Room with a View: Creating a focal point, such as a fireplace, is the starting point for arranging your room

Our interiors specialist Nick Lee looks at how to plan your rooms to make the most of the space you have – no matter how little of it there might be

Room for guests: No matter how small your spare room, with careful space planning and choice of furniture it can be made to feel comfortable without being cramped.

We all know how expensive our homes are to buy, so why waste valuable space you’ve paid thousands of pounds for? Getting the most out of every single square foot you own really can make a big difference to not just the appearance and appeal of your home, but also how well you use it.

Pushing sofas and chairs or beds up against walls with no thought to how best to use the space is heartbreaking to an interior designer, who can usually see instantly how a space can work better and how you can get the most out of it.

For example, even with the most modestly sized sitting room, by choosing the right size , you can make sure it doesn’t look overcrowded, and that the whole room can be used properly. Over-filling a space only makes the space feel crowded and you end up having to squeeze in and out of each time you move.

Focal points

Ideally a focal point like a fireplace or a view in a sitting room is the starting point to work your furniture around. For a formal seating arrangement, a sofa and two chairs should face each other with a coffee table in the middle to make for convivial social entertaining. For a more informal space, where perhaps a television is centre stage, leaving a space behind a large sofa, for example, allows people to move around the room without disturbing those left watching TV.

When Hugh Jamieson of At Home Interior Design Consultants was asked by his client Connie to look at her kitchen, he knew instantly what was wrong. ‘Connie wanted to extend her cramped kitchen but she wasn’t sure where to start,’ says Hugh. ‘When you entered the kitchen from the living room/hallway, you came to the dining area, with the working part of the kitchen at the far end and then double doors to the garden. I suggested to Connie that what she needed to do was have the working space nearer the rest of the house and the dining/entertaining space nearer the garden, ie switch the two areas around.

‘The double doors were changed to a large window which then allowed for additional and much needed storage units underneath. A small bay with a window seat on the left was created as an extra relaxing zone, and bar stools on the facing side of a kitchen island work just fine for breakfast or a coffee with family or friends.’

Zone in

In a bedroom, only a headboard should abut a wall if at all possible says Abbey Emmerson of trenddesigns.co.uk. Even if you don’t have enough space for side tables either side, a bed should still be centred to make getting in and out easy for two people. This is not only practical but aesthetically better too .

If you have the luxury of space, create zones with one room using furniture or rugs. In a large bedroom, a bed could be just one key area, with a dressing table area by a window and a chaise or sofa in a third. This instantly creates three clear zones with their use obvious to anyone.

When it comes to bathrooms the way you use the space for shaving or applying make-up, shower ventilation, and what you open the door to are all equally important. You should never open a bathroom door and see the toilet first. It should always be sited to the side if plumbing allows. Opening a bathroom door to a stylish pair of his and her sinks with a vanity mirror above is far more appealing.

If you’re starting from scratch with a room, measure the floor space and mock up the room with newspaper, using paper templates of all the elements to be included – for a bathroom this would be bath and or shower, sink, toilet and possibly bidet. Play around with how furniture and pieces can be sited, taking into consideration light and ventilation. When all is installed you will get the most from your room.

Top three tips for making the most of your space

Layout furniture size with newspaper by first mapping the area out to see if it fits,

Buy lighter furniture for smaller spaces and darker for larger

Don’t crowd a space with too much furniture. Buy furniture for only those who live there and not for those who visit.

For more guidance speak to an interior designer, a member of the British Institute of Interior Design or a kitchen or bathroom designer at your local kitchen and bathroom store.