Many older homes have clearly defined lines between living room, kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms. The defined sections are achieved by walls and doors that separate one room from the next. With the rise of open floor plans starting in the 1950s and taking serious hold by the 1990s being the norm today, homeowners are looking for ways to define the spaces in their homes without putting up walls.
There are many ways to create a multi-functional space, from furniture placement to color choices and more. When our lives changed in 2020 and people began working from home and schooling from home, the need for multi-functional spaces greatly increased.
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What is Multi-Functional Design?
Multi-functional design is when a space or item has more than one use. A couch with pull-out sleeper acts as a couch for sitting during the day, and a bed for sleeping at night. An ottoman with storage serves as a foot rest as well as a place to store small items like books or blankets.
Multi-functional design also refers to the room itself, designing multiple spaces in a single, larger room allowing a space to serve multiple purposes at once.
Why Create a Multi-Functional Space?
Home prices have skyrocketed over the years while many peoples’ wages have stayed the same. This drives people into smaller, more affordable homes or apartments with limited space. While larger square footage-wise, our current townhome has limited space in the first floor living/kitchen/dining space. We’ve opted for zoning in the living/dining space, and have multiple multi-functional pieces between the two areas.
You may not necessarily need to save on space, but open floor plans need defined lines. Additionally, the streamlined efficiency of a multi-functional piece of furniture or décor is a smart decision to help cut down on clutter.
Make a Plan
You have a large space that you need to break up and utilize for multiple purposes. Start by making a rough sketch of the space as well as measurements of length, width, and height. This data will help you narrow down your choices to furniture and décor that will fit without crowding or impeding traffic flow. While you may be head over heels in love with the giant sectional sofa you saw online or out shopping, its dimensions may overwhelm your small space – leaving no room for designing and styling the other space you need.
Ways to Achieve Multi-Functional Design
There are a number of ways to create a multi-functional designs in your home to save space while not having to forfeit one use in favor of another.
Storage
The key to a great multi-functional design is storage. A clean space looks and feels bigger, and a big part of cleanliness is having a place for everything and keeping everything in that space. Built-in bookshelves save space compared to large furniture pieces while still providing storage space for books and various décor you want to showcase. A large console with TV on top benefits from cabinet and drawer storage for video games, DVD or Blu-Ray discs and their players, and storage for other entertainment like a VR headset or favorite video game console.
Zoning
Anyone who has ever lived in a “studio” or “efficiency” apartment knows zoning, even if they didn’t know the practice had a name. A single open space can have many functions. What may look like one large space can be segmented into living space, dining space, working space, and even sleeping space if necessary.
Create zones by dividing them with furnishings or décor that clearly define how the space is meant to be used. Your living room can easily contain a workspace when you set up a desk, task chair, and maybe add in a different colored rug for some extra color and flair. Separate the living space from the dining space by angling a couch or cozy chair away from a dining table.
There are many ways to create zones in open rooms! Make sure that no matter how or where you create a zone, traffic flow is easy and no one is stepping over other people or furnishings to get from one place to another.
Blending
If you don’t have the space to zone, you likely have the space to blend! A compact apartment or condo may have space for a kitchen island or an open area for a dining table, but not both. It was the choice of the builder or designer to opt for the island, since it can cover both food prep and seating. Use the side of the island closest to kitchen appliances for prep, and add bar stool seating to the other for an easy dining table that only takes up the space of the seating.
Similarly, there is multi-functional furniture like coffee tables with storage and leaves that extend out into work spaces, giving you a place to check emails and do work without needing a dedicated office space.
Choose Multi-Functional Furniture
When I think of multi-functional furnishings, my mind jumps to sofa/sleepers, futons, and beds with storage underneath. But there are several other pieces of multi-functional furnishings and décor as well. Just some of your options include:
– Ottomans with storage inside
– Floor lamps whose stands feature shelving
– Consoles (not for gaming) with storage or built-in electric fireplace
– Benches with inside storage
– Murphy beds or custom wall-mounted bunks with wall shelving, seating, or built-in desk for use during bed storage
– Loft beds with shelving or study space below (some of today’s bunks and lofts come with built-in ladders to save space and the hassle of storing a ladder when not in use)
There are solid pieces of quality craftsmanship that serve multiple functions and last for years. Even the couch we bought last year features a flip-down back in the middle with a tray, cup holders, and power bank with USB ports and grounded electrical outlets!
Layered Lighting
Layering your lighting sources is a great way to give spaces definition or create different moods for different tasks in a larger, open space. You also don’t want to lose the chic multi-functional style you’ve created due to poor lighting. Choosing a variety of lighting options provides ambiance and flexibility.
Dimmable overhead lights allow for a fully-bright space entertaining and also dimmer lighting for watching a movie. Different levels of lighting like sconces, tall floor lamps, and table lamps create a softer glow, while adding a task light to the work area provides the extra light and brightness needed for work without a blinding brightness throughout the room. See our article on the role of lighting in interior design for all the tips and tricks!
Design with Confidence
Multi-functional furniture doesn’t have to look ugly or out of place. In fact, many pieces of multi-functional furniture are very stylish and created to fit a number of different design aesthetics. The awkward metal- or wood-frame futons of the past have been replaces with plush built-in couch cushions that look like any other couch until bedtime. Hinges and other mechanics that raise and lower for storage or are internal parts or slide-and-lock mechanisms that don’t show their true colors until functional needs change.
Final Thoughts
If you don’t know where to start when designing your multi-functional space, ask for help! We at Acipe Design have years of experience designing small spaces and how to use them for a variety of purposes.
We’ll help you plan and make decisions on the best furnishings and décor to achieve your plans with your allotted space – and when you’re ready to design and build a custom home with all the space you could imagine, we’re here to help with that, too!
Contact us today!