Smaller home sizes are transforming the furniture market, driving demand for versatile pieces with multiple functions. Today, renters and homeowners often have much less space for items, so their furniture collections must be compact. The best furniture for small spaces is frequently multipurpose, serving different needs depending on the day.
Types of Space-Saving Furniture
What is multifunctional furniture? Depending on whom you ask, it’s a broad category that often holds a different meaning. At Home Zone, we generally break down multifunctional furniture into two distinct groups:
1. Multipurpose Furniture
The first type refers to furniture you could use for different purposes, even if it wasn’t designed that way. Imagine an upholstered dining chair with armrests as a makeshift desk chair for work-from-home days. The good thing about this group is that you can eventually retract its multipurpose status as your space and furniture collection grow.
2. Transformable Furniture
The second type is convertible furniture specifically designed to have a dual purpose. For example, a foldaway bed in a student dorm can become a small desk. These transformable furniture pieces range from relatively simple to incredibly sophisticated, but they all have one thing in common: moving parts. If it has hinges, drawer slides, or detachable pieces, it’s considered transformable furniture.
The Benefits of Buying Convertible Furniture for Small Spaces
Trying to decorate small spaces with furniture designed for large rooms hardly ever works. You’ll often end up in a crowded, dark room with little space for walking and moving around. However, small furniture is not always the answer.
Sometimes, you just need fewer pieces, regardless of size. You can quickly reduce the number of furniture items by investing in multipurpose or convertible. We also recommend multifunctional furniture for small spaces for four reasons:
- It makes your space look less cluttered.
- It allows you to expand your furniture collection slowly and mindfully.
- Often, it costs less to invest in one multipurpose piece.
- Once you move out of the small apartment, your furniture will still be useful.
Multifunctional Furniture by Room
Buying versatile furniture is just one of the many ways to increase storage space in your home. Here are our top multipurpose furniture choices for a small living room, dining room, bedroom, and home office.
Living Room
In older homes, you might have found separate living rooms for formal entertaining and casual family gatherings. Today, however, these rooms have largely merged, and many of us have “great rooms” for doing everything from eating breakfast to watching TV. In this type of home, space-saving furniture is a must. Our top choices include nesting side tables, sofa beds, and multipurpose ottomans.
- Bishop secret storage ottoman — perfect for stashing extra pillows and blankets
- Mustang sleeper sofa — becomes a queen-size sleeping space for kids and grandkids
- Cameron lift-top coffee table — stores laptop accessories within reach for casual work sessions
Dining Room
Smaller tables and chairs will help you maximize your dining room. Many open-plan homes don’t have a separate dining space, so your dining set may have to fit between the kitchen and living room. In cases like these, we always recommend extendable dining tables. That way, you can enjoy a spacious room every day, only filling it out when you need the extra seating.
- Laurel china cabinet — choose taller cabinets that leverage height rather than floor space
- Drop leaf dining table — small, round table for two — can conveniently become a four-seater
- Dahlia counter-height table — an extendable table you can use as extra kitchen prep space
Bedroom
Compact furniture with added storage is best for small bedrooms where there is no space for clutter. Bunk beds help to save floor space for kids’ rooms, leaving enough room for desks and a comfortable play space on the ground. Other space-saving bedroom furnishings include storage beds, mini folding desks, and wall-mounted bookshelves.
- Accolade storage bed — keeps extra linen under the bed in the two large drawers
- Riverside chesser — functions as a dresser and a chest to save floor space
- Bernoulli tray table — a slim-profile nightstand you can fold up and use in other rooms
Home Office
A home office space can become a spare bedroom, den, home gym, or hobby room. Choosing the right furniture can help you make the most of it. Wall beds, foldable furniture, and modular shelving units from manufacturers such as Kompakt Furniture dominate the small house scene in Europe. We can use these products as inspiration for space-saving home offices in the U.S.
- Curie bookshelf — wheel this portable shelf away when you need more space
- Carol loveseat — seats clients during the week, transforms into a cozy reading spot for the weekend
- Wyatt wall unit — keeps the TV covered while you work and show off certificates instead
Find Space-Saving Furniture at Home Zone
Expandable furniture can be a lifesaver in small spaces, freeing up floor area for daily activities yet providing enough space for guests on occasion. Multipurpose furniture is also a winner, allowing you to buy fewer pieces with the same functionality as an extensive collection.
Quality is nonnegotiable when choosing furniture with moving parts prone to wear and tear. At Home Zone Furniture, we supply premium tables, chairs, storage beds, and sofas designed with longevity in mind. Shop online or visit one of our Texas furniture stores to explore our space-saving range.
