Trade Secret #2 to Add Luxury for Less

interior luxury home iron door

Stylize Small Spaces:

Strategically designed small spaces are the mark of a well-built home and can add a lot of character for minimal cost. Florida Custom Homebuilder Jorge Ulibarri  is always looking for ways to  maximize every inch of the home visually and functionally. Small spaces hold tremendous architectural power when carefully crafted as wineries, niches, built-ins and  bar areas. These design elements leave no wasted space in a home. Take a close look around your home and perhaps you’ll discover that there are unused spaces with great potential.

Here are a few ideas for turning those small spaces into beautiful features in your home. Consider a winery for your home.

a winery created underneath the staircase with wrought-iron door and window is an artistic way to stylize a small space. Designed and built by Jorge Ulibarri, www.imyourbuilder.com

A winery is affordable and easy to create because you need a very small space, at least 18 inches. There are several ways to find the right space for your winery. Consider an old closet or underneath the staircase or any room where you can bump out a wall to create an additional 18 inches of space. In one of Jorge Ulibarri’s homes, he created a winery from an oversized guest bath because it shared a wall with the formal living room. This made it easy to frame out the extra space in the guest bath and create access from the formal living room.  Once the 3-foot by 2-foot enclosure is framed and has drywall installed, you can embellish the winery with a wrought iron door.

inside the winery, half barrels serve as wine bottle storage. Designed and built by Jorge Ulibarri, www.imyourbuilder.com

Inside the winery, there are many options for wine racks including wood shelves, iron or wood racks, and wine barrels.  Finishes for the interior walls include options such as stone, brick or faux painting. Depending on the location of the winery, you can expect to pay anywhere from $4000 to $5000.

The niche is another great architectural use for small, unused spaces. There are many different finishes for the back wall of the niche including stone, tile or faux painting. Look for corners of the house that you can frame out or walls that you can thicken out to create a recessed niche. The cost is minimal, under $1000 to frame, finish, and embellish a niche. It’s a great investment that adds a lot of character to the house.

Built-in bar area in the recessed space adds character and functionality to the room. Designed and built by Jorge Ulibarri, www.imyourbuilder.com

Built-ins are another way to optimize square footage in a home. Look for existing walls of certain rooms where you can create a 24-inch recessed area. This recessed space has many uses depending on the room. For example, in a dining room, this 24-inch recessed space could be used for a built-in credenza with cabinetry.  Embellish the space with an arch or wood beam overhead to highlight the space.  Another functional space for built-ins is in the office. It’s an  ideal place to  create a built-in desk and cabinetry. In the media room or game room, consider a built-in bar area crafted out of the recessed space.  Small stylized spaces are functional and can serve as architectural focal points. For additional design tips and money saving ideas,  be sure and subscribe to the video series Trade Secrets by Jorge on YouTube.

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One Response

  1. Will Jorge in the future offer design consultations for home owners? It will be great to have him re-design existing or new construction homes to add this breath taking details.

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