Many Portland homeowners and others around the country are reevaluating their cluttered bedrooms, basements and closets and considering cleaning out the old and bringing in the new! If you are one of these enthusiastic souls, we want to give you some tips for reclaiming rooms in your home.

Want to join a movement to get more out of your home than you are currently getting?

What does it mean to reclaim a room in your home? In the simplest of terms, reclaiming a room in your home means to take hold of the square footage of your home with a firm mindset that it has a function and practical use within the family’s dynamics, daily activities and traffic flow. It should not act as a catch-all for unwanted or useless items, but have purpose and organization, as well as style that is fitting for your lifestyle and taste.

 

We all have had a closet that has been unrecognizable with untold layers of possessions that no one even remembers they own. We’ve all had a bedroom, nook or area in our home that became a collection of things, rather than a place of peace and intention. So let’s cut through all that muddle and create a room or storage area that really holds value to you and your family.

Selecting A Room or Space To Reclaim

The first thing that you have to decide on is which room or space (like a storage or clothes closet) in your house desperately needs your attention. We like to suggest spaces that lean toward the highest traffic pattern or have the largest congestion in the home. Once you start seeing the shift from disarray and toward delightful, it won’t take you long to move throughout your home’s entire interior, taking back workable space.

You can choose from a basement or family room, to entryways and pantries. Just make an initial selection that will get you started reclaiming space in your home. You may want to jump right into reclaiming a specific bedroom. In order to decide what space you are going to reclaim and reinvent in your home, here are a few guidelines to keep in mind:

1. Traffic Pattern – Draw an improvised floor plan of your home that encompasses the daily traffic patterns throughout your house. You can select different color markers to indicate traffic flow for adults, kids and pets. Then take a look at where you can improve on these by relocating certain items to different rooms or specify new rooms to occupy certain activities.
2. Shelving and Storage Options – Now you need to determine how much storage or display shelving you have within that space and how much more or less you will actually need once you have reclaimed that room for its new function or optimized use. Keeping in mind that removing certain bulky furniture and replacing it with strategically placed shelving can garnish you extra flooring space that will help open up the room.
3. Functional Surface Areas – Will you require table tops or countertop surfaces to perform specific tasks? For example, if you are defining a workspace in your kitchen to perform household administrative duties you can create a simple cabinet system with a slender countertop to hold your laptop and organizational materials. Another suggestion could be reinventing your laundry room by including a small counter area for folding. Either way, you must consider your surface areas for optimal reclaimed space.

Flooring To Match The Desired Space Function

Once you have selected the room or space you are going to focus on transforming, you will need to evaluate the existing flooring. Whether you have selected a basement space to reclaim and are considering transforming it into a home office or taking a spare bedroom and converting it into a yoga/ workout room, flooring will be pivotal in your reclaiming process and the choices that accompany them.

Basement Hardwood Flooring – Different kinds and materials of hardwood flooring can be installed perfectly on a concrete subfloor. You can select from specific varieties and manufacturers and we have everything in our wood flooring showroom that could leave you more than satisfied with the results.

Workout Room Carpeting – Carpet selection for a space like this needs to have a shock absorbent but stable quality. There are low pile varieties that can still offer great traction. The choice of padding you select with your carpeting makes a big difference as well. Our team of flooring design specialists can help walk you through each option and make sure all your needs are met.

Laundry Room Tiling – In a wet space you can opt for tile flooring. There are decorative small tiles and large easier-to-install tile options of numerous colors and materials. A large tile choice can help open up a tight, narrow room while smaller ornate tiles can add texture and architectural detail. Tile floors are also a cinch to clean and maintain, so if this is a room you wash the dog in, tiled flooring makes it much easier to clean up.

Reinvent Your Room For Maximum Use

Understanding what the new space in your home will be used for is foremost in determining its setup and design. If you are reclaiming space for crafting, you wouldn’t want to place shelving in areas that would impede your creative needs and flexibility. So, you need to start with these specific steps so you end up with not only a beautiful home space but a highly functional space as well.

Clear out the space – You can see what you have to start with from bare bones. Until you take it all out and see exactly what you have it will be challenging to make the right changes. So find a temporary room/closet nearby to hold that room’s contents while you prepare your new reclaimed design.

Add in all functional elements – Now decide what those functional elements you need; shelving, tables, lighting, seating area and storage solutions to name a few.

Design treatments – These are the personal touches that accent your unique style and also should be partly functional.

Keep it pretty and everything has its place – Maintaining the newly remodeled space can be the hardest part but it doesn’t have to be. If you setup your new space correctly it will be low maintenance and have a place for everything!

Now, you can cruise through this year with peak performance not only under your feet but within your daily activities within your newly reinvented room or space. It isn’t rocket science, but it does take a methodical and well-thought out process to get to an improved final outcome. Reclaiming space in your home should improve the family and guest traffic patterns, create a space that you didn’t have prior for tasks you needed/wanted to perform, and make cleaning up a snap because you addressed all the needs for the reinvented space. Finally, organizing and reclaiming space in your home that is clean and functional should put a smile on your face and heart when you are in it.