Granny flats tend to be smaller homes that are placed behind the main house on a property. These flats are primarily used for older family members who want to be cared for at home rather than in a nursing home or assisted living facility. As you begin to plan a granny flat, you may find that you have storage and space constraint issues. If this is the case, here are a few ways you can utilize the most space in the granny flat.
Pocket Doors
One way to save space is to go with a pocket door design for bathroom and bedroom doorways. Traditional doors swing out creating the need for an empty space to allow the door to move to an open or closed position. This means you have space that is not being used. A pocket door simply slides inside the wall pocket. This gives you the space back in the room that would normally be taken up for the traditional door. That space can be used to house a storage method of some kind, wall hanging, or an organizational option.
Multipurpose Furniture
You may not think about furnishings when you start a granny flat design. The truth is, there are some furniture options that can be built into the granny flat, such as shelving units and headboards for beds. You can utilize the most space in these areas by allowing these built in furniture options to work double duty. For example, you may want to use a headboard that has a cabinet option. This will allow for quick storage of certain items, a place to hide oxygen tanks and other medical supplies, or a place to store blankets. With this multipurpose option you can reduce the need for additional furniture that may take up more room.
Use Corners
One of the areas that may be overlooked during the design process are corners. For example, when you are designing the kitchen cabinet areas, you may have a corner area where the cabinets meet to form an "L" shape. With the right design plans you can use the corner area to house jars, containers, or other kitchen needs. You can have the corner built to hold turntables that can utilize the space while giving you easy access to the items you need.
These are just a few of the ideas you can incorporate into your granny flat design in order to utilize the most space as possible. If you have some ideas, but don't know how to incorporate them, consider contacting a contractor. A contractor with experience in granny flat designs can help you with more ideas that work best for your family members lifestyle and needs. They can also give you pricing information and schedule construction.