When you have a multi-purpose space in your home, it often works better when it's broken up into zones. Here we show you how easy it is to divide a room without building a wall
Fons Black Shelving Unit with Drawers by Woood available from Cuckooland
Use bookshelves to divide a room
If you live in a studio apartment, consider employing a beautifully styled shelving unit to separate the space between your cooking and dining area and your living area or to shield your sleeping area from the rest of the space. Or use a bookshelf in a large open-plan living space to separate the kitchen/diner from the lounge area and make each space feel more intimate.
While a shelving unit with a sealed back will provide more privacy to each of the areas it divides, an open-shelving unit, like the one shown above, where you can peek through into the space beyond, will look more stylish and also help your small home to feel more spacious. Style it with plants, books and ornaments so that you can only peek through parts of it into the next space.   Zone your space with a hanging screen
Break up your space with a screen that hangs from the ceiling. This Y-Step Wooden Hanging Room Divider Screen from Amazon comes in a range of colours and styles. As you can see the floor beneath it, it takes the eye further into the room and will make your room feel more spacious too.
You can create a similar effect with a curtain and then you can open up and close off your space in seconds. 
Hilton 3 Screen Divider, Chaplins
Opt for a folding room divider
Traditional folding room dividers have always had an air of allure. A mystery hangs over what lies behind them. Put one up in your boudoir to create a whiff of 1950's glamour. Use one to hide a clothes rail and create a mini walk-in wardrobe area. Position one, as above, to screen off your home office, to help you forget about work at the end of the day. Or, create the illusion of an entrance hallway in a home where the front door takes you straight into the lounge.
 
There are lots of fun folding room dividers you can get too. These are particularly useful for dividing up the space in children's rooms, where two siblings are sharing. With this Beach Print Anself Room Divider from Amazon you can put a whole sea between brother and sister. It has a different coastal image on the reverse, click on the image to see more. You could also use something similar to hide away toys in a playroom at the end of the day. They make great mess concealers.
House plants, pots and baskets from a selection at Dobbies
Grow a living wall
Finally, another great way to divide a space without building a wall is to invest in a few giant house plants and cleverly arrange them to partition off a section of an open-plan space. Use a mix of pot plants on the floor and hanging plants suspended from the ceiling. Plants need care, however, if you want your screen to keep growing you will need to water and feed them as instructed.
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Incorporate as many of these small home hacks into your interior design to make your home feel and look much larger1. Show a lot of leg
Finsbury Sofa in Cameron Velvet Paprika, Sofas & Stuff
The more floor space you can see in your home, the more spacious it will feel. To make a small home feel bigger, where possible, opt for furniture that is raised up on legs, like this Finsbury Sofa. The same goes with bed frames, wardrobes and sideboards.
2. Build up to the ceiling
Bespoke wardrobe by Inspired Elements
Whether you're installing kitchen units or fitted wardrobes, always take them right up to the ceiling when you can. You will maximise your storage area and you won't be left with a dusty, redundant space at the top. You may have to go bespoke, but the additional storage may be worth the extra cost.
3. Reflect
Silver Mirrored Bevelled wall tiles, My Furniture
To make a small home feel bigger, choose reflective surfaces over a matt finish wherever you can. This space enhancing tip will help to bounce more light around your home and make it feel lighter and larger. This even applies to details, such as door handles, and accessories, such as kettles.
4. Levitate
ME by Starck, a bathroom design collaboraton between Duravit and Philippe Starck
Opt for sinks and toilets, kitchen units and sideboards that are cantilevered out from the wall, so that you can see the floor beneath them. Your rooms will instantly feel larger.
5. Go for glazed doors
Oxford Oak veneer internal door, £110, Wickes
Glazed internal doors bring in more light and draw the eye further into your home, making your place feel brighter and more spacious. Glazed kitchen units, dressers and sideboards will enhance the feeling of space in your home too.
6. Strategically place mirrors
Farringdon round mirror, Garden Trading
Mirrors automatically make a room feel much deeper than it is, but placing them so that they can reflect a window or doorway will enhance that feeling even more. And, as they bounce light around, they will brighten up your space too.
