Small Furniture with Unique Storage
Tiny, small and Cozy homes can be a challenge when it comes to storage. Cozy Home Plans tries to add in as much built-in storage as possible into each small home, but sometimes you might have to let your furniture do the storing of your clothing, paperwork, books or DVDs. These days, more and more furniture is being designed to hold your belongings. Some of these pieces of furniture are unique, functional and stylish and still take up less room than some storage bins or other alternative ways to hide away your stuff.
This platform bed for $275 from Humble Abode features two large drawers on each side of the bed for clothing, bedding or towels.
This stylish chair from Coleman Furniture has storage inside the seat.
Target sells some nice looking ottomans in different shapes and fabrics that also double as storage cubes.
This dark cherry dining table has a storage pedestal base for stacking cookbooks or dining accessories, with a lower door offering even more out of sight storage. It costs about $260 from Wendy Furniture.
This rolling laundry cart from Casa not only holds laundry in separate compartments, but it can also hold clean clothes and it rolls around from bathroom to bedroom. It costs around $100.
By Christina Nellemann for [Cozy Home Plans]
Minimal Furnishing Needed for a Small House
How much furniture do you really need to furnish a small or tiny house? For the average three-bedroom home, brand new furniture for each room can cost up to $1,500 to $3,000+ per room. With a much smaller home, you can buy less furniture, but in the end it does pay to buy quality over quantity.
There is also no need to purchase new furniture for your small or Cozy home. Peruse Craigslist, eBay and Freecycle for free or cheap furniture items. However, be sure to take into consideration the shipping or transportation of each item. When looking for quality, look for furniture that has already stood the test of time and contains good, solid wood and fabric. Be wary when purchasing a pre-owned bed or mattress. In fact, it might be best to pay new for your mattress.
Here’s a bare minimum list of what a small or tiny house furniture selection could be in our Crested Butte small house floor plan:
Crested Butte 3D Top View
Living room
One couch and small, padded chair or two larger padded chairs
Bookshelf or multimedia table
Reading lamp or floor lamp
Coffee table or ottoman
Side Table
Rugs (optional)
Kitchen
Table with three or four chairs
Bedroom
Bed Full or Queen size
Two bedside tables
Dresser or wardrobe if you change the Bed configuration
Additional furnishings for a Tiny House/Cozy Home
Hall table (useful for keys, mail, phone docking station, etc.)
Temporary seating (folding chairs for additional guests)
Guest sleeping options (rolled up futon or air mattress)
This list does not include the items that have already been built into the home including the bathroom tub, alcove, cabinets or shelving. Other Storage ideas.
We try with our renderings of Home Plans and Concepts to show potential layouts with as much seating as possible and always rendered with a Queen size Bed unless otherwise labeled.
Photo by .nate/Flickr
Alternative Furniture for a Tiny House
If you live in a Cozy, small or tiny house you are probably well aware of how to look at and think of space differently. In addition, you might be looking at different ways to furnish your home. The typical home’s furniture options might not be the best choice for a limited space, and most furniture is very expensive. However, there are some alternative furniture choices for a tiny homeowner who might not want to spend too much money on a few comfortable (and creative) items for their home.
Built-in furniture
One of the most common ways to add furniture to a tiny or small house is to build it in. Built-in furniture can add a coziness to a home that regular furniture can’t and it can save space. Most built-in furniture includes bookcases, cabinets and seating areas. A built-in seating area under a window can also double a storage area.
Large Pillows
Instead of a couch or puffy chair, how about getting a few large pillows to lounge on? This is common in countries were people live “close to the ground” like Japan, the Middle East and in Northern Africa. Pillows are used for seating, sleeping and for relaxing. It helps if you invest in well-made pillows made of wool or other natural fabrics that will stand up to some abuse.
Poufs
A pouf is a Moroccan ottoman that starts out life as a flat piece of leather or wool. Once it’s filled with foam padding, wadded up cloth or even newspaper, it becomes a rather comfortable seat. These types of low chairs are used in areas of the Middle East as dining chairs (with a low table) footstools and decorative tables.
Hammocks
Who doesn’t fall right to sleep in a hammock? These large pieces of cloth or soft woven rope usually hang from trees, but you can also hang them in your home from a beam or ceiling or wall stud. They can be used for lounging and relaxing or even sleeping. They can also be unhooked from one end and hung on the wall to get them out of the way.
Outdoor Furniture
Inexpensive lawn furniture is a great alternative to expensive indoor furniture. Wicker, wood and metal chairs and a folding table can be used for dining furniture and a folding lounger can be used instead of a couch.
Wood Stumps
I have some wood stumps out by my firepit that are extremely handy for putting a glass of wine on. Who says you can’t bring them inside to do the same thing? A beautiful stump can make a very stylized coffee table and if you decide to get rid of it later on, you can burn it in the fireplace.
Wine Crates
Remember in college when you built that bookcase out of milk crates? Or out of 2x4s and cement blocks? You can do the same thing in your Cozy home — with an upgrade. Use wooden wine boxes to build bookshelves or bookcases, a coffee table and even containers for plants or seedlings.
Photos courtesy of wisemandarine, lovemaegan, roofless, davidking, ourunitedvillages, jenosaur, and world_view_by_cworonchak
Cozy Home Furniture
Cozy Home Furniture for your Tiny Home
A Cozy Home will most likely not contain the types of furniture that are found in a typical American home. When furnishing your tiny or small home, you will want it to reflect comfort, but you don’t want it to look too crowded with overstuffed or overweight furniture. There are some companies out there that make furniture that will fit nicely into a smaller home. Companies like Home Decorators, West Elm and IKEA design and sell smaller scale furniture that also have great storage and minimal details. Look for furniture that can do double or even triple duty: a coffee table that can become a dining table, a chair and ottoman with storage underneath, a desk that’s also a bookshelf or a couch that becomes a bed. Don’t forget your bed can be used for storage too. Blankets, towels, clothes, and seasonal items can be stored under a bed.
Home Decorators offers this tip when furnishing and decorating a small space:
“You’ve probably also heard that the eye travels more quickly through a small space, so it is important to interrupt its movement as little as possible. To achieve this, eliminate obstacles in the room. Go for larger, fewer pieces of furniture instead of many small pieces that might cause a cluttered effect. The farther the eye can see into the room, the better.” Our armless accent chairs, low benches and ottomans are ideal for opening up a small space. Choose double-duty pieces of furniture like our storage benches whenever possible. They not only look stylish, but are great for tucking away items.”
Decorating your small house with simpler furniture will also keep your smaller home from feeling cramped. Avoid large couches, heavy tables and items that don’t keep to the scale of your small home. Avoid large pottery, plants and knickknacks. If you are looking to house guests in your cozy home, try a twin sleeper. This is a chair that can fold out into a twin bed. You can find one for about $600 at Raymour & Flanigan Furniture.
A single table in a small house can be used for eating, work, storage and space separation. The Norden Table by IKEA is a drop leaf dining table that folds out to a full table. It also has storage for linens and silverware. It sells for about $176. A coffee table with a lift top can be used as a dining table as well as for storage.
When furnishing your Cozy Home, the best thing to do is be creative. Don’t try to make your cozy home look just like a larger, more traditional home and use items differently than the way they were intended. In addition, be sure to measure each piece before you try to fit it through you Cozy Home door.
Learn more about decorating your Tiny Home…
Bottom photo by Home, Build and Design
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