25 ways to make the most of your small home (part one)

You might think a small home needs tiny furniture, but that's not always true. 

A large, comfy sofa in your living room could look and feel far better than two smaller ones. Corner sofas will be exceptionally good as you can make more of those dead corners!

So many people get it into their heads that they need to strictly organise everything in a small home. While that is a great idea, don't buy any organisation systems until you've purged your home of all the things you no longer need. 

If you buy more storage than you need, you'll be able to find places for all the unneccessary tat!

An oldie but a goody! This tip is tried and tested the world over.

Mirrors and glass panels make light work (excuse the pun) of reflecting every ray of natural light within a small home, which makes it look and feel far bigger.

Try it if you don't believe us!

By all means have pretty curtains or blind, but once you're out of bed and getting started with the day, you need to throw those window dressings wide open. 

The more light you can invite into your home, the better! It's easier to mount curtain poles above your windows to make sure you can pull the drapes right out of the way.

Every nuance of space counts in a small home and, when it comes to storage, the more you can include the better. 

Don't get caught up looking at eye-line potential. Instead, look up and start thinking about how you can make more of the height of your individual rooms. 

This log storage is a perfect example of what we mean.

Kitchens in small homes can be tiny. Thus, to garner more storage space, ignore all the outdated rules about top cupboards and build extra tall ones right up to the ceiling.

It's more important to have clear surfaces than empty wall space!

Small homes are indisputable proof that no space is a dead space, if you think outside the box.

Take another look at all those corners and start installing clever storage systems (such as custom drawers or pan carousels), and you'll see that you can unlock far more storage than you thought.

If your cupboards are full to bursting and items start creeping onto your kitchen worktop, that's a huge no-no in a small home. 

Add some racks and hooks so that you can free up cupboard space, then decorate your walls with the pans and cookware you use most frequently.

Don't ever underestimate the usefulness of open front shelves in your kitchen. 

They won't make a small room feel too enclosed or claustrophobic, but they will increase the storage potential exponentially. They also allow for frequently used items to be within arm's reach at all times!

Those pesky small kitchens can actually be wonderfully beautiful and functional.

Paint the inside of a couple of cabinet doors with chalkboard paint and you can transform them into handy shopping list reminders. No more notebooks on the counter!

Instead of cluttering up your small rooms with a medley of cleaning products, simply have a portable caddy that you can transport to every room as and when you need it.

When it's not in use, store it in a cupboard out of sight and don't leave any products laying around.

A small home will clock up just as much paperwork as a much larger one, as everyone has bills to pay and insurance documents to keep hold of.

So, make sure you never lose an important piece of paperwork again by fitting some wall files. Before you file anything, make sure you actually need it!

When space is at a premium in your home, it's time to start thinking about multifunctional furniture. 

You can now get beds that have integrated storage, wardrobes and desks. There are even some that can simply fold up against the wall when not in use!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for part two. In the meantime, check out this Ideabook: These design mistakes are making your home feel small.