7. If it's out, make sure it's attractive
Attractive washing-up brush, container and composter, all Garden Trading
You can't hide everything away. Whether it's washing-up liquid or coat hooks, if it's on view, see that it's pleasing on the eye. Washing up equipment, for example, is rarely pretty, but if you dig a bit deeper you can unearth lovely pieces, such as this attractive washing up brush, container and composter.
8. Opt for glass tabletops
Porada Infinity round contemporary glass dining table, Chaplins
A glass-topped contemporary dining table allows the eye to see through it, further into the room, making the room feel larger as a result.
9. Go square
Square storage canisters and bread bin, all Garden Trading
To get the most out of the space in your kitchen units, you need to go square. Opt for square storage canisters and even consider right angles for your plates too. That way you can push everything right into the corners.
10. Go for handleless units
Lava grey matt lacquered units, Rational
Handles protrude into the room and take up unnecessary inches. Instead, to make a small home feel bigger, go for handleless furniture and kitchen units where the handle is cut into the door itself. Every little helps.
11. Keep the colour scheme light
Mulberry Floral Pompadour Spice sofa, Sofas & Stuff
This is one of the more obvious small home hacks, as shown here in this living area, light colours help to create an optical illusion, they push the walls out and make a space feel larger. The light and bright coloured furniture helps to do the same.
12. Slimline appliances
Whirlpool slimline dishwasher
You don't need to cut down on your whitegoods, because of lack of room, just opt for slimline appliances. You can even get narrow wine fridges.
13. Hush your appliances - look for the Quiet Mark
Whirlpool Supreme Care FSCR 10432 Washing Machine certified by Quiet Mark (UK)
It's unlikely that you have space for a utility room, so you want to make sure that your washing machine, tumble drier, fridge, freezer, dishwasher and extractor are as quiet as possible. Look for the Quiet Mark. Appliances certified with the Quiet Mark are certified as being the quietest products in their category.
14. Flatten that hob
Industrial copper and slate kitchen, Wren Kitchens
Induction hobs are best for small kitchens as they sit flush with the worktop and so help to visually extend your worktop space. They are super easy to clean too than traditional gas hobs too.
15. Streamline that sink
Logic Kitchen 3, Rational
The latest worktops can be created as one single surface with a sink and drainers moulded in to them. As the worktop space is one whole seamless piece that includes the sink, it will make the whole area feel a lot larger than it is and make it easier to clean.
16. Be Transparent 
It's time to be clear. Transparent pieces of furniture that you can see through, such as the iconic Philippe Starck Kartell Loulou Ghost chair shown above from Amazon, lead the eye further into the room and will instantly make it feel larger.
17. Choose pedestal tables
Vinicius pedestal table, Essential Home
By opting for a pedestal table you reduce the amount of table top supports by three, this means that there are less obstacles crowding your room and that you can squeeze more people around it.
The best dining tables for small eating areas 18. Get nesting
Black Granite nesting tables, Cox & Cox
Occasional tables are useful, but when they are not needed you want to be able to tuck them away, so be sure to buy the nesting variety.
19. Open up stairs
Stairway painted in First Light and Regal Select Matte, Benjamin Moore UK
Make sure that your stair parts are as open as is safely possible. Don't hide away your stairs, show that they are going somewhere. This will help to add depth to your home.
20. Opt for multifunctional radiators
Termoarredo Elettrico di Design, Viadurini
Heaters shouldn't just heat. Multifunctional radiators can double up as towel rails, shelves, benches and even mirrors.
21. Cut those cords 
Don't have wires snaking across your walls and floors. Instead, opt for wireless music systems, such as the One (Gen 2) speaker from Amazon, shown above. Go for wireless printers and wireless keyboards too.
22. Forget screens, project 
Don't clutter up your wall with a giant TV screen. Just paint it white invest in a little projector, such as this Vankyo L430W WiFi projector from Amazon, and project an image on to it when you want to consume some media.
