Something that just crossed my mind -- I think we'll see it more and more as many Americans decide to "downsize" their housing. I'm not talking about houses with retractable roofs here...that seems a little ridiculous. What I'm really after is the idea of having rooms for mixed uses, depending on the occasion...and these rooms can be "converted" for more appropriate purposes in a matter of minutes.
This is a concept which I've played around with ever since my high school days when I moved into my parents' basement. It was a pretty nice-sized space, but I used it for so many different purposes that I always wanted to be able to re-arrange the layout in a short amount of time depending on the occasion. Where is this leading to? Well, instead of using just the basement, why not use the entire house instead?
For example, my house is 1170 square feet with a 790 sqft. basement. It's got 3 bedrooms, and I live there alone. Therefore, I've got unlimited freedom to change things around as I see fit. When I host parties, I certainly want to have the maximum square footage available for my guests. Now with a house this size, it would be somewhat cramped to restrict guests to 1 or 2 rooms, so I need to do something. Quick! And so my ultimate objective is to make all rooms in my house accessible in order to maximize space. Of course the obvious question becomes: what do I do with all my personal stuff? Valuables? Bed and other bulky furniture? I have a few rules...
-First off, most of the bulky, unmovable furniture needs to be eliminated or at least made somewhat mobile. Certain staples such as a living room couch and dining room table can stay, but everything else needs to be dealt with. Beds are probably the biggest challenge. But even these should be able to be collapsed and hidden from view.
-Hidden storage spaces/bonus ares: use them! Efficiently! Get rid of stuff you don't need, or at least find a spot in the garage or you parents' house or something! If all else fails, one of the bedrooms will need to house anything that can't be hidden elsewhere.
-Valuables - what??? What are these? Last time I checked my house was worth quite a bit (albeit not as much as 5 years ago) and we're not hiding that, are we? If you have something of significant value, shouldn't these be displayed, anyway?
-Flooring - If you're really good, you can get some modular parkay flooring or carpet squares.
-Office space - as long as the drawers can be locked, this can make a really nice media room if done right.
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