Many people read home decor magazine or look on line for decor ideas, but they sometimes think “this is great, but my place is too small”. Here are a few ideas for people who live in small apartments, student rooms, or studios and are decorating small spaces.
The first thing to do when decorating small spaces is to visually enlarge the room.
There are several techniques to give the illusion of a larger space to a room.
The use of color: Using contrasting colors can offer an optical effect that is appealing and very effective.
If you want to make a room seem wider, paint the walls with dark colors, but paint the largest wall in a lighter tone. Use the same color for the ceiling as for the walls that will give the impression that the ceiling has disappeared. To make a room seem longer choose the darker color for the largest wall. A dark wall at the end of a room gives the illusion of depth.
Don’t forget stripes. Just as stripes work for clothes, stripes add illusions in a room. If you want the room to seem longer paint horizontal stripes. Vertical stripes can also be used judiciously “raise the ceiling”. The width of the stripes is all important and will depend on the size of the room. If you are daring you might try diagonal stripes on the walls. A dynamic decor is guaranteed, but the rest of the room must be subdued or you risk to have a room that is overwhelming.
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Use wall mirrors: this is a very old trick in decorating small spaces, but it is just as effective today as it was in the past. By reflecting light, mirrors always give the impression that a room is larger than it is. In fact a large mirror can double the visible area of the room.
Choose furniture astutely:
Try to find multipurpose furniture. For example a trunk that can double up as a coffee table, or a seating bench if you put cushions on it. There are many tables for small spaces, for example there are some that can be both coffee tables and dining tables, or desks, with a flick of a wrist they can be raised when needed. Storage for small spaces is always a big problem, let’s face it most of us have too much. In a small bedroom choose a bed with drawers to allow you to use space under the bed that is usually not easily accessible, these will greatly improve your storage space.
If you need a home office a desk for small spaces might mean a wall desk that can go anywhere, even in an entry way, or a corner desk that will use less space. Glass is a great material as it opens up the space even as it is using it.
Let the sun shine in:
This is a basic rule of any decor, but it is even more important in small spaces. Instead of heavy curtains choose light sheer curtains that will filter light softly but will allow it to flow in the room. In fact if you don’t have any a special need for privacy you could even omit the curtains all together.
Make tough decisions:
In a small space you have to choose to keep or discard certain objects, as you cannot let “stuff” invade your space. Don’t fool yourself, to decorate small spaces requires attention and care as well as organization.
