Small homes need to look as light as possible so that they feel more spacious. This doesn't mean that you have to paint everything clinical white and fix mirrors to every available wall, but by opting for gloss over matt when it comes to the finishing touches, you can subtly bring more light in and, consequently, make your rooms feel a little larger. These copper coat pegs, for example, not only look great, but they also help to bounce light further into the room.

When making those final decorating decisions, just take a minute to think what switching, say the taps, from matt to reflective could do for your bathroom.

And, make your kitchen unit handles multi-task too, by opting for  polished chrome, copper or brass.

The same goes for those kitchen accessories. You don't have to stick to metals, just a few items that can, quite literally, take a shine, such as this milk-white, enamel-coated utensil canister. Choose saucepans and a kettle that can catch the light too. 

The way you dress a window can make all the difference to a small room, particularly if the window is on the weeny side too. 

This little window is the only source of natural light in my daughter's bedroom, so it was important to make sure that as much light as possible came in from it. Choosing a curtain pole that is quite a bit wider than the window, means that the curtains, when opened, are mostly covering the wall and not the window opening.

Whilst tie-backs can look dated in some settings now, they do have a good purpose, particularly when it comes to small windows. Be a little creative when choosing what to hold your curtains back with to create a modern twist on a classic theme.
 
Here, I've created tie-backs from PomPom Galore pom pom strings to hold the curtains further back from the window.

Dressing this little window in our lounge was even trickier as there is very little wall space either side of it.

To maximise the flow of light into your rooms and make them feel even more spacious, position mirrors with care in relation to the windows and doors. Find our more here

Most off-the-shelf kitchen units and bedroom wardrobes finish about an arm's length from the ceiling, leaving all of that potential storage space largely redundant. And, if you do decide to use this space to store suitcases in the bedroom or display rarely used jugs or vases, for example, in the kitchen, all of that stuff will require frequent dusting.

Opt instead to always take your kitchen units and wardrobes right up to the ceiling. Even if it means spending a little more and going bespoke, the extra investment will pay off as it will make your home function so much more effectively. 

Be sure to build right up into the corners too, especially important in rooms that are in the eaves. 

Read on to discover why handleless units work best in a small space here

There are lots of clever optical illusions you can employ to make a small room appear much larger and more spacious than it actually is.

Opt for furniture with legs that allow you to see some of the floor under it. The more floor you can see, the larger the room will feel. You can also get some extra storage space under raised furniture, just tuck those baskets and under bed boxes right into the middle so that they can't be seen at eye level.

Colour can also be used to play tricks with your eyes. Light and airy colours tend to move the walls out, whilst darker hues will pull the walls inwards.

For more detail on using legs to grow your rooms click here

Up until now, child booster seats have been big and cumbersome. When they are not in use they take up half your car boot or add to the clutter around your front door. When they are needed it's a struggle to get three kids together with a baby seat, child safety seats and boosters (or any combination of these) along the back seats of most cars. 

The mifold has just changed all that. Smaller than an iPad, the mifold safely works by bringing a standard adult seat belt down to securely fit a child of four years and up - although you'd need to check the laws in the country you are using it in, as some backless booster regs are based on weight and height, rather than age. 

And, when not needed, they fold up small enough to fit into your glove compartment or even your child's school bag. So that ends the hassle of shlepping bulky boosters to other people who are going to be driving your kids about. Great for travelling too! 

It's set to retail at £34.99 but pre-orders are being taken now for £23. Visit mifold for more

Now find out about what is probably the world's smallest pushchair here

Cameras, phones, tablets, e-readers and laptops all need charging; and, soon us not so early adopters will be adding smart watches and glasses to this list too.  All this means more chargers to store and more wires snaking their way from plug sockets to devices. So, before you buy any large piece of furniture it's time to start asking whether intelligent models are available that will help you to reduce all this clutter.

Ikea has been focusing on integrating smart technology into its designs too. It's difficult to see from the image above, but place your phone on to the cross on the top of this side table and it will start charging wirelessly.

