Southern State of Mind Blog by Heather

Tips for Creating Space in Your Home

in Lifestyle on


Morning! How was your weekend? 
We had a pretty relaxing couple of days! 
Complete with watching the movie Cars at least 3 times, of course… 🙂
Please tell me it is a phase!?!?

 Today I thought I’d share some tips about how we created more space in our home. 
And no, this didn’t involve adding any rooms or removing any walls. 

As I’ve mentioned before, we love our house. 
But it’s tight.
And not “tight” as in cool! Sweet! Awesome!
Tight as in the-walls-are-caving-in-on-me-it’s-so-tight-in-here.

This post could have also been titled “Maternity Leave Gave Me Cabin Fever”. This is because after living here for over a year, it actually took being on maternity leave to know that we were not using our limited space to it’s full potential. Yep, I had cabin fever and I wanted a change!

When we moved in to our home, we set the rooms up the way the people before us did. It just seemed like the natural thing to do.

After spending 3 months being cramped in our “then” family room, we made some changes to the purpose of three rooms in our house. Probably due to the fact that there was a whole extra person in our home. Granted he was only 7 pounds and 20 inches, but he required a lot of STUFF.
Did I ever mention that he spent his first 3 months of life in a swing? 
Good grief, those things are BIG.

OK- you ready for this?

Seriously y’all, this was life changing for us.

Here is how we pulled off a triple-room-switcheraoo and made our 
’50’s ranch home feel bigger without changing anything except furniture!
We turned the Living Room into a Family Room

Turned the Family Room into a Dining Room

Turned the Dining Room into an Office
Whoa!!!! For reals? 

Triple-room-switcheraoo!
Now, we now have an eat-in dining room, a family room AND an office! 
Just took a little out of the box thinking and some rearranging.

OK.You still with me?
Let’s take it from the top! 
We had a living room. It was lovely. 
Complete with a couch that no one used. 
Oh, and no TV. 
You know the fastest way to kill a room is with no TV!
 Before: Living Room

Now: Family Room

We had a family room. It was lovely. 

We especially loved that it was attached to the kitchen. 
Except it was TINY and we had tons of furniture.
Before: Family Room
Now: Dining Room

We had a formal dining room. It was lovely. 

Every woman’s dream. 
We used it a total of exactly 6 times in two years.
Before: Dining Room
Now: Office

I will be back tomorrow to show you the 
details of the never before seen office!
I know you are waiting on the edge of your seat. 🙂

Have you done any switcheroos to your house?
Did maternity leave give you cabin fever?

Edited- Click here for the home office details

Sharing with:

DIY Show Off, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Suburbs Mama, Rain on a Tin Roof, Between Naps on the Porch, 
Keeping it Simple, Savvy Southern Style, Huckelberry Love, Home Stories A-Z, Turquoise Home, Gingerly Made; 
Thrifty Decor Chick

Related posts:

Eye Candy: 20 Well-Styled Bookshelves Part 2: The New Playroom (After) Five Home Decor Tips to Beat The Winter Blues Dining Room Turned Home Office Details

Comments

  1. Suburban Charm says

    We didn't switch any rooms, but we switched the staircase to the third floor attic out of my son's room and into the hall way, and then finished off the attic into a much needed media room (kids' hang out) and office for my husband…with some attic space left for storage too. LOVE what you did with your switches!!!

    Reply

  3. Laura says

    I totally use my dining room as my office/crafting space. And I just have to clear off the table and it's ready for a huge dinner party! I actually would like to add some storage and maybe a small secretary desk so that I can store everything in there and not keep hauling everything out of the guest bedroom closet. There's got to be a better solution! 🙂

    Great post!

    Reply

    • Heather Metzler says

      Thanks Laura. Maybe a rolling cart that you can store in the closet and just roll the supplies? I don't know. This isn't a perfect solution for me either because I have to keep the office somewhat clean since it's the first room you see when you walk in. I would love a true craft room where I can go wild and let my creative juices flow- and be messy! 🙂

      Reply

  4. Leah says

    Growing up there were four of us kids in a 1300 square foot house. The largest room in our house was the living room that we were not allowed in. We, and our friends, were crammed into the tiny family room. To this day I get annoyed when I see people waste space like this. My house is 3000 square feet for four people. We utilize every inch. The living room? We use it all the time. Family room….same thing. Bravo for using the space you have.
    My mom and dad still have this problem. Their four kids, and their four spouses, and their eight grandkds cram into a tiny dining room while their large family room rarely gets used. Ugh.

    Reply

    • Heather Metzler says

      Wow. 4 kids must have been so much fun to grow up with! But yes- geesh- 1300 feet?!?!? And not using the living room! So glad you share the same principles as me- I am sure someday there will be space for a formal dining room- but if not- that' ok too- I choose comfort and function! Thanks so much for your note Leah!

      Reply

  5. Jamie-So Much Better With Age says

    LOL I love how you say, not tight as in cool bahaha that's awesome. And yes maternity leave does give you cabin fever or at least wants you to paint your walls and redecorate every 5 minutes because you're always at home looking at your walls! This is a great post! Love how you switched up the rooms 😉
    Hugs,
    Jamie

    Reply

  6. Lauren Lanker says

    Okay, this is sort of genius! Your "after" photos are simply stunning, and this is making me think that all those homes we've looked at with a "formal dining room" that we don't need…actually are potential office spaces! Way to think outside the box and make it work for you and your family. Brava!

    Warmly,
    Lauren
    The Thinking Closet

    Reply

  7. Krista thehappyhousie says

    Repurposing rooms to suit your own needs is the best way to go Heather – great job thinking outside the box! We just moved our two sons together into the same bedroom to create an upstairs craft room/office space/homework room. I LOVE it!! So much more functional now!!

    Reply

  12. Julie Roberts says

    I love LOVE your look! Please tell me the paint colors you used in the family room. I"m currently looking for the right "greige" for our home, and really like what you used. THanks!!

    Reply

  13. Clayton Steadham says

    You’re definitely a makeover master, Heather. Switching 3 rooms is a big challenge. But looking at the results, I realized it’s a not-so-big-of-a-challenge for you at all. I like the way you transformed each room, particularly turning the kitchen in to an office room. I’m sure no one will ever guess that it’s once a kitchen. | Clayton @ Metroffice.com |

    Reply

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