Downsizing- moving from larger to smaller

The housing market is hot and prices are constantly increasing. This means that supply is less than demand. There is not enough construction and the elderly who live in villas are not moving to the extent they used to.

Either way, people move anyway. And this post is about what to consider when moving to a smaller home, from an interior design perspective. As for the move itself, there is excellent information at Enkla flytten.

Moving is hard but also exciting. When you are faced with a move, there are a thousand things to think about, regardless of whether you are moving to a smaller or larger home. If you move to a smaller one, it is easy to get a little panicky when you realize that there is an excess of furniture and some of it does not fit in the new home. But take it easy, most of it is actually about planning.

The first thing to do is measure the space in the new apartment to see what furniture will fit and what to do with the leftovers? Surplus furniture and other items can either be given to an auction house, given away, stored, sold at, for example, Blocket or have your own flea market. Don’t try to bring too much into the new home. It is important to ensure that there is free space and light in a smaller apartment. Try to bring only what is absolutely necessary. In any case, some “downsizers” find it liberating to get rid of things, like a burden being lifted from their shoulders.

Then it’s all about order, everything in its place, and minimizing the number of gadgets.

Even if you try to reduce your furniture to a minimum, it may still not fit in your new apartment. Of course, buying new furniture can be a drain on your budget, but it’s always fun to shop.

A clever way to make a smaller apartment look bigger and have more depth. A wallpaper like this is called  Trompe l’œil  which means “deceive the eye”. Similar ones are available in larger wallpaper stores.

 As I said, start by measuring. Then use the floor plan, for example, to draw in where the furniture should be placed. Take the largest pieces of furniture first, such as the sofa in the living room and the bed in the bedroom. If you don’t have a tiny apartment, try not to place everything against the walls. Another basic principle that I think is essential is to furnish based on the age of the house. If you move to a turn-of-the-century house, the interior should ideally be adapted to it and vice versa.

Entrance and hall

Often the hallway is narrow and sometimes also long and it may not even be possible to furnish it. This usually requires smart storage solutions. But there are ways to still make it inviting and pleasant. I think it is super important that the eye meets something appealing when you open the front door.

If the hall cannot be furnished, lay down a nice rug.

If the hallway is wide enough, there is actually a type of furniture 
, the console table ,  that can fulfill more functions, but it can also be a narrow chest of drawers.

The kitchen 

When you move to a smaller home, the kitchen can be a problem. But you just have to bite the bullet and adapt. There are fewer cabinets, and you have far too much crockery. The dining area is smaller, etc. Then you have to pick out what you really need and then just thin them out. See above for the options available when things have to be disposed of. If there is space, you can buy an extra cabinet, such as a display case. If there is space between the kitchen cabinets and the ceiling, you may be able to fit small cabinets in between. Avoid having too many gadgets on the kitchen counters, it just looks cluttered and reduces the work surfaces.

The kitchen is often called the heart of the house, so there is reason to put in a little extra effort to make it pleasant. Either you are dealing with a  nice and fresh kitchen or an old and shabby one. If it is the latter and it feels completely impossible to live with, you either invest in a new kitchen or try to make the best of the situation. An old kitchen is often worn out and what can you do to freshen it up? I will briefly give some suggestions for a superficial makeover. 

1.  Repaint the doors if they are in decent condition, that is. The best result is obtained by submitting them for spray painting. White is the best color if you are aiming for freshness and the kitchen is perceived as larger. Refrain from trendy black doors, they will be out of date in a few years.
2. Replace knobs or handles
3. Put spotlights under the cabinets.
4. If the tiles are worn out, you can spruce up the joints by painting them white. Joint finish can be found in most paint stores.
5. If you feel you can’t live with an old tile that is cracked and chipped, replace it. The tiled surface is usually small in a kitchen and it doesn’t have to be that expensive. But try to stick to white, it’s classic and timeless. Instead of the ordinary white tile, try to find something different. The tile below is super stylish, completely to my taste. Actually, it’s the special laying that I like. It’s called subway or metro tile because you can find it on most platforms in the London Underground.

Also a few words about the dining area which is probably smaller than you are used to. If you have previously had a dining room, the new dining area will probably feel cramped.

If the dining area is not minimal, you can create something this stylish in a kitchen corner.

Another elegant little corner. One thing to keep in mind in a small kitchen is that a round table takes up slightly less space.

In a really small apartment, a dining room feel is probably not the first priority. A bar counter might be the only option, if at all.

Bathroom

Bathrooms in smaller apartments can feel like a shoebox if you’re coming from a larger home. It’s important to be smart here. You obviously want it to look nice, but there should also be plenty of storage space.

1. If the bathroom is dirty and the tiles have seen their best days, one way is to paint the joints in the same way as in the kitchen. Here, replacing tiles is a completely different matter than in a kitchen.

2. If the cash register is poor (or not) then paint the walls with wet room paint. If you get tired of the paint, just repaint. Knocking down existing tiles is time-consuming and difficult but well worth it. I personally prefer painted walls, it gives a softer impression unlike tiles which can be a bit clinical and cold, especially if it is white. And harder to keep clean actually. However, tiles on the floor are recommended, preferably with heating coils of course. If the choice is still to be made with tiles, I think you should avoid mosaics, they look so checkered and untidy and therefore not very harmonious.

By the way? Replace the toilet and sink. It doesn’t have to cost a lot. There are online sites that have nice bathroom decor for cheap money.

In a bathroom you can go wild because it is a place of its own even if it is small, and here it is absolutely not necessary to decorate with white, but rather a toned color that you like. Here is some inspiration for the small bathroom.

Not too bad, right? As inspiration at least. Check out the right picture. The mirror reflects the light so the bathroom looks twice as big. smart and stylish. (It’s white, but still has a soft feel with the right lighting)