Make your furniture a multitasker like you

A fresh perspective can breathe new life - and function - into your home

Our generation is one of multi-taskers - we find ourselves constantly juggling between official meetings, our children's e-learning assignments and trying to sanely catch up with friends and family. While we seamlessly balance our work and personal lives at home, why not get our furniture to do some of the heavy-lifting too?
Design meets functionality
It's naturally easier to better utilise your furniture when it's both aesthetic and utility-focused. Mirrored cabinets, storage ottomans and coffee tables with detachable seating are all great examples of making the most out of your living space and interiors.
Even if you don't have this furniture, you can easily convert items to meet the new WFH requirements. Clear and organise your dressing table to convert it into a workspace during the day. Slip the laptop to the side in the evenings and use a basket or tray to keep work papers and stationery in one corner as opposed to overtaking the entire space. Similarly, if you have a kitchen counter or island, use a sheet or cover and let your kids use it for their creative crafts or prop a laptop stand and lamp there to give them space to focus and study.
Define and divide your space
Furniture that segments different areas at home, especially in the absence of walls, showcases clever design. Can you use your bookshelf to carve out a little nook for your home office? Will using a rug better define your bedroom or personal space? Or can you use frames, tapestry or even fairy lights on the wall to functionally split an open space? You can simply place a compact table to create a separation between the bedroom and living area in a studio and essentially, extend the wall to create a physical divider. Choose what combination works for you to divide spaces without walls.
Another simple hack is furniture orientation. One of the easiest ways to make two areas of a small home feel divided is by orienting the furniture in each 'zone' away from the other.
Rethink 'rooms' to create more space
Does your living room need that TV unit if you only use the bedroom television? Why not create a vertical garden on that wall instead to add a little bit of nature to your urban abode? Or your decorative mirrors or art collection can sit pretty on an open kitchen wall to create a more chic cooking space. If you like having multiple cups of tea or coffee in a day, ditch the kitchen and you use a small trolley with the necessary essentials and wheel it around the house as per your requirements.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com