For many of us, there have been long stretches of late when the entire household has been home together. It’s not that you don’t love spending time with your family or cohabitees, just that it can be hard to find space to binge on that box set only you like, focus on your work, cook with the radio on while someone else is watching TV, or read a book in peace.

So check out these solutions, as one may just be the perfect idea to help you to carve out improved space for you and everyone you live with

Make space for children

Whether you have several children who don’t always want to play together, need an extra child’s bedroom, or would like a fun bed for sleepovers, this is an ingenious idea to mull over.

French interior architects bldb have created a completely private, boxed-off sleeping platform in an otherwise communal room.

Here, the main space is a living room, but if you have a playroom that could be made to work harder, this might be a good solution.

There are pull-out wardrobes for clothes (that could also be designed as toy storage or for bedding), shutter-like doors with built-in, front-facing bookshelves, and a mini staircase with a door at the top for privacy.

The box could function as a daybed or reading nook, a spare bedroom or simply a separate area for quieter play if things are a bit boisterous below.

Equally, if your living room is overrun with toys, ditch the bed and use the box idea to create a raised play area that you can shut the door on at the end of the day.

Give the chef some me-time

One of the downsides of an open-plan kitchen-diner for the cook is that those at the table will often be able to see all the mess you’re creating. They might also disturb the private pleasure of a glass of wine and a good podcast while you’re prepping food.

A potential retrospective solution is a semi-transparent, decorative screen, like this sleek, sliding brass sheet design installed by Roundhouse.

Create more privacy for readers

A reading nook is an excellent and often quite achievable discrete space to create in a busy home.

Popular spots for them we’ve seen on Houzz include bay windows, understairs areas and landings. If you’ve lately wondered how to make a nook more private still, though, consider the simple idea seen in this design by Lauren Allyn Interiors – a curtain.

There are various ways to do this, from decorative curtain poles to hidden tracks dug into the ceiling, depending on your aesthetic and space. Ensure you have nook-only lighting in place first so it remains useable in the dimmer atmosphere behind the drapes.

Live harmoniously in one multi-functional room

Although the ideas in this room would be best designed in at the outset, there is one, powerful takeaway detail you might just be able to add retrospectively, depending on your space.

The room, created by Architect Your Home, is designed on two levels – the kitchen and diner being a step up from the garden and living area. That’s a visual divide bonus you may not have – but look at that half wall behind the sofa…

This part of the room is almost like an oversized serving hatch or window, and the result is that the sofa feels cosy and sunken – certainly somewhere people could sit without feeling as if they’re in the kitchen. And anyone cooking still has a clear view across the garden, but also the area feels like its own, distinct space.

Enhance a homeworker’s focus (and sleep)

If a desk in your bedroom is your work-from-home zone, it can be hard to switch off – or simply to make space. Sound familiar? Then this idea from Lark Architecture could work well.

As long as you don’t have a prohibitively low ceiling, there will often be room for a platform bed. This can be a wonderful way to effectively make two rooms out of one. The bedroom part can be pure bed and relaxation, and the desk area, tucked underneath, is gloriously out of sight (and hopefully out of mind) while you sleep.

When discussing with a designer or joiner, consider whether you think you’d like some sort of barrier to stop you (or children, if it’s a younger person’s room) from rolling off the mattress.

Boost flexibility for bathroom users

When more of you are at home all at once, the shortage of a separate loo or spare bathrooms may become an issue.

Here, in a room designed by Ferrarini & Co, not one but two loos have been given their own cubicle, thanks to a stud wall and a sliding barn door…

Not only does the bathroom instantly become more flexible with the loo zone sectioned off, but there’s even a his ’n’ hers option, should you have the space.

Separate yourselves without building barriers

These full-height sliding doors not only look stunning, they also retain views through the house to the garden from the kitchen, while giving the opportunity for separate activities to take place in what would otherwise be one very large room.

The benefit of a divider like this is that you will also reduce noise transference, meaning one group can be listening to the radio in peace or chatting quietly, while the other can be watching a surround sound film or having a lively gossip. Wins all round.