We prepared for you some practical tips to help to get the best returns from your small rooms, with just a little planning, and without having to spend much, if any extra.
You’ve probably noticed that there is always at least one small room in each house or apartment. Especially with people converting 3-bed properties into 6 and 7-bed properties, often squeezing in en-suites in wherever they can, in order to qualify for commercial lending.
Your tenants and guests will thank you for any extra storage you can provide to help make their life easier to organise their belongings. If the room is practical and functional, without feeling overcrowded, they are more likely to pay you higher rents and stay longer meaning you protect your cash flow, fill your pipeline and maximise your profits. By generally removing clutter, keeping the décor bright and fresh, and maximising floor space, you will show off your rooms in the best light and keep your tenants happy.
Here are some ways of achieving this…Bed Hacks:
1. Storage In The Beds
The bed will usually go in one of the corners of a small room. This can often be dictated by sloping ceilings in attic rooms and where the only possible place high enough to put a wardrobe means options to locate the bed is limited. The cheapest options for bed storage is to have drawers installed. But there’s no point having drawers that will be pushed up against a wall, because nobody will be able to access them anyway, so they won’t be functional.
So, you may choose to have 2 drawers on the same side in a small room. If there is a bedside cabinet in the room, this may also obstruct the drawer from opening. But you may consider losing the bedside cabinet altogether and going for extra storage options mentioned in this article to free up valuable floor space. The problem with drawers in HMO’s can be that people tend to overload them causing them to come off the runners. The best way to overcome this is to warn them when they move in, so they know that the drawers were in good working order when moving in.
2. Space Saving Divans
Divans are popular because there is no overhang from side rails, meaning maximum floor space. They are also completely customisable in terms of height, length (most people don’t realise this!), width, fabric, and strength. And any style and size of headboard can be used to fit in with the room and available space.
3. Cut Divan Bases
Divan bases can also be cut down into 3 or 4 pieces to get around tight staircases. They can be cut both North to South and East to West.
4. Ottoman Style Storage
It works out a little more expensive than drawers, however, this can work well because the mattress simply lifts up almost effortlessly, giving you access to ALL space underneath which is often just wasted! This is the much more preferred option if the budget allows and can be a good upgrade just for the smaller rooms that struggle for space, rather than having to splash out on every room. You can choose from foot end and side opening. If you know the layout of the room, one choice may be much more practical than the other.
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5. Lower Bed Height
You can lower the bed height from the standard divan size which is 12 inches, to as low as 6 inches. This can be a good idea when ordering especially deep mattresses because it can end up being very high to climb onto the bed. They look trendy too, as many of the designer beds. This is especially good in attic rooms but will mean that you will lose any storage available beneath the mattress.
6. Lower Headboard Height
A standard oblong headboard comes in 24 inches high. You can have smaller headboards 8 and 16 inches high to protect the walls.
7. Have Bed (and mattress) Shortened In 3-inch Increments
Sometimes in odd-shaped rooms, it can be beneficial to shave off 3 inches from the end of the bed. This is undetectable to the untrained eye and gives more space around the bed making the room feel bigger.