An astounding amount of work goes into making a house look and feel like a home. Subtle design tricks and the smallest of decoration adjustments can make a space feel warm and cozy, or cold and sterile in no time.
It’s no wonder so much thought is given to the aesthetic qualities of residential space, after all, appearance is a highly important element of design. What can often be overlooked, however, is the functionality of a space.
How a room flows, feels, and is used is all dictated by the functional elements of design. These are the fundamental considerations for utilizing a small space effectively, encouraging particular uses in certain areas, making specific activities easier, and much more. In short, functionality can be directly related to how livable an environment is- how well it serves its desired purpose and can support the material goods required to do so.
There are a ton of adjustments you can make to ensure your home is as efficient as possible, but here are 7 of the best ways to make your home more functional.
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1. Prioritize Storage
How many times have you lamented the amount of junk you have in your house compared to the amount of space you have available? Luckily, this is a quick fix. The number one friend of functionality is storage. As such, placing bins and carts around your house will ensure that everything you need is always within reach. It’s also a good idea to invest in shelf separators and closet organizers so that everything is always neat and tidy. This will cut preparation times in half and make sure you’re able to get out the door and to the game in record time.
2. Functional Furniture
It’s high time furniture stopped existing just to look nice and started to do a little heavy lifting around the house. Naturally, it does a lot of lifting- furniture should be able to hold some serious poundage in order to accommodate heavy usage and multiple people. However, thinking about who is going to be using which pieces and how often, should influence design choices. Reach for sturdier materials and darker colors for heavy traffic areas, and lighter more delicate fabrics for less frequent use.
3. Keep Spaces Clear
This one seems like a given, but is anything but. It seems counter-intuitive when trying to find ways to beautify your home, but surfaces that are used with any level of frequency should be kept clutter-free. This means though you may want to, decorating your bar cart or kitchen counter might not be the best move. Levels of clutter will depend on how much you or your family specifically makes use of this surface. Generally, counters that are the primary location of food preparation should be left bare. Think of it this way, you can either leave a space free of decoration or have to clear trinkets and signage every time you need to utilize the space. Save yourself the time and the agro, and make sure the right counters remain spotless.
4. Fill In the Nooks
There are always little nooks and crannies in a house that, try though you may, you just can’t seem to figure out. How do you best make use of that little empty space between your oven and your counter? The answer is, without fail, useful gadgets. If you find yourself wondering if something exists- it definitely does. However, if you need help finding some truly unique space-saving tools check out a website that compiles and compares efficient gadgets. Not only will you be exposed to a whole new world of design tools, but your nooks and crannies will also be useful in a way they have never been before.
5. Go With Intuitive Use
It’s called a home office or a home gym for a reason, and it all comes back to the activities that are most often carried out in that space. Wherever you find yourself within your house, there is usually a repetitive action that characterizes the area. When you walk in the door- what do you reach for first? Perhaps it’s a dish to put your keys in, a bench to untie your shoes from, or a hanger to set down your coat. The key here is to honor what feels intuitive. By designing a space around the natural movements of your body, or first thoughts of your mind, you’ll never skip a beat wondering what your next step is.
6. Light Up Your Life
Lighting is a major design element in all regards. It makes things look pretty and draws focus to where you want eyes to gravitate towards. Strategically placed lighting can make rooms look bigger or smaller, or warm up the chilliest of nights. From a functional standpoint, it is also a place that can be improved upon to improve mood and motion. Whether it is a bright light needed to aid study and focus in an office, or a dimmable light switch in a dining room to accommodate the least or most formal of meals- lighting should not be overlooked.
7. Build Up, Not Out
Building your bookshelves and cupboards taller, not wider, will make sure that your space is operating at peak functionality. By designing “up”, you create more chances for storage, while still keeping areas that have different requirements separate from one other. This means that every functional space in your home will have its activity-specific tools within reach, with ample room to spare. It also creates the illusion of having higher ceilings and increases the appearance of room sizes.
Ultimately, the form over function debate is irrelevant. It is undisputed that regardless of your stylistic vision for a specific space, the function of that space must also be extremely high. This is especially true in the case of a house. If a kitchen looks good, but you’re never able to find any of the ingredients you need for a recipe- the function is low, and it’s not serving you in your day to day life. Prioritizing function forward design tricks will not only make your space flow well and make logical sense, but it will also save you time and improve your quality of life. With the help of the 7 tips listed above, you can turn every room in your home into a functional dream. Always know where things are, always have the right tool or material on hand, always be able to move through your space effortlessly. Incorporate functional designs into your home and you won’t believe you were able to live without them.