Easy Affordable Hacks to Creating Extra Living Spaces

If you’ve just moved into your first studio apartment or looking to upgrade your bedroom to increase its functionality there are a multitude of clever, inexpensive and simple ways to maximise space and give the illusion of multiple sections within one room. Employing a builder to put up a dividing wall in your living room is a permanent luxury most can’t justify. Here are the easiest ways to transform your home and convince your guests you should’ve been an interior designer.

Room dividers were traditionally used as changing areas in the bedroom for a little extra privacy. Today, their usefulness has expanded from the bedroom and found a multitude of stylish positions throughout the home. As rent gets higher and residences get smaller the need for creative and effective use of a limited space becomes essential. Even if you’re living in a generously sized home with large, open-plan rooms, sometimes employing these carefully considered placement techniques can expand the perceived space of a room.

1. Room dividers

Typical room dividers or privacy screens are great for cordoning off an area and marking a new ‘section’ of a room.

• Placing a room divider in the corner of the room is a great place to change behind and throw all of yesterday’s clothes on. Everyone has that ‘chair’ where clothing just seems to pile on, so why not make it look trendy with a new changing space?

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• If there’s a corner of your house or apartment that looks a little empty, unloved or awkward why not place a room divider in the corner and style around it? Add plants and artwork around a privacy screen and create a vignette.
• In an open plan living room place a privacy screen behind two sofas or armchairs to signal the beginning of a new section in the room. Play around with the positioning of the room divider and how it creates a sense of separation with a new seating area. 

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2. Hanging Curtains

Curtains usually frame windows and provide privacy from the outside looking in. They also can completely separate a section of a room and make it look like its private oasis. Mounting a curtain rod to the ceiling and hanging the curtains in a way that completely separates a sitting area or bed gives the appearance of a private space. This is an excellent and inexpensive option for studio apartments or large warehouse/ open living spaces. Think (but don’t emulate) how hospital wards use these curtains around a bed.

3. Bookshelves

Bookshelves are some of the most versatile pieces of furniture and payback their usefulness in so many ways. They can be used to display art, books, plants, ornaments, used as a make-shift pantry and in this case when placed between two intended sections of a room act as a divider that still lets light in and doesn’t completely close off a space. For example, if you’re trying to separate your bed from a dining area, place a bookshelf between the two and decorate it lusciously with plants, books, records and your favourite ornaments and create a beautiful vignette room divider.

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4. Console tables

Sometimes something as simple as placing a console table between the sofa and the dining area signifies the beginning and end of a section. Using tables and smaller shelves are great because they don’t impede the line of vision, so the eye is still uninterrupted and maintains the appearance of open space – still offering you storage and a small section of living space.

5. Plant stands

Irrespective of the size of a plant stand, their functionality and usefulness remain equal. Putting a plant stand next to your kitchen area near your dining space can split the areas into two whilst adding a freshness to the space with fresh, natural plants and herbs.

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6. Rugs

Something as simple as placing a rug under your dining area can signify a specified space and remove it from the rest of the room. Placing a rug under your breakfast area or sofa can show a new section and add texture and depth to the space – lending intrigue and harmony.

Adding space to your new apartment or giving your living room a new lease of life is so simple with room dividers, curtains, rugs and bookshelves. These are risk-free options that won’t result in any permanent commitments to a specific room structure that you can change at any time. Have a blast!