, Artwork, Accessories, Area Rugs and Books
At first, I felt slightly overwhelmed as I wondered how I could accommodate all these items in a small space while avoiding clutter and having my space resemble a furniture store.
The first and most important step that I took was to sort through everything and determine which items I wanted to keep, donate , toss or sell. I narrowed it down to the list mentioned above, which still left me with a lot of items.
The next step was to determine the layout of the room and how I wanted to create my space. I had a general idea of where I wanted to place pieces, but I knew that I would have to play around with arrangements until I was satisfied. A helpful tool to get design ideas is through magazines, websites, television or inspiration from others.
Organizing my space was the next step. Although I desperately wanted to get everything organized at once, I knew better. Tackling everything at once will inevitably cause you to feel overwhelmed. Therefore, I had to choose one area at a time, starting with the area that was causing me the most distress by being disorganized.
Next week learn how I have been successfully organizing my basement apartment.