Seriously. If there’s anything about your home’s layout or functionality that isn’t working for you, you need to read this book. (This is not a sponsored post–I am highly recommending it for free.)
The first floor of our house has had me stumped for a while. (Because you know I have decorating ADD and can’t just think about the project[s] I’m already working on.)
Our kitchen has a semi-closed off breakfast area and a dining room. For the two of us, it was just redundant. Especially since the breakfast table was only about 6 feet away from the dining table. At any given time, one of them was just acting as a junk collector. Ick.
I’d been trying to think of ways to use the spaces better for months, but I was still stumped. So I was very excited while browsing the library shelf to see this book:
Right-Sizing Your Home: How to Make Your House Fit Your Lifestyle
by Gale C. Steves (affiliate link)
The book really has nothing to do with the size of your home; it’s about making the home you already have work for you. Not by remodeling either (while you could definitely do that–and she has advice for that too), a lot of the ideas you’ll get when you read it could be done for free by just changing furniture around. It’s about re-thinking the way you actually use your house and the way your house is currently arranged.
The book is well-organized, starting from the beginning of how and why to re-think your whole house, before going into the details of each room, one per chapter. There are even pages in each chapter with general dimension guides and extra things to think about if you have kids.
Thanks to some thoughts provoked by the book, we have a solution to the breakfast area/dining room issue (and a couple other issues too!), but there are still some details we need to work out…and of course, it adds another project to our list. Good thing we like projects.
This looks great. I’ll need to check it out.
It looks very interesting, since I have a difficult time thining the organisation of the living-room.
Sadly, my book which was in its second printing has been taken off the market. I have a few copies available if anyone is interested. I promise that it will make a difference in your home.
Oh, that’s such a shame, Gale. It is really is a wonderful book, thank you for writing it. I was wondering why some stores were charging $50+ for it. There are still some copies on Amazon too. It’s definitely worth paying for.
I just put this on hold at the library! Lately I feel like I’m drowning in clutter, and I feel like I’m “stuck” in a house that isn’t ideal for us. Maybe this will give me a fresh outlook!
Awesome, Tammi! I think it will. Gale even has a section in the front about clearing the clutter. Post about it when you’re finished, I’d love to see what you thought!
This book is seriously looking great, it sounds like music to my ears! Because I’m also that kind of person that always has new projects brewing in her head. 😉 And I’m getting bored of my living and dining room, but the thing is that ours is just too small. And renovating isn’t a solution because we’re planning to move soon. 🙂 I’m wondering if I can move around my furniture, I’m guessing I will have to buy a new sofa because otherwise I won’t be able to move much in my living room. 😉 Thanks for sharing this tip Christina! Hugs, Inge x