Modern Furniture

It is surprising how many homes include a spare room that is kept like a shrine in a permanent state of waiting for someone to come and stayu, if your spare room is not occupied for more than a few nights a year, it could be put to better use as a study or playroom. You do not need to shun guests altogether - equip the space with a sofabed, which can provide sleeping space at short notice, and you will simply be getting double value out of a single room.

Minimalists are so tidy by nature that they do not actually need much space to accommodate them. Hoarders will have to work much harder to find space for all their things, and will need to devise ingenious storage systems if you ere a hoarder, you might consider designating one room for most of your possessions, so that you can keep the main living areas spacious and free from clutter.

By working through these questions, you the kitchen needs space for cooking or for eating and whether the fitting room needs to house a dining table, too. You will know how much space you need for a television and other home-entertainment equipment and whether you are likely to need hidden cupboard space rather than open display shelves. Now you need to work out whether the space you have available works as it is, or whether it needs rearranging to suit the way in which you plan to use it.

Which activity is more important to you? Is it plenty of room to cook for your family and friends, or enough space to enjoy eating with them? Considering this question will help you decide whether you need a full-sized kitchen for food preparation or whether you are better off limiting it to a neat run of cabinets and reallocating the rest of the space as a dining room, it may be that you do not need a separate kitchen at all, but could create a galley area at one end of a large living space.

If you are a full-time home-worker, you already know how much space it takes up, and this should be a priority when you are allocating rooms, if you are also part of a busy household, you will probably need to find a dedicated space that can be closed off for quiet and privacy. If you have the place entirely to yourself, you may prefer to create a work area in the main living space. Anyone who takes work home will appreciate a study if there Is room for it, but unless it is a priority, you will probably have to make do with a corner of the living room.

The answer to this question will influence how you distribute your space and decorate it. Sleeping space is the first consideration: do they  need separate rooms or can they share? Children usually draw the short straw when it comet to handing out bedrooms, but if they are prepared  to share, it could be worth giving them the biggest room and freeing up the smallest for a study.

You should also consider their schoolwork and extra-curricular activities. These will vary according to age. but at different stages you are likely to need space for toys, homework, music practice, teenage rock groups and sleepovers. If this space Is not provided by their bedrooms, you will have to create it in other areas, and these will need furnishing in a robust style: white sofas and cream carpets may not be practical.