Like pp said, storage beds! All our beds have storage. We also invested in pull out shelving for the kitchen cabinets. Most of our furniture has storage functions. We also installed a lot of shelving including a 94" floating shelf over a door that holds a ton of books and let us free up an entire book case and the space it was taking up. The storage we do have is really well organized so we can access things regularly. We put our out of season clothes in boxes and put it in the crawl space attic, swapping twice a year. This means we can have smaller dressers and more closet space. Lighter curtains is a good idea. We hung our curtain rod high over the windows in our living room to give the illusion of higher ceilings.

Every bed in your house should be a storage bed (with drawers underneath) use underbed storage containers under the couch, get a hanging pot rack in the kitchen and you just opened up one more kitchen cabinet, your children probably need far fewer toys than you'd think. Get rid of as many as possible. Look at Young House Love for ideas on how to make prefab storage look built in. You can stack it up to the ceiling (and bolt it to the wall) and then have molding across the top that makes the unit look built it. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Along these same lines...we are thinking of getting built-in storage for our living room. Are there any sources of pre-fab storage that appears built-in (and is a little nicer than Ikea?

You can use the Ikea boxes or build your own with MDF just buy the doors/drawers online or elsewhere.

Add storage anywhere you can. Get more compact furniture that doesn't take up so much room. Get a shed if you don't have a larger ones for outdoor toys.

Along these same lines...we are thinking of getting built-in storage for our living room. Are there any sources of pre-fab storage that appears built-in (and is a little nicer than Ikea?

reduce clutter. We live in a 950 SF 3 bedroom. The places where it feels small are the places where we have Stuff That We Don't Know Where to Put. I'm focusing on getting rid of that stuff - but our bedroom feels 50x bigger when it it clean.

Spend more time outside of the house?

I once lived in a tiny, tiny apartment. I mean, it was so small that I couldn't fit my queen bed and had to downsize to a full just to have a place to sleep. There was no kitchen either, just a microwave and fridge.

I have such fond memories of that place. My life seemed really abundant despite an extreme lack of space. It was during the early part of grad school. With no room to study in my place, I set up a desk at the Library of Congress. I spent time reading in the local park and used a local cafe/coffee shop as a living room. Lots of friendly meet-ups and first dates took place at spots throughout the neighborhood.

Do you guys have a yard or porch? Do you have dinner out there? Can the kids study or do art projects outside? Do you have wifi that reaches the outdoor space? This is one way of making the house bigger.

For the concealed living room toy storage, consider something like this:

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/organizing-and-storage/buffets-sideboards/triad-large-sideboard/s567322

or this if your taster is more modern:
http://www.cb2.com/storage/furniture/saga-credenza/f5947

you don't have to get an expensive version, I bought a used mid-century sideboard similar to this off Craigslist for $200. Be sure to check measurements though!

Although it is bigger than the open bookshelves we had in there before, it is tons more functional and sleeker looking. Also thing the first one above fits a colonial house pretty well.

IKEA also has cheaper versions of something like this, but why I like this is that is hides the "visual clutter" that is all my kids fisher price crapola.

Anonymous wrote:concealed storage makes toys look neater in my opinon, esp. in the main living room

Would love links to suggested storage options.

maximize all closets with well-designed closet shelves and organizers
move up the wall with taller storage, don't just use the floor
concealed storage makes toys look neater in my opinon, esp. in the main living room
use underbed storage boxes
get smaller scale furniture (sell yours if it is made for a larger house/doesn't really fit the room)
get rid of outgrown clothes at least twice a year
get a storage shed for all the outdoor/yard stuff

USE AND BUY LESS!

Sell unused pieces of furniture or larger items on Craigslist

Mirrors help. You don't want to go all tacky with a mirrored wall or anything, but a large mirror over a fire place or something helps give the illusion of more space.

Not only get rid of stuff, like you're already doing, but gradually replace your furniture with smaller pieces. It's amazing how the size of a sofa or arm chair can make a room feel larger/smaller.

A place for everything and everything in it's place. Reducing clutter does a ton for making things feel more spacious.
Also furniture pieces that do double duty. Coffee table with storage. Hutch that is also a computer desk.

Two good sources:

apartmenttherapy.com

The Not-So-Big-House, by Sarah Susanka

We are 4 (2 adults, 4YO & 2YO) in a 2 bed/1Bath 1940s cape cod. It's small, no basement, little storage. With 2 small ones we are starting to feel the need to upsize but not in the budget. Would love to add on but honestly, not going to happen anytime soon. Love the location. Schools OK. Would be happy to stay here forever if it didn't feel so small.

So far we are getting rid of "stuff". Thinking about repainting to lighter colors, replacing dark drapes with lighter colors, replacing the front door (solid wood) with one with leaded glass.

Any other ideas?