How to make space in a small room?

As I was preparing to launch my small shop, I realized that I needed more space! My office is in our third bedroom (the smallest room in our home, aside from bathrooms), and I needed it to function as an art studio, office, and shipping space, what? Big ask, right? This is how I made my 100 square foot space stretch to serve three purposes in four easy steps.

5 steps to make your small space work for your needs:

1. To make your small space work for your needs, you first need to identify what you need to do in your space. Make a list of what you need your room to do for you. I needed my office to be both practical and creatively inspiring. I needed to have room for shipping, inventory, and storage. Ask yourself:
   1. “What do I want this space to do for me?”
   2. “What do I want this space to feel like?”

2. Take your list and identify what your greatest obstacles are. For me, I have a large table I use for painting. It takes up an enormous amount of space. I also have one window, one entrance door, and a closet in this small room.

3. Let’s get to the fun part (at least for me). It’s now time to think outside of the box. Where are you wasting space? In my office, I only have one wall without a door or window in it or near it. So much space was being wasted because I had a vintage cabinet sitting in front of my only blank wall. Space on either side of the cabinet wasn’t being utilized. After seeing the wasted space, I decided to clear it out so that I could think outside of the box. Finally, it occurred to me that I could add shelving here and create a ton of storage and have a place for some creative styling.

4. Purge, PURGE my friend. Eliminate mercilessly. You don’t have the luxury of keeping things that aren’t essential. If I hadn’t used it or looked at it in a year, out it went. I did make some exceptions for keepsakes and such. Those I organized into matching bins and boxes. Making space in a small room can often times mean becoming selective about what you put in your space.

5. Okay, you’ve made it this far, now it’s time to make your small space work for your needs. Here are a few Organizational tips I used when implementing my design:
   • By keeping some of the organizational elements alike, it keeps the eye from feeling overwhelmed.
   • In addition to matching elements, I also incorporated surprise elements for storage, such as an antique wood bowl for my ribbon. Using unique pieces allowed me to incorporate elements that speak to my creative soul in practical ways. Finally, have fun. This is your space, and it should feel like that when you’re done, friend. You’ve Got This!

Blessings and love, as you make your spaces work for you! Be sure to send me pictures over on IG so I can see all of your creativity!

Much Love,