If you live in the city, you know that affordable real estate is hard to come by. When you have finally landed a place, you do not care that it is a small, no, cozy studio with a view of the parking garage: you have found your home!
Then comes time for the decorating with canvas prints. What should have been fun soon turns torturous. All of the furniture pieces you saved to your Pinterest board are too large for the space. That Eames Chair replica? Yeah, it is not going to fit and you are back at square one. But do not delete your dream furniture board just yet. Here are some tips and tricks to help you design your small space to feel like you are living large:
Multi-Functionality
When you live in a small space, any non-functional items that you have suddenly seem like a huge, giant waste of space. You start asking yourself why you thought collecting Doctor Who memorabilia was a good investment — it clearly was not! But wait, do not throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet. With a few simple multi-purpose statement pieces, you can still decorate your space to meet function and style.
Small spaces are wanting when it comes to storage, so any furniture that you do get will need to have storage capacity. Furniture items that are synonymous with organization and storage include the coffee table, bookcases, side tables, and s media console. In this case, let us use the bookcase for our example. Take a look at the Chicago 3 Box designed by Blu Dot. The three “floating” boxes (or shelves) use negative space to double your storage. Excellent for books, china, or your Doctor Who merchandise. Shelving units such as Blu Dot’s will help to make your space feel larger through its vertical design.
Spatial Organization
Living small does not mean you have to think small. Elle Decor suggests that when we are looking into designing our space, we should start with the larger furniture pieces first. By figuring out where the desk, bed, and loveseat will go, we will be able to figure out what more (or less) we need. In having a few select items that serve multiple purposes (as discussed above), we can still have a great looking apartment without feeling too cramped or crowded.
For example, if you have a bunch of junk shoved in the closet, you can use a wardrobe rack to bring your stylish threads out into the living space. You can use the wardrobe rack as an open air closet for your clothes, jackets, scarves, and other apparel. Your guests can use it too! There are about a million apps out there too to help you organize your space. Check out the Homestyler Interior Design app. This app lets you take a picture of your living room and superimpose 3D models of your furniture (or furniture you are considering buying) in the space to see it organized in different ways. With apps like this, you will never regret another furniture purchase again!
Mirrors
Can we ever have too many mirrors? Not when it comes to our living spaces. Mirrors reflect light and as such will help to make the room feel light and airy. Buzzfeed Life suggests we hang the mirror directly across from a window to make the room feel larger in order to really get a natural lighting effect. Or, if we hang it behind a desk or table, the mirror can reflect the space of the apartment, making it feel like there’s another room in the apartment. To really mix it up, get a floor length mirror to tuck behind a furniture piece to reflect the entirety of the room.
Having a small apartment does not negate style. If you follow these tips, your apartment is sure to shine!
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