Interior Design Tips for a 2-Storey Minimalist Home That Feels Spacious

A 2-storey home with 70m² of built-up area is sufficient for a small family — if it's designed thoughtfully. The problem is that most new homeowners fill it with oversized furniture and end up feeling boxed in. With the right approach, this footprint can feel surprisingly open.

These aren't abstract design principles — they're practical decisions you can make room by room.

Ground Floor: Living, Dining, Kitchen

Living Room: Less Furniture, More Function

Don't default to a 3+2 sofa set that takes up half the room. For a living room in this size house, an L-shaped sofa in one corner or a 2-seater + 1-seater combination works much better. Choose sofas with visible legs — the floor space underneath makes the room look wider.

Coffee tables are also frequent space-stealers. Consider a wheeled table you can move aside, or a storage ottoman that doubles as seating and hidden storage.

Kitchen and Dining: Open Plan Works

Where the layout allows, an open-plan kitchen and dining area feels much larger than one with a dividing wall. A small kitchen island or a bar counter makes a lighter visual boundary than a full wall.

For the dining table, an extendable or foldable model is far more practical than a fixed large table. Seats 2–4 on regular days, extends when you have guests — and doesn't dominate the room.

Upper Floor: Bedrooms and Private Spaces

Master Bedroom

The bed is your biggest piece of furniture — choose wisely. A 160×200cm queen bed typically fits well in a standard bedroom in this house type. Going up to a 180×200cm king tends to crowd the sides and makes movement awkward.

Built-in wardrobes (floor-to-ceiling, fitted to the wall) are a far better choice than freestanding wardrobes — they save floor space and create a cleaner visual line. If the developer has delivered the walls plumb and square, this is worth doing early.

Children's Room

Kids' rooms accumulate stuff fast. The solution isn't a bigger room — it's vertical storage. Wall shelves, loft beds with a study area below, and rolling storage boxes that fit under the bed are real space-savers. The floor stays clear, the room feels larger.

Lighting Changes Everything

Lighting is one of the biggest factors in how spacious a room feels — and it's consistently underestimated.

• Maximize natural light — avoid heavy curtains that block daylight. Sheer white curtains maintain privacy while keeping the room bright and visually open
• Skip the single central pendant — one large hanging light makes ceilings feel lower. Instead, combine spread downlights with a floor lamp or wall sconces for a warmer, more expansive effect
• Strategic mirrors — a large mirror in the living room or upper-floor corridor effectively doubles the perceived depth. Classic trick, but it works
• Light colors in windowless areas — corridors, bathrooms, and stairwells with no natural light should be painted white or light cream, not dark tones

Wall Colors That Work

Dark colors shrink rooms — that's an optical fact. But minimalist modern homes don't have to be all white. Some color schemes that work well:

• Warm broken white or cream for main walls — livelier than pure white, and flatters warm afternoon light beautifully
• One accent wall in an earth tone (olive green, terracotta, warm grey) — pick just one wall, typically behind the sofa or the bed headboard. It adds character without visually shrinking the room
• Light floors and ceilings — a white ceiling almost always works better than a colored one in a mid-sized home

The Staircase: Often Overlooked

In a 2-storey home, the staircase takes up a meaningful chunk of floor area. A few ways to optimize it:

• Use the space under the stairs — built-in storage cabinet, bookshelf, or a compact work nook. Never leave it as dead storage space
• Glass or thin metal railings feel visually "lighter" than solid wood balustrades — the space looks more open
• Match stair treads to your floor color — a contrasting staircase can visually interrupt the flow of the ground floor

Multi-Function Furniture Worth Buying

For a 70m² home, multi-function furniture isn't a trend — it's a practical necessity.

• Bed with under-bed drawers — stores linens, seasonal clothing, or children's toys without needing extra storage furniture
• Wall-mounted folding dining table — fold it away when not in use and the dining area becomes free floor space for kids or other activities
• Sofa bed in the family room — if guests don't stay often, far more efficient than a dedicated guest room
• Ladder shelf — leans against the wall at an angle, uses vertical space without taking up much floor area

Do You Need an Interior Designer?

Honestly — for a newly built modern minimalist home, you don't necessarily need to hire an expensive interior designer. What you need is good planning before you buy your first piece of furniture.

But if you'd like a polished, cohesive result — or if mixing design elements feels overwhelming — even 1–2 consultation sessions with a designer can be worth it. The cost is far lower than dismantling and replacing wrong furniture choices later.

The most important rule: plan before you buy. Sketch the layout on paper or use a free app like Planner 5D or RoomSketcher. Measure the front door before buying a sofa — it sounds obvious but causes real problems more often than you'd expect.