Downsizing Furniture Guide: What to Keep and What to Reject?

You’ve watched all the episodes of Marie Kondo’s Netflix show, and you’ve oohed and aahed over the pictures of minimalistic homes in glossy design mags. You’ve even read up about how clutter in your home gives out all the wrong energy vibes. 

It’s quite clear that you need to create more space in your home to have a better lifestyle, and it’s a good idea to start by downsizing your furniture. But when you look all around you, your home seems to be too full of stuff you cannot give away! How can you declutter and downsize? Read on, and we’ll tell you!

Keep Furniture That You Use Often

Your favourite armchair, the console with the drawers that magically hold all your knick-knacks, and the bed that’s just perfect for you. These are all pieces of furniture that you have grown used to since you use them every day—don’t give them away!  

Think Multipurpose and Multifunctional

Instead of owning two or three pieces of furniture, think smart. Opt to own just one piece that could be used for two different functions. For instance, you can have a couch that pulls out into a bed at night. Or a bed that has hidden storage drawers tucked away below. The footprint of the extra piece of furniture is the additional space you will get in your home.

If you’ve got to choose between a dining table that’s used all the time, and a study unit that is not used very often—which one do you really need?

Choose What Holds Value for You

Marie Kondo speaks about items that spark delight and hold special meaning. We all have items that are very dear to our hearts, as they come with their own personal story. It could be a hand-me-down dresser that has seen better days but used to be your mom’s favourite, or a Tiffany stained glass lamp that has been in the family for generations. 

These items hold value far beyond anything that can be measured, and need to stay. If any of these pieces are in need of refurbishing, get them repaired and restored and give them a lick of paint or a good rub-down with polish.

Keep Unique Pieces and Favourites

If you have any standout pieces that are unique and cannot be easily replaced, think twice before giving them away. They could be used as the focal point of your new décor theme. Items that are mass-produced and have no claim to character or personality could be rejected.

Anything you like to look at, that cannot be easily bought again at a later date, can stay.

Look for Quality

Always choose quality over quantity. Any furniture that is finely crafted out of solid, durable materials, should ideally never be given away. Pick a single piece of furniture that makes a statement, rather than multiple pieces of lower quality that have less of an impact.

Any vintage items in your home should ideally be retained, as the kind of workmanship that would have likely gone into their making doesn’t come cheap anymore.

Take A Second Look At Items That Are Very Bulky

When you’re downsizing furniture, you’re doing so because you need the extra space, or you’re moving to a smaller home. If there’s anything you own that is very bulky and could be replaced by a more sleek version, you should definitely think of doing so. Do you have an eight-seater dining table, and use just one-half of the chairs? Replace it with a four-seater with extendable leaves for the times when you have guests. 

Rethink Storage Units for Books and CD Collections

The world is going digital, and so should you! Do you have any bookshelves or storage cabinets that hold vast collections of CDs and DVDs that are gathering dust? It’s perhaps time to give them away, especially if they don’t hold any sentimental value. All the movies you could ever wish for are available on streaming channels, and books are so much easier to read on a Kindle.

Minimise Your Storage Closets

Do you have storage wardrobes running the entire length of your bedroom wall? How much of that space do you actually need? If you really think about it, half the clothes in your closets don’t fit, aren’t in fashion anymore, or simply aren’t your favourites. If you can start by paring down your belongings, you might find that your storage requirements are dramatically downsized as well. Knock down the wardrobes and make room for something else in your bedroom instead —perhaps a homework office, or some much-needed gym equipment!

Keep Space Saving Furniture

Nested tables, trundle beds that can be tucked away beneath a larger bed, and tables or beds that fold up against the wall save on space when they are not in use, freeing up valuable circulation area in your home. You should choose to keep them rather than give them away as they add to the space efficiency in your home.

What Should You Keep in Mind When You Downsize furniture?

• Start by making a list of things that hold special value, items that are one-of-a-kind, and those that are of excellent quality. These are the keepers.

• Downsize your belongings, so that you don’t need as many storage units as before and can give some away. Consider digitizing the bulk of your music CDs and books.

• Consider replacing bulky pieces of furniture with sleek modern units.
• Multipurpose, multifunctional and space-saving furniture should always be retained for optimising small spaces.

Once you’ve downsized your furniture, would you like help with designing the spaces in your compact home? Our designers at HomeLane are always at hand to help; just give us a buzz!