23. Let your windows shine
Don't block any part of your window with a curtain, blind, or other window dressing. Let it sit so that it doesn't cover any part of the glazing. You want to maximise the light that shines through. The more natural light filtering into your space, the larger it will feel. Here the blind sits just above the first pane of glass.
24. Go for multifunctional furniture
4YOU 4 poster king bed with storage and shelves, Cuckooland
Wherever possible, choose multifunctional furniture. This four-poster double bed with storage doubles up as a bookcase. Look for dining tables incorporating drawers, sofas that double up as guest beds and stools that offer storage too.
25. Let things lean
Rustic Ladder desk, Vincent and Barn
This is one of those lesser known small home hacks, don't let four legs support your furniture and take up floor space when two will do. The more floor you can see, the larger your room will feel. Ladder desks, shelving and console tables can all be found leaning.
Our stairs have gone through lots of design transformations over the years. When we moved in they were one side of a narrow corridor, the bannister was covered in 1970's-style wallpaper and a door beneath led into a storage vacuum. Scroll down to see how they've been transformed into various under stair storage units since. Our stairs used to be part of a narrow passageway, now they have served as various under stair storage units We pulled down the internal wall, separating the stairs from what was the kitchen, replaced the broken stairs with a whole new staircase and a banister that brings more light on to the stair treads and hallway above, and then I designed a storage unit under the stairs for what became the lounge room.  The under stair area became a storage and display unit for our lounge A mixture of deep cupboards and drawers offered great storage for toys, board games, art materials, chinaware and tech equipment, while the open shelves helped what became the lounge room feel a lot more spacious, and the books and ornaments added colour and pattern. This unit served its purpose for several years, but following our extension the room became the kitchen and the stairs had to be repurposed once again.  Our under stair area next became a storage and display space in our kitchen When the stair space became part of the kitchen, the bulk of the unit remained the same and the fridge/freezer and larder cupboard, which we had in our existing kitchen in what was to become the lounge, were fitted above the drawers and painted. It helped that fortuitously the unit was divided into 60cm sections, the exact same width of standard kitchen units. Then I found two basket kitchen drawers at B&Q, which fitted right into what was open shelving; and I left the top shelf free for books. More under stair design ideasSince I have made over my own stairs several times, I am always interested in other people's under stair design ideas.  I recently did a magazine shoot of a very small home, where they tucked a desk under the stairs and then snuck a TV under the piece of artwork there too. Want to see exactly how the TV got hidden? Discover how to Hide a TV with art. The best storage boxes with lids are easy to open, so that you can get to the contents quickly and easily; are reasonably light, but not so light that they are liable to go flying across a room if they're accidentally knocked; and are stackable, so that you can pile up a few if necessary without taking up too much floor space. Here's a round up of the best storage boxes with lids for every room in your home.  Set of two Daven metal storage trunks, £85, Made.com As well as this pink and grey combo, these Daven storage trunks from made.com are also available in pink and grey, green and grey and teal and grey pairings. The largest measures 24cm x 36cm x 60 cm and the smaller one 20cm x 26cm x 52 cm. Perfect for storing paperwork, arts and crafts materials or scarves and gloves. The lift-up lid is super easy to open, they are light enough to move around, but not flimsy so they won’t go flying if they get accidentally kicked. These boxes are perfect for bedrooms, living spaces or hallways, which is why they made it into our best storage boxes with lids hall of fame.  30cm high Tafelbox, box, €49.90, tray lid , €25.90, Werkstatt Design Hailing from Germany, the Tafelbox is an incredibly versatile piece of storage kit. Available in two shades of stained Oak and three sizes, it comes with a chalk board at the front and back sides, so you can label the contents and never forget what's inside. And, it's available with an optional serving tray top, which makes it ideal for placing alongside a sofa or in the kitchen, ready for serving drinks, perhaps from the bottles stored with in. Or, maybe place two or three alongside each other to create a cheap and stylish coffee table. The rustic-style Tafelbox lends itself just as well to toy, magazine and shoe storage too. Each box arrives oiled and sealed with wax, so it should age beautifully.  