You can do the same with the lamp base above, and a number of other items in Ikea's wireless charging range. 

To discover more benefits to cutting the cord when it comes to electronic devices, read on here

We don't have a hallway. Our front door opens smack bang into our dining and living room. As each family member abandoned their trainers,  wellies, heels; and, even roller blades, our lounge used to look like a shoe shop by the end of every day. Now anything that has to be deposited on entry has to be put in this basket. A good storage basket can make a huge difference to mess levels. Here are some of our favourites for this season.  

Olli Ella has a great selection of storage baskets that are perfect for playrooms and children's bedrooms. The stackable ones should work well for dressing up clothes and those with lids will be great for hiding those brash and ugly toys that you don't want on show.

Whilst this La Petite Maison Blanc Campervan storage basket is ideal for teenage toiletries, chargers or homework. Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous will even personalise it for you.

These Grille wire baskets from Loaf could also work with toys or children's books. Or perhaps magazines, newspapers or post, anything that's attractive enough to be on display and that needs to be found quickly.

There are lots of other things in our house that this Charcoal Waves cotton basket could contain. Perhaps the collection of knitting wool, the dog's accoutrements or all those scarves, hats and gloves.

Still looking for more storage ideas? Check out our feature on underbed storage here

This Bergen sideboard has two cupboards and two drawers and it's a compact 150cm wide. Plus, it uses its legs, which we know helps to grow a room. Oh and it's an affordable £315 and comes with a variety of other pretty pastel matching furniture. 

I like a bargain. But, I've never hung around for long on those member's only permanent sale sites. Most of them are jumble sales full of stuff you don't need. But the PR at Achica twisted my arm and persuaded me to surf her site in a bid to prove that it was different. Well there wasn't any violence involved, but she did end up handing me over a gift voucher. Anyway after, I will admit a very pleasant rummage, I did find some really lovely designer products for small space living.

Then I chanced upon this Forum Trumpet armchair, £199. Well that single narrow Flamingo-style leg again doesn't take up as much space as four standard supports would. And, you must remember why we love pedestals!

I do love Bloomingville and this nest of six storage boxes  of theirs can be stacked on top of each other and filled with books, toys and vases. Or you could go all 'interior stylist' on them and fill them with fish bowls full of hairbands, makeup and scarves.  Going, going, gone for £115. You do have to be quick on this site, things are only up for a short while, but I have discovered more lovely things are always coming.

Finally, how clever is this magnetic noticeboard. There are three things I never know where to put in our home - plants, photos and invites.  The Helio Ferretti magnetic decorative notice board  comes with two pots and two frames - sorted!

If you want to be pleasantly surprised take a trip to Achica

This is a sponsored post, but as usual all opinions, are our own

We don't have room for a tumble-drier. We've had two washer-driers. Neither one's drying mode did much in the way of drying. Instead, we invested in a washing machine with a spin cycle powerful enough to wring the clothes of most of their moisture so a sojourn on the airer makes them wardrobe ready. 

This has resulted in an eternal quest for an airer that holds the most amount of drying metres in the smallest amount of space. We thought we'd found the best solution on the market, with over 20 thrilling metres of drying space. Yet, as shown above, it's a cumbersome beast!

It's just been made redundant by Brabantia's new Tower Drying Rack, however, which has 23 metres of drying space and takes up just one square metre of floor. It's sturdy and fits through doorways so you can move it easily from one room to the next should you need to hide it from guests or take it from outside to in. 

Since ditching the tumble drier we've noticed that our energy bills have dropped and the air in the house is less dry so we don't wake up with central-heating induced dry throats. The house feels healthier. It is satisfying to know that we are doing our bit for the environment too. So we are delighted to get behind Brabantia's Love Nature campaign that is encouraging people to dry their washing naturally. They have joined forces with non-profit organisation WeForest, to donate one tree for every Brabantia rotary dryer purchased.

For more on Brabantia's indoor drying options click here

*Brabantia sent us the Tower Drying Rack, but as usual our opinions are our own