6 ways to maximise vertical space in your home 

Whether you live in an apartment or a house, eventually, space will fill up. You’ll then have to go out to look for ways to increase the space in your home. Typically, homeowners will add extra space to their homes by either rearranging existing furniture, adding a room or expanding into an unused balcony, garage, or even a new house. However, there is another solution that is often untried – vertical decluttering.  

If you want more space for your furniture next time, don’t look around—look up! 

There may be plenty of space against the wall that, if used properly, will both look aesthetically pleasing and solve your complaint about the lack of space in your house. Here are six ways in which you can maximize the amount of space you’ve got in your house by using vertical spaces: 

1. Get a loft bed 

If you can learn to optimise it, then a loft bed is one of the best vertical space maximisers and is a redesigned version of traditional bunk beds.  

The lower berth of the traditional bunk bed is replaced by a desk, a wardrobe, or a workstation depending on the piece you buy. This means that when your work for the day is done, and by simply climbing up the ladder, you can go to bed.  

These are truly innovative pieces of furniture and hence great for maximising vertical space. The horizontal portion of your room that would have been occupied by a desk or wardrobe is now a part of the bed arrangement and is taking up vertical space. Moreover, it just adds a fun and exciting element to whichever room it is kept in.  

2. Stack, stack, stack 

Look into your study cupboard or the book section in the cupboard and you will see how natural it is for us to stack things. Even if we make distinct categories and keep them separate, we eventually end up making a stack in them, too. So, in line with this idea, we are going to stack other things, too, but smartly. The goal is to leave at least 10% of each shelf bare and book-free,” explains Justin Klonsky, author of Organize and Create Discipline: An A-To-Z Guide to an Organized Existence. 

The main problem with stacking is that retrieving the stuff at the bottom becomes a real pain. You must remove all the stuff at the top to get to them. This need not be the case, with these right stacking tools:  

• Stackable washer or dryer  
• Stacking tables  
• Platform beds with under-bed storage for effectively stacking beds on top of a chest of drawers  
• Stacking your documents and folders  

Stacking solutions help to fill up valuable and plentiful vertical space that would otherwise go unused. The above suggestions sit comfortably on one another or have a frame that makes the items easily accessible.   

3. Invest a little more in items you already use 

This means that if you are getting an armoire or cupboard, then get one that is longer (and more elegant) than your past buys so you can store more clothes. For example, invest in a baker’s rack, which can enhance the look of your kitchen while making it more functional. 

4. Shelf it 

There are plenty of collapsible and freestanding shelves available in the market today. Depending on what you are going to keep on them and where you will keep them, buy a few shelves and save up on the money that a more expensive cupboard or rack would demand.  

A dedicated shelf for shoes, books, magazines, albums, etc. will decrease the disorder due to these items. Also, it is not necessary that a shelf can be kept against a wall only. You can stash one under the stairs if you have a staircase.  

5. Garden vertically 

If you are a plant-lover, instead of buying hundreds of potted plants and trying to fit them into corners or on windowsills, learn how to garden vertically.  

You can go for a wall-mounted column of green, which can be grown indoors. This is called the hydroponic setup. You can also get your herbs and small vegetables from it. If this seems too expensive, you can plant ivy that always looks good on walls.  

6. Hang it up 

If you are an art enthusiast and instead of a wall-garden, you prefer the same flowers on a canvas, then you can maximise your vertical space by experimenting with a few methods. While you would normally mount the piece on the wall, you could hang it up for a change. Also try to lean it against a floating shelf or mount it below waist height to add an element of surprise and delight. This idea is especially good if you have empty walls with colour but no substance.  

If you are wondering if you have created enough space, here’s the rule of the thumb to follow: 

To give the illusion that a room is a clutter-free, the top of the coffee table should be 75% clear. 

Source: goodhousekeeping.com 

Without realizing it, so many people are misusing or not using vertical space at all. It is time to remedy this and utilise vertical space efficiently for both aesthetics and organisation.