Once you’ve decided who’s going to live with you, you need to spend some time readying your home before your roommate moves in. That way, your roommate gets to see that what they’ve signed up for is what they’re getting in terms of space and privacy. Although there are other key issues to consider for peaceful coexistence, space and privacy are critical to leading a comfortable life. To make your rental room setup process less overwhelming, we’ve put together a few suggestions that we believe will benefit you and your roommate.
1. Create zones
Creating zones helps you reorganize the shared spaces so that you and your roommate can do multiple activities, such as cooking, eating, working, and resting, in the same areas. It’s a great idea to buy small-scale furniture in case there’s limited space. Finding compact furniture pieces shouldn’t be an issue because many brands have them as part of their collection. For instance, a round metal garden table can serve the dual purposes of a dining table and a laptop table. Pleasant armchairs are also a good option because you may not feel like using the sofa all the time.
2. Divide your space
Room dividers are excellent furniture pieces that can split bigger rooms or open spaces into smaller sections such that multiple people can use them at the same time. It seems like a more practical solution, especially if you and your roommate happen to have guests over at the same time.
3. Enhance living room storage
Once your roommate moves in, the extra room in your home becomes a rental room, unfit for storage purposes. But you’ll need to store your extra stuff somewhere if you’re not going to trash it. Enter, floating shelves! High-level floating shelves that extend from wall to wall, are a brilliant way to store stuff. Paint them with the same color as the walls, and you’re good to go! You can fill them with books, magazine holders, and storage boxes with your things. It’s a great way to organize and declutter extra items lying around in the house.
4. Look out for shelf nooks
Assess the space in your home closely to see if you can locate extra storage space. Make sure that you look beyond the more predictable areas to add bookshelves. You may end up finding a tiny space or corner that can accommodate a couple of large shelves and take care of your storage issues!
5. Create a multi-functional kitchen
It’s more often shared spaces and how they’re used that lead to conflicts and arguments. If you have the option to incorporate a minor change to your kitchen, like adding a sofa, you add another living room! Also, you may want to think about the possibility of setting up a TV on a lounging nook unless it’s an open-plan space. In the end, what you have are two separate living rooms (and TVs) that you and your roommate can hang out in without driving each other up the wall!
6. Create a beautiful multi-use bedroom
Suppose your home has limited common spaces. In that case, you could move out of your bedroom (assuming it’s the best one) and transform it into a luxurious multi-use space for your roommate, enough for them to want to use it the entire time, and not just for napping! Consider your options in terms of adding extra features such as a TV, a desk, or even a lounging area.
7. Add multi-use furniture pieces
To make optimal use of space, especially if it’s small, use furniture pieces that serve multiple purposes. For example, a headboard can serve as a bedside table, a storage unit, and shelves, all rolled into one! When you’re in the assessment phase of your home and figuring out what changes to introduce to it, consider the heavier items or luggage that your roommate will be bringing, and where they need to be kept.
8 Find a desk space
Work from home has become a norm now, so it’s crucial that you have a dedicated desk space that prevents you from using the bed, the kitchen table, or the sofa as a desk. A bureau with a flipped top that hides your desk stuff is ideal for helping you work with minimal issues.
9. Shelve your space
Sometimes, the simplest of ideas can lead to brilliant results. You don’t need a stand-alone desk or a spacious home for your dedicated workspace. Find a remote, undisturbed space in your home, and install a desk-height shelf, and voila, you have a perfect workspace!
10. Streamline your social lives
You might make plans to have your friends over on a weekend while your roommate plans to spend a quiet evening with their special someone. While giving each other a heads-up is necessary, you need to look at alternatives to ensure that you both have a way of knowing each other’s plans in case you forget to let each other know. Put up a f
ancy wall planner or even a blackboard, and together, you can discuss and write down your socializing plans on it. That way, you’ll not get in each other’s way, and everyone’s happy!
The idea of incorporating changes to your home to make it an enviable place to live is a daunting task, but it’s not impossible. All the ideas suggested here don’t involve much effort, time, or money. Just give yourself enough time to assess your home, think through the changes you want to make, and follow your plans, with time to spare to welcome your roommate.