One of the most challenging interior design issues we can face is how to maximise space in a small room.
There are lots of blog posts and articles aiming to help you, give you ideas and tips, plus offer inspiration for your own decorating, but what I’m hoping to do in this post, is give you some ideas of how natural daylight can assist.
We are going to look at how the installation of VELUX roof windows is essential in smaller conversions and extensions to help maintain and improve on the light and maximising space.
This is part of my collaboration with VELUX, a brand partner this year, who has a commitment to improving emotional wellbeing in our homes through maximising daylight, ventilation and space.
How to Maximise Space in a Small Home with Daylight
Why do we want to maximise the space in a small room? Shouldn’t we simply embrace tiny home living and be happy with it?
Well there are lots of benefits to feeling like your home is bigger than it really is.
Firstly, there’s the impact on our emotional wellbeing. We all benefit from feeling space around us, whether we are aware of it or not. If our home feels uncluttered and streamlined, our minds feel less cluttered too. I wrote a blog post on this very topic a little while ago.
Secondly, whilst small home living is more and more common, we all like to feel as if we made the best of the space we have. We all like to feel proud of our homes and enjoy spending time in them. Creating more space around us and making our home feel brighter and lighter is all part of this process.
Open Plan Extensions
Sometimes simply increasing your kitchen with even a small extension can really impact the space in the room.
Kitchens can sometimes feel cramped when you have a growing family, so an extension is the perfect way to increase the space.
You can build an extension to create more of an open plan kitchen and allow plenty of daylight into the room to create a feeling of even more space.
VELUX even have roof windows for flat roof extensions which can also be prone to being dark spaces if not enough daylight gets in. The impact on the amount of daylight gained from such a product is huge.
Similarly, you may think them unnecessary in a kitchen extension at the rear of the house. The trend is for bifold doors which are great for giving you access to the garden, but they won’t bring in enough daylight to fill the full space. If you miss out on your VELUX roof windows, then you run the risk of losing precious daylight and fresh air.
Get more inspiration for your kitchen extension on the VELUX website.
Small Loft Conversions
If you’re lucky enough to have a loft worth converting, you want to be able to maximise the space available.
They’re not always as large as other rooms in your home. And they can be odd shapes.
Side windows may overlook other properties, so again, use your VELUX roof windows to create and add as much natural daylight as possible.
You could invest in a VELUX Cabrio balcony too, increasing the amount of daylight and usable space in your small loft conversion as well as giving the room some floor to ceiling views.
Alternatively, there are different styles of side and vertical roof windows which enhance the feeling of space as well as bring more daylight and ventilation into the room.
If the roof windows are installed out of reach then you can choose from the VELUX INTEGRA electric and solar roof windows that open and close with the touch of a button.
All of these ideas will increase the sense of space, filling the room with light and enhancing your mood – as well as offering excellent ventilation to an often overly warm room.
Find more loft conversion ideas on the VELUX website.
Window Dressings
So, you have your vertical windows and roof windows now, giving the small room as much natural daylight as possible.
It’s important to use the right kind of window dressing.
If you’re not overlooked, I highly recommend a VELUX blind. Roman or roller, both designs offer a great way to control and maximise the light coming through a window.
VELUX have a large selection of blinds which, of course, fit their windows perfectly. From blackout blinds (ideal when you need a completely dark room in which to sleep) to Venetian, Roman and Pleated blinds and also their new Colour By You collection. This range allows you to tailor the look of your blind to suit you and your home, where you’re able to choose the colour to match your curtains, carpets, couch or more.
Reflective Surfaces
Yes, it’s true that the right selection of furniture and home accessories with reflective surfaces will help your room feel brighter. Any good article on maximising space via daylight will tell you this.
This doesn’t mean you need to fill your room with mirrors though.
What it does mean is to try and use a selection of surfaces which don’t necessarily absorb the light. You might want gloss cabinets, perspex chairs, a metallic drinks trolley, glass covered wall art or gloss painted bar stools.
If you simply can’t get enough daylight into your home this way, you may consider installing a VELUX Sun Tunnel. Available for either a flat or pitched roof, the sun tunnel is designed to provide natural light into corridors, stairwells, bathrooms and cupboards, where installation of a VELUX roof window is not possible.
It funnels the light into the space, increasing the amount of daylight in these darker spaces. It’s a great, practical solution which can transform a space.
These are all simple ideas, but realistic ways to help move the natural daylight around a small room.
MORE IDEAS VIA PINTEREST:
To give you some more ideas and inspiration around maximising space in small rooms, I’ve pulled together some Pinterest boards with further imagery:
PIN FOR LATER:
It’s easier than you think to maximise the space in your small room using daylight, if you simply follow these few ideas.
Have you increased the amount of daylight, and so made your home feel bigger? I’d love to know.
Jen x
Jen is an interiors writer and blogger and has an insatiable love of home style and decor
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