Feb 26, 2018

If there is one thing I know, it’s living in small spaces.  My first home had super small (albeit charming) living spaces and was nothing less than quirky.  Though it taught me that the right decor can make a small house feel big.

You’ll need a bit more time and patience with decorating a small space, but hopefully create a home just as comfy and relaxing as a larger house.

Light colors

The simplest and easiest way to make a room feel bigger? White walls.  White walls and light colored floors may not feel as cozy as their darker counterparts, but they reflect so much more light giving the illusion of more space.

If you can’t paint your walls (apartment life – I get it) opt for light colored curtains or simply go without! Sometimes a simple window creates more depth than a panel of curtains.

Hang curtains higher than the window

We are a bit lucky to live in a lofted apartment so our living room easily boasts 84″ curtains with out much of a problem.  But unfortunately our rooms aren’t lofted and pretty small.  To help balance it all out, we hung our curtains as close to the ceiling height as we could.  It made our room feel taller, and allowed us to break up the white walls and white furniture we had.

 

Small spaces, small decor

It’s pretty simple.  Big rooms, big furniture. Filling up an already smaller than normal space with too big of furniture highlights just how tiny your space truly is.

Our loveseat, while tiny, fits perfectly in our smaller lofted apartment.  We originally almost kept my boyfriends larger full sized couch, but agreed that it just didn’t work.  We found ourselves walking around it more than living with it.

To help with extra seating we added my vintage pink recliner to the living room and a few extra floor cushions to make up for the loss of extra seating.  They are easily stacked in a corner and can double up as a side table if need be. We even found this coffee table that was all too small and bench sized for everyone else, but worked perfectly into our living room.

You may bemoan your small space, but your budget doesn’t have to.

Draw your eye upward

Much like hanging your curtains higher than your windows, hang your art or wall hangings higher on your walls.  By doing so you naturally draw eyes upwards.

While I’ve always leaned towards gallery walls, I’m leaning towards larger and more bold artwork lately.  Lots of decor and wall hangings can make a space feel cluttered and closed in.  So keep your gallery walls simple. OR opt for bolder and more statement pieces.

Storage doubles.

Get sneaky guys! My vanity seat doubles as a storage for my larger beauty items as well as accessories.  The problem with smaller spaces is your can’t rely on multiple pieces of furniture. My nightstand also has to have storage, even though I love the simpler ones I always pin on Pinterest.

Take the time to find an appealing and functional piece of furniture in order to make a small house feel big.

 

I know decorating a small space can be rough. It seems like there is so much more furniture and decor designed for larger spaces.  My best piece of advice? Don’t be afraid to break all the rules.  Small spaces often don’t follow the rules themselves and sometimes a room just doesn’t need all the things I’ve listed here.

Small house or big? What is your preference?