The subject of saving space has been a hot topic of discussion amongst design magazines lately – and with good reason! Climbing real estate prices all over the Bay Area combined with city regulations (like set-back rules, which limit just where you can build on your property), make taking advantage of space practically a necessity! In other words: space is at a premium, so make it work for you.

You can make the most of your home’s square footage by taking into consideration some clever space saving techniques and ways to be efficient with your interior design. What results can feel like magic: basements and attics get made into fabulous family rooms, work spaces, and kiddie play rooms, trippy little wine cellars appear in crawl spaces, and Harry Potter-esque bedrooms (or cupboards anyway) appear under staircases.

Plus Murphy Beds have gotten a makeover and are making a comeback, nicer and easier to use than ever. There are a lot of ways to carve sweet little nooks and crannies into usable space for everything from storage, to getting your garage band out of the garage. Below, see a few ideas for how to do this. The images used to illustrate our gorgeous examples are borrowed from Sunset Magazine and captured by Thomas J. Story and Lincoln Barbour.

Three Design Space Saving Ideas

MURPHY BED COMEBACK

This is not your grandma’s Murphy bed! Remember those? Rickety, uncomfortable, and practically impossible to take down! Those being used today are plush, colorful and anything but cheap. And the best thing about a Murphy bed? That’s right – the incredible amount of space you save! Now, I’m not saying you should put one in your bedroom, but it can make a terrific addition to your home office/guest room (and your guests won’t hate you later). Check out the awesome example in this image by Thomas J. Story.

USE OF UNEXPECTED SPACE

Some of the best space-saving techniques I’ve seen make great use of the unexpected. This recent idea from Sunset Magazine shows exactly how a great and unexpected space could be utilized. I love how shelving units pop-up out of nowhere, and did you happen to notice that basil plant hanging upside down from the ceiling? These examples are perfectly captured in these images by Thomas J. Story.

CONVERTING WORK SPACES

The idea behind using space efficiently is to make room to take care of the important things. Recent statistics show a growing number of people choosing to work out of home offices, which means converting space at a residence to work out of is becoming increasingly more popular. In this example I am in awe of the way this family turned their attic into a home office simply by adding a staircase – just magical. Image by Thomas J. Story.

It’s hard to tell whether it’s the expensive housing that’s encouraging us to utilize every square foot, or we’re just finding comfort in less excess. Either way, people are learning to adapt their homes to fit their lifestyles and their family needs (reducing waste and promoting lighter living), more efficiently – which, as Martha Stewart used to say, is a good thing.

For more space saving ideas and tips, here’s a link to the award winning website Houzz.