Double Your Space: Smart Second Floor Additions

Your home can start to feel small as the years pass and your family grows, leading to the age-old question of whether to move out or expand your current living space. Instead of contacting local real estate agents right away, consider adding a second floor to your home for a spacious look that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing. This blog is here to give you a few smart second-story home ideas that enhance the charm and value of your property.

Second Floors: Expand Your Space By Building Upward!

Let’s say you live in a two-bedroom house with three growing children and a dog. Sounds cramped, right? While the average single-story home can only offer so much without taking up your yard, a strategically planned upstairs addition can add space, increase comfort as well as raise the value of your property.

Let’s take a look at a few creative ideas to open up your living space!

Moving The Master Bedroom

One of the most highly requested second-floor additions is creating a luxurious master suite upstairs. Not only does this free up a room downstairs that can be used as an office or a children’s room, but this idea also gives the parents a more private space. A master bedroom can easily be fitted with an en-suite bathroom, a walk-in closet, a balcony, or even a small reading nook to give the space a more cozy feel.

Pro Tip You could even add a soaking tub in your master bathroom for a luxurious touch!

Creating A Kids’ Zone

Why should the adults have the new space? Growing kids have their own need for privacy and space, and studying downstairs as guests visit or trying to sleep when another sibling can just walk in to grab something from the closet can be really frustrating. By relocating the children’s bedrooms upstairs, you give them a sense of independence and teach them responsibility while they’re still living under your own roof. This also reduces clutter or messes in case of younger kids who leave toys and games around in the downstairs living room.

A Dedicated Work & Hobby Space

Consider creating a separate area for things like working from home. Especially if your job demands focus and lots of Zoom meetings, sitting downstairs can be quite inconvenient with kids running around or friends making surprise visits. Plus, having your own nook to work in also leads to better focus and leaves the downstairs more open for other activities. Alternatively, you could set up a painting studio, a workout space, or a pottery station upstairs to sharpen your skills. 

Separating Guests & The In-Laws

Quite literally, an in-law suite is a great idea for visiting grandparents, cousins, and aunts, so that they have a dedicated space where they can relax and stay in. Similarly, if you have friends who often like to crash over, having a room upstairs is a fantastic option so that they have their own privacy and your family has its own freedom during their stay.

Relocating The Laundry Room

One of the best ways to increase the space downstairs is to move the laundry area upstairs. Imagine the space you’d save in your garage or kitchen if your washer and dryer were upstairs. Not only that, having all the dirty laundry and freshly-washed clothes upstairs means that you won’t have to worry about the mess when you have surprise visitors. Smart, efficient, and ideal for homes that have all their bedrooms upstairs. 

Additional Storage Areas & Supply Closets

For homes that don’t have a lot of storage space downstairs, moving all the seasonal stuff and spare blankets upstairs is a fantastic idea to free up closet space on the first floor. It keeps things organized, makes it easy to find things, and even frees up space to add decorative items. For example, if you move canned ingredients to an upstairs pantry, then you have more cabinet space in your downstairs kitchen for ornaments and personal touches.

Conclusion

To conclude, creating an upstairs for your single-story home is a wonderful idea to free up space and add more square footage without actually taking up square footage from your yard. Consider your family, lifestyle, and future goals before taking some of these second-story home ideas and creating private libraries, storage spaces, and children’s bedrooms upstairs to raise the curb appeal of your property and give your family an easy breathing space.

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