When working on a fix and flip you are more than likely working with an already set amount of square feet to work with (that is unless you plan to work with the city to get approved to add square feet), and that means working with limited space. Learning to maximize the use of the available space in a home is a great way to identify areas that could be improved on, as well as help with the staging process when it comes to listing the property for sale or for rent.
One of the things to consider before going into some of these trends that will help you determine the best use of an area is to consider the breakdown of the home. Is it a large house or is it on the smaller side? From a study by the National Association of Home Builders, knowing if the home is less than 2,000 square feet or greater than 3,500 square feet can make quite a difference in how the bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and bathrooms make up the home. By knowing this kind of breakdown you can get to work on trying out these interior design ideas to help you maximize the space you are working with.
Storage
Who doesn’t love having storage space available to hide your knick-knacks or keep other spaces clear and organized? By either creating a storage unit or adding some unique shelving for the end user, they can have more ways to get rid of clutter and keep the home looking as good as when they signed the contract. In addition to storage being helpful for keeping a living space clean, it is also great for adding texture to a room.
Ways that you can add storage can include reworking some cabinets to actually be set up as multilevel drawers that can be used to organize dishes, silverware, and cooking ware making the kitchen a dream space for anyone looking to Konmari. This can be done throughout the kitchen, and it doesn’t have to be with dishes but for spices and pantry items too, and some bathrooms so that the end user can utilize the space to suit their needs optimally.
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Transitional and Flex Spaces
While sitting rooms can be nice to enjoy, there isn’t much else to do in one other than to sit in it. By adding a second layer to the sitting room you are making the space into a more functional room for the end user, and giving the room more purpose than a space to collect dust.
Some examples of adding a second use to a room could be with making a TV room into a guest room by adding a murphy bed or pull out couch, transforming a sitting room into a living room or dining room, and utilize the additional space in a master suite to be a place to wind down for the night.
Right-Sizing
Right-sizing plays a little into what we just finished discussing but can be more diverse. Instead of doubling up on the use of a room, the right sizing takes into consideration what will be used and put space towards that use instead of putting it towards something that will not be used. This would come into play if you plan on knocking down or building up walls.
Ways that you can right size would be like shrinking the size of a master bedroom in order to put in a larger walk-in closet, or doing away with a room entirely because it isn’t used as frequently as it had been in the past, such as a dedicated dining room. With open concept living areas and kitchens, a dining room is not as commonly used as they once were. You can do away with the dining room by knocking down its walls and incorporating that space with the adjacent room, allowing you as the remodeler to dedicate more space to a kitchen or living space.
Outdoor Living
It is cliched to say, but there is nothing quite like watching the sunset or sunrise in Arizona, and providing outdoor space for the end user to enjoy their beautiful vistas means more value to the home.
How you choose to create an outdoor living space can depend on where the home is located. If you are up in Denver, Colorado, a covered space can make for a nice outdoor dining area that can be protected from the summertime mosquitoes and transition to a lovely viewing area of the changing foliage in the fall, while if you are down in Phoenix, Arizona having shade for those sunny afternoons is great, but a gas fire pit can make for a great entertaining area for homeowners to entertain guests at and possibly enjoy some s’mores. You can also enhance an already existing outdoor space by adding shades that can be lowered or raised.
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