Tricky Home Spaces: Turn Challenging Areas into Valuable Assets, Inside and Out

Tricky Home Spaces: Turn Challenging Areas into Valuable Assets, Inside and Out

Many homes have that one tricky spot—an awkward nook, an underused room, or a forgotten space that slowly fills with junk.

Everyone should enjoy their home exactly as they wish, but, with our selling hat on, we know that the more you make of every corner, the more you’ll add to your sale price.

It all comes down to the right styling and roles, and we’re here to help you turn those tricky home spaces into valuable assets – places you truly love to enjoy, that also stand out as major selling points for buyers.

And who knows? If you can use your space more effectively, you might not need to move at all. So whether you stay or you go, it’s a win-win situation.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at:

• Narrow hallways.
• Small rooms.
• Low ceilings.
• Dark spaces.
• Pocket-size gardens.

We’re going beyond the usual white paint and mirrors, even though they’ll work a treat with all of the above. Instead, we’ll focus on the tips and tricks that open the gates to your own personality and style. 

Ready? Then read on!

NARROW HALLWAYS

Long, skinny hallways are a British tradition, but they sometimes need a helping hand to ease the squeeze and become more practical for modern living. Here are some elegant solutions we’ve seen.

• Edit your coats, hats, and scarves to your current favourites, then store the rest away until the season (or your mood) changes. Swap a freestanding hat stand for a row of wall hooks.
• Below those hooks, place a bench with a shelf underneath for stylish and space-efficient shoe storage – this will also give you a natural channel to walk through that’s free of obstructions.
• Remove a wall. The classic example is losing the partition between the hall and rear reception room in a Victorian house to merge and expand both spaces. Would that idea work for you?

However you do it, a final smart tip is to keep any furnishings to one side for a clear run all along the hall that draws the eye to the length of the space.

SMALL ROOMS

Before we go any further, let’s just say there’s nothing wrong with small rooms. They can be the cutest and cosiest spots in a home, but if you feel your style is being cramped, try these interior design tricks:

• Shrink a little. Reduce the size or amount of furniture – a sense of proportion is what you’re after, and small rooms struggle with massive furnishings or too many pieces.
• Go with the float. Furniture on legs (rather than a solid base), from sofas and armchairs to bookcases and beds, shows off extra floor space for a roomier feel.
• See through it all. Glass-topped tables, spindle-back dining chairs, and open-framed shelving can extend sightlines and amplify a room’s sense of size.

Don’t despair that your room is too tiny to tame. With a little bit of thought and a few clever design choices, any room that’s small in size can be big on personality and feel more spacious and stylish.

LOW CEILINGS

Many historic homes have low ceilings, which are undoubtedly part of their charm. However, if you’re looking to add a greater sense of height to any room, you’ll be glad to know it’s not a tall order!

• Towers of shelves that reach the ceiling, upright floor lamps, and slender structural plants bring their lofty qualities to any space.
• Floor-to-ceiling curtains can add the illusion of height with their long lengths of fabric, as can vertical-striped wallpaper (but don’t overdo it; stick to one feature wall in a smaller room).
• Remove any interruptions on walls like picture rails or modern plain coving, reduce the size of skirtings, then paint in one light colour from top to bottom on a single smooth surface.

Finally, if your ambitions run higher, could you take the ceiling out? For rooms in the eaves or below a loft, you could open up the roof, gain extra height, and inject the warmth of exposed beams and rafters.

DARK SPACES

Some rooms just don’t get much natural light, but there are plenty of options to lift their spirits through creating cherished retreats or by integrating them with brighter spaces.

• Explore enlarging the size of the window or changing its character. One large pane will pull in far more light than multiple smaller panes with additional framework.
• Try borrowing natural light from another source. Putting a glazed panel into a door, wall, or ceiling is a proven trick: use clear glass for a visual connection, or obscured to maintain privacy.
• Alternatively, play along with the lower light levels and go deep in your decor with some Dark Academia styling – think moody hues and layered textures for a cosy library feel.

Whatever approach you choose, from brightening things up to leaning into the darker side, there’s always potential to embrace and transform underused spaces into ones where you love to linger.

POCKET-SIZE GARDENS

Any outdoor area is gold dust, so whether you’ve got a small, sunny, or shady space, treat it as the perfect opportunity to extend your living area and foster a deeper connection with nature.

• Whether it’s grass, decking, gravel or pavers, use a single covering across the entire surface to make the space feel instantly larger. Dress with pots for seasonal flowers and foliage.
• Solid furniture is usually more comfortable and beautiful than the fold-up kind, so a pair of high-quality chairs that call you into their arms beats a bistro set that you can’t sit on for long.
• Trim back unruly space-sucking hedges, use trellis grids on dark or dull walls to create artworks of flowering climbers, and paint plain or scruffy fences a light and pretty colour.

From relaxing outdoors to enjoying the view from a window, turning your pocket-size garden or balcony into a little gem will give you a haven to savour, another room outside, and a valuable asset.

Ready to turn your tricky spaces into buyer magnets?

We’re here to help you optimise every corner of your home to release the highest possible value.

Call us on 01565 318 622 or message us at enquiries@lordandporter.com for a chat with our team about how we help homeowners in Cheshire make the best move possible.