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You are here: Home / Interior Design / Top 5 Tips For Decorating A Small Apartment

Top 5 Tips For Decorating A Small Apartment

July 1, 2011 by Dan

From compact to cozy, you can transform a small apartment into a home to be proud of.

Decorating Small Apartments

For most of us, city living means living in a compact space. Turning compact into cozy can make a world of difference to your comfort and can transform your home from a base to a place into which you’d be happy to invite guests and relax.

Whether motivated by a desire to de-clutter your space or to infuse your home with your personal style, these top tips for decorating your compact apartment might just help in the process.

1. Declutter

Decluttering is a necessary first step and a ruthless approach is needed.

From bookshelf to wardrobe to kitchen cupboards minimalism should be the guiding principle. Going forward, don’t bring anything new into your home unless you’re prepared to introduce it in substitute for something you’re prepared to give away. Keeping everything in its place will maximise the usable floor space available.

2. Use light

You can create depth by using strategically placed mirrors to reflect light throughout the apartment. Keep the walls light and place mirrors opposite windows to reflect the light and create an illusion of depth and space.

Light colours don’t mean you’re limited to white, there are a range of pastel colours that you can use to infuse personality whilst maintaining the feel of spaciousness in your home. Darker colours can be introduced in the form of small accents such as sofa cushions or lampshades. Use lighting with different strengths to create atmosphere.

Ceiling lighting and lamps can add atmosphere and depth to a room. Use track lighting instead of floor or table lamps to free up floor space. Further, you can focus the lighting in different directions to create an expansive feeling in your room.

3. Clean lines with integrated pieces

Creating the illusion of space is key to making a small space functional. Use floor to ceiling curtains, regardless of the size of the window they cover to accentuate the height of the room and use a concealed curtain rod to extend as far to the ceiling as is possible.

A glass topped table will preserve the feeling of openness. Internal doors could be replaced with curtains to remove the bulky feeling of solid furniture and can add personality to your space. Placing key items of furniture at diagonal angles will add to the illusion of space because the eye naturally travels a further distance to take  in the room.

Finally, layer soft furnishings to add to add warmth to your room. A throw rug on your sofa can be stored in an ottoman when not in use.

4. Functional furniture

The primary point when it comes to furnishings is scale. In a small space, use modestly sized pieces. Making use of every available space in your home will help you store your things neatly. Measure your space and see if you can find bookshelves or cupboards that are a perfect match. If your budget allows, custom made pieces can be the perfect  solution. Efficient storage space helps to maximise storage space. A bed with integrated storage drawers or an ottoman flips open to provide storage will keep your belongings out of sight. Choose an armless sofa on tall legs, in a light colour.

This can accentuate space by creating height and also removes the scope for it to dominate the room.

5. Embrace technology

If you have an electronic reader consider donating your paperbacks to the local charity store. If you have an ipod, you probably haven’t bought a CD in a while. The same goes with DVDs which can all be downloaded and stored online. When you are decluttering, consider how much space your books, CDs and DVDs consume and think about whether  you can do away with them in favour of your electronic options.

The key to making a small space work is in creating the illusion of space.

Keeping lines clean and light can help you do this. This means clever storage spaces and looking at the room not just in terms of floor space, but also in terms of height and depth. Finding clever ways of doing this will take you a long way towards transforming your home. Embracing minimalism will help you achieve impressive results. With these few tips, you can make your small apartment a home to relax and entertain in.

Filed Under: Interior Design Tagged With: Decor, decorating a small apartment, Interior Design, Small Apartment, tips

About Dan

Dan Fargo,the editor-in-chief of Archtopia, an online magazine dedicated to architects and designers.

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