Portland storage box, £8, Garden Trading Measuring just 7cm x 15.7cm x 18.2cm, this cute white powder-coated steel storage box with a sustainable Bamboo lid from Garden Trading is made for all those little bits and pieces that you find around your home - hair accessories, make-up, dishwasher tablets, sewing thread and beads. At the bargain price of just £8, you can stack a few up in a utility area, bathroom, kitchen or bedroom.  Smartstore Compact Clear Box extra small, box £1.45, lid £1.45, Homebase Give your fridge a makeover by investing in a a few of these see-through Smartstore boxes from Homebase. They make it easy to access and see everything that you have in your fridge and instantly make all your food look a whole lot more appealing. With the box and lid costing just £1.45 each, they are extremely good value.  Lego storage brick, £24, Red Candy How cool are these Lego storage bricks from Red Candy? Available in cubes and rectangles and in a rainbow of different colours, they stack just like real Lego and of course are ideal for storing those little Lego bricks, as well as other tiny toy pieces, photographs and paperwork. Stack them up in your children's bedroom or play area.  Cambridge Imprint box files, from £32 Despite the world going increasingly paperless, letters still come through our doors. Don't store them in dreary filing boxes. Go for some mood enhancing colourful patterned box files. Cambridge Imprint do a host of beautiful box files in a range of sizes, colours and prints. They work well for storing stationary too. Essential for any smart desk. The best storage boxes with lids That's our guide to the best storage boxes with lids. Would you add any to the list?
Fed up with the doormat by your front door being littered with discarded shoes? Check out these neat shoe-storage ideas.
Marcell shoe storage cabinet, £109, Made.com
Made.com's slim hidden shoe storage unit conceals several pairs of shoes.
Urban Chic shoe storage cupboard with drawer, £260.10, Wooden Furniture Store
This vintage-style hidden shoe storage unit from The Wooden Furniture Store also features a useful drawer for smaller accessories.
Wire shoe storage, £275, Cox & Cox
If you're into the industrial look, you'll love Cox & Cox raised wire shoe storage cubby holes, perfect for handbags, dog leads and other grab-and-go accessories too.
Santiago medium storage stand, Aus$1,950.00
We discovered this stylish shoes-storage unit, featuring a powder-coated aluminium stand with solid walnut top, down under at the Design Hunter. It's perfect for a bedroom or a hallway.
More cool clothes storage ideas to be found here
Looking for the best space-saving furniture to save space in your home? These are the products you should look out for:
Folding chairs
Macadam Red Metal Folding Chair, £12, Habitat
When you're not using something, if you can fold it away and make it smaller, you are immediately freeing up valuable space in your home. Look for chairs that fold up nice and slim that you can tuck away under a sofa or in the broom cupboard when not needed. Folding chairs are right at the top of the best space-saving furniture list.
Folding tables
Vintage folding table, £235, Scaramanga
,And, alongside folding chairs, you need a folding table. Again, fold up into less than half its unfolded surface area and tuck away behind a door or under a bed when not in use. Even if you have a permanently on show table and chairs, an additional folding table and a few folding chairs can be bought out when you need to feed a few more people. Everyone should entertain once in a while, however, small your space.
Folding armchairs
Who knew? You can even get folding armchairs. So, if you live in a studio apartment and can't accommodate a dining area and a seating area at the same time, you can fold up your armchairs while the dining table is out and vice versa.
Folding beds
Nidi Solutions, Twiddy 01 foldaway bed, price on application Go Modern
,Folding beds that fold up into the wall when not in use are a brilliant way to free up floor space during the day. The good ones are pricey, but it's worth paying that bit extra for a mechanism that you can be confident won't fail.
A bed that folds away into a sofa – a sofabed
Wantage sofabed, price on application, Darlings of Chelsea
Sofabeds are another brilliant solution for bedrooms that need to double up as living spaces or living spaces that need to become a guest room on occasion. Look for one that has space to store the bedding within its structure too.
