Small home furniture has a big job

By Catalogs Editorial Staff

Using small home furniture can make a giant impact

Consider miniature dollhouses?those diminutive works of art that are among homes boasting small home furniture. Tiny chairs and couches may measure less than a few inches in length. Lamps are the size of a lady?s earring. But today?s homeowners dwell in structures more substantial. And small home furniture has a place in today?s average homes and today?s luxurious mansions.

Anyone living in cramped apartments or college dorms well may lean toward selecting furnishings that serve a purpose yet take up little room. Those in colonial town houses, one-floor ranchers and modest condos might benefit from small home furniture whose dimensions are pleasing. Families who occupy house boats, motor homes and quadruple-wide mobile homes would find appealing the advantages of small home furniture.

Survey the current furnishings

Look around to see what furniture is in use at the present time. Ask what purpose they serve. It will become apparent that much of the furniture in use at today?s homes?large and small?is dispensable. And it is replaceable with small home furniture. The contents of each room in the house may be reviewed to see how space could be increased by switching current furnishings with small home furniture.

Maybe in the living room there is a walnut coffee table that runs the length of the adjacent couch. Upon it is a vase of silk flowers. Rethink this design. Several square feet of valuable floor space could be reclaimed if the table was removed and replaced with a more versatile piece of small home furniture?an attractive end table. An end table is perfect for those flowers?and a couple of books.

De-clutter with delight

It?s common knowledge that folks who downsize from a longtime home to a smaller home or apartment face emotional challenges. That grand piano the kids used to practice their piano lessons now sits idle. It?s a sentimental millstone around the home owners? necks.

It?s hoped somebody will play that piano?someday. They won?t. Say goodbye to it and sell or donate it to someone who can use it. Replace it with small home furniture?perhaps a computer desk or reading chair. Vintage pianos have a place in homes but not in your home if you?re intent on saving space.

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Try not to live in the past

Another common household item that usually can be replaced with small home furniture is found in many homes. It is the record player that is housed in a heavy cabinet whose speakers are disguised with sagging rectangles of fabric?usually mustard-colored with flecks of what used to be gold thread.

True, some purists still prefer vinyl records over the compact discs so popular today. They say there is no sound like a long-playing record album spinning on a worthy machine. Nevertheless, most people now listen to iPods, mp3 players and cds. Small home furniture such as slim filing cases and entertainment centers free up lots of space?once that old record player is gone.

Make your work easier

Some homes are furnished with outdated and unneeded learning tools?mahogany desks, ungainly gooseneck lamps and big heavy bookcases. Chances are they served a good purpose. Chances are that 20 years ago, when the kids were in school, those items were used every night.

A promise of an extra half-hour of television speeded up their homework assignments. Bedtime cookies and milk made tasty rewards for diligence and good grades. Now, small home furniture is available that is compact and durable.

Today?s choices sometimes feature components such as tubular extensions that enable the units to be expanded?or made smaller. Versatility is a hallmark of today?s small home furniture. And attractive furniture fills important needs but doesn’t take up the entire room.

Out with the old; in with the small

There is small home furniture that can be substituted for almost any big, chunky monstrosity whose days are numbered. Sizes and styles and price points vary but the selection is immense. Anyone?s favorites can be found in a more diminutive version. And one need not sacrifice looks for function.

It?s true that living in a dollhouse would enable the ultimate enjoyment when it comes to appreciating small home furniture. Imagine illuminating a lamp the size of a lady?s earring. Unfortunately, surrounding oneself with such small home furniture does have one big disadvantage: Who can possibly curl up for a nap upon a couch that?s barely a few inches long?