Furniture is the most-important as set to any area with the right fur nishings creating an intimate, cosy feeling, while enhancing style, organisation, and comfort.With the increase in the vertical construction in the valley, there is the scarcity in the space. The rooms are getting smaller and people are finding hard to settle in such small space with not enough room for a traditional dining room and elbow room to co-exist.

For the space-challenged room, homeowners consider it essential to make every square foot count. As a result, furniture makers are continually finding new ways to incorporate more than one function into a single piece. The multi pur pose furniture allows residents to enjoy their small living spaces and their vibrant urban neighbourhoods.

"Today, people want everything multifunctional as it is a demand of time. For example, just as people are opting for cell phones with multiple functions, similar is the case for the multifunctional furniture. Many people are attracted to multifunctional furniture because the same furniture can be removed and adapted as per the need of the people," says Alina Raut, sales person of Furniture Land at Maitighar.

The great thing about multipurpose furniture is that one can step out of the box literally when it comes to choosing the best fit for their home and lifestyle.According to Raut, those living in a minuscule apartment may want to take special notes as multipurpose furniture is the best solution when it comes to furnishing one's home or apartment with the essentials while avoiding overcrowding the space at the same time.

Multifunctional furniture like sofa cum bed, low height dining (coffee table) are available in the market. Sofa cum bed can be convenient option for people living in small rooms. According to Raut, with the single piece, one can use it as a relaxing couch while watching television and at night, while it can also function as a double bed. They come in different colours, size and materials.Leather sofa cum bed is most sought after multipurpose furniture as it more durable and can withstand a lot of weight. The price of sofa cum bed depends on the material and the size. Generally, it costs between Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000.

Similarly, coffee tables can be transformed into a low height dining table. Such coffee cum dining table comes in granite and marble. "This is a great option, especially for the nuclear family as it serves the dual benefits of having coffee table and the dining table," says Chandra Shekhar, owner of Durge Shree Furnitures at Kamalpokhari.According to him, such table is available with eight seats.The price of coffee cum dining table is Rs 30,000.

Also to be noted is the fact that regardless of how much living space one has, it never seems to be enough. Most homeowners would agree the challenge is not necessarily the lack of total space available, but the way the space is used. To use the living space one has to its fullest potential, they need to find furnishings that can multi-task.

"Any piece that could accomplish more than one job is a sensible investment. And buying multipurpose furniture has become the compulsion for the valley dwellers because of the limited space," adds Shrestha.According to him, people living in rent are more inclined to multipurpose furniture. He claims that they are open to bring in more of such furniture as per the need of customer since only few option of multipurpose furniture are available in the market at present.

source: The Himalayan Times: Property Plus(2011),"A sensible investment for small spaces", The Himalayan Times,12 Feb 2011