Folding side tables
Round Folding Metal Occasional Table, £41.95, Melody Maison
You're probably noticing a theme here: the best space-saving furniture generally folds up into something smaller when not in use. Side tables whose legs fold up and have a separate tray top are pretty easy to find and one of these can be bought out and used as a perch for a laptop or drinks, when required.
How can I use colours to make a small room feel larger? The short answer is to keep everything light and bright. Here's the longer answer:  Compact living room featuring white marble Lea Coffee Table, £249, Cult Furniture How to make a small room feel larger with paintLight coloured walls and ceilings push out the proportions of the rooms in your home. Dark colours draw them in and make everything feel more crowded. To use paint to make your room feel larger go for white, off-white, pale pastel or other fair shades on the walls and ceilings. If you go for the same colour throughout your home it will make the whole space feel bigger too.  Wall mural by Wallsauce.com How to make a small room feel larger with wallpaperWallpaper or wall murals can work in a small home too, just opt for a light colour and ideally a pattern that is not too fussy or detailed. A wall mural with a central perspective that takes you into a realistic photographic scene, such as a beach scape will make the room appear to go on for ever.  Quickstep Palazzo Lime Oak Wood Flooring, Carpetright How to make a small room feel larger with flooringA light-coloured floor also helps a small room to feel larger. It doesn't have to be a shade of white, which will be hard to keep clean. A pale oak wood floor, pastel tiles or a mushroom-coloured carpet will all help to create the illusion of space that you're after. And remember, if you want your room to feel wider lay your wooden planks so that they run width ways. If you want the room to feel deeper, lay your wooden planks to that they run length ways.  Tropical Palm roller blind, from £24.10, English Blinds How to use bright colours to make a small room feel largerAs long as you keep the back drop of your room - the floor, the walls and the ceiling light – you can then go to town with every colour in the rainbow with your fabrics, soft furnishings and accessories. Bright pops of colour in the blinds or curtains, towels or cushions will add an extra layer of airy freshness to any scene. 25 hacks to make a small room feel more spacious Bamboo tin can, small £2; medium, £3; large, £4, Tiger If you're looking for some new cupboard storage jars, make sure they have corners. Rounded jars will waste space in your cupboard. These ones stack too.  Bamboo tin can, small £2; medium, £3; large, £4, Tiger Go for square storage in the bathroom as well. These little cuboids fit perfectly in the bathroom vanity unit too.  Animal plant pot, £4, Tiger If every drawer and surface in your home quickly fills up with bits and pieces that you regularly use, it's time to start making your walls work harder. This animal wall pot is designed for a plant, but I've repurposed it as a pot for my makeup brushes. It's helped ease the load in the overcrowded make-up bag and it looks cute hung up on the bathroom wall. Alternatively, it could be used for pens and pencils in the hallway or study area or a washing up brush in the kitchen. An ironing board is a cumbersome thing to store. If you don't have a tall broom cupboard, you need to be creative about hiding it. Maybe tuck it away behind a door, under the bed or beneath the sofa. On those all too often busy days, however, it just gets left out at the foot of the bed, in front of the TV or taking over the kitchen, as you've had to quickly decrease something before rushing out of the door. Well, now you might be able to get rid of the thing all together.  Brabantia ironing blanket, £30.50, Brabantia Brabantia has just launched this ironing blanket. Spread it over any surface - work top, kitchen table, desk - and you have an instant ironing board. It has a non-slip back to keep it in place whilst in use and will protect the surface beneath from heat and steam. The underside of the blanket can reach temperatures of up to 80 degrees celsius, however, so you need to check that whatever you are ironing on can withstand this heat.  When not needed, it folds away into a neat little rectangle, which you can slip into a drawer or it has a hook for hanging in a wardrobe or on the back of a door. * Brabantia sent us this ironing blanket, but it has only been featured because we've tested it and feel that it is particularly well suited to a small home. Staying with the washing theme, find out why us little home dwellers need our washing machines to keep the noise down here
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