Raise your hand if you can multitask. If you raised your hand while reading the rest of the first sentence, bravo! You can truly multitask. Chew gum and walk down the street. Text and talk to the person in front of you. Listen to music and read. Rub your belly and pat your head. Hold and baby on your hip and cook a meal. I could go on and on and include multitasking occupations that should land you a guaranteed position on the next season of America’s Got Talent as a serious finalist contender.

Who will you be contending against? Seven of your ordinary basic home essentials who seem to have supernatural powers of dual purpose. They were once just necessary obstacles in your room, but time and dedication have perfected them to be versatile and exclusive showstoppers.

Now is as good as a time as ever to meet them? Ladies and gentlemen I give you …

1. The Handsome Hamper

Project by Elsie+Emma from a beautiful mess

While they mostly are cloth, rattan or plastic they rarely are matched to the fabrics and lumber of our room, thus making them an obvious eyesore. Let’s try to change that by giving your hamper a decorative edge. For your eclectic, street sign theme take an old metal trashcan and paint it your desired color. Line it with fabric and that easily your hamper servers two purposes.

This should give you an idea how you repurpose a household item into a dual purpose hamper; one of decorative and theme binding and of course for all those grass stained jeans.

2. Flexible Furniture

Like the productive learning Centre at Marian College the sofa arrangement can sit eight in a comfy study session but like a perfect pie can be split in eight sections for secluded studying.

Another great example of this is the Taiwanese company FlexibleLove and their approach to creating the most intuitive space saving furniture that has out of this world expansion and seating arrangement options.

This should be the focus of your interior designing. To choose furniture that can be molded to fit in many aspects of the room and offer your great accessibility when it comes time to rearrange be it from more floor space or more seating space. A sectional sofa that comes apart can be a simple way of purchasing an accent that offers such capabilities.

3. Do it All Laundry Room

Nathalie Lévesque, Kitchen & Bath Designer

The washer and dryer have come a long way from the scrubbing board and ringer of our parents time, but still we always find ways to improve and update this age old ritual called laundry. Save space and allow your dryer to iron as well by using a magnetic ironing board cover that conveniently fits over your dryer or washer top. Leave it on or fold it and put it away either way this save space and money and gives your sock-eating dryer a chance to redeem itself.

4. Unplugged and Unencumbered

Despite living and partaking of the wondrous wireless era at the end of the day there are still so many objects that require charging and take up precious plugged space. Not any more. The Dual sockets of an average receptacle now-in addition- accommodates our USB plugs. This is a great way to charge it up and save space for your table lamps to burn brightly. On your next trip to town pick up a set of these from Lowes or other home improvement stores and spread the joy and charge to all your technology. (Image of the 4-port USB wall plate charger from RCA)

5. Space Saving Stairway

Every inch counts. Turn the base of your staircase into drawers that pull out and offer endless storage and shelving. This will hopefully enable you to reclaim your living and dining space from the toys and games and store them in accessible storage. If your entrance way leads to the steps this home improvement idea can accommodate shoes and winter coats leaving your home organized and ready for unexpected guests. (more under staircase storage ideas)

6. Chair Shelving and Seating

Taking collapsible/folding metal or wooden chairs, secure them firmly on your wall that will enable them to be great bearers of weight but with a flip of your wrist can be brought back to floor level. When they are folded against the wall they create an ambiance of shabby flea market chic gone rustic. Unfold them against the wall and hang up a line of sweater hugging hangers. Need extra seating, pull it off the wall and enjoy your large group of friends as your hands hug a smoking hot cup of Joe.

You have seen for yourself what you are up against and the magnitude these multitasking home improvement tips can do for you! Not only do they apply common sense to home design, they all bring their own beauty and character to the picture. Take advantage of them so you can be a full time DIY multi-tasking individual with dual purpose everywhere you look!