Living in small and minimalist apartments is an exciting venture, and it has certain advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, small apartments usually have lower rents, are easier to clean and manage, and they are generally situated in vibrant and busy areas of the city, on the other hand, decorate small apartments force you to minimize and simplify your living style and if a small apartment is not well decorated, it can look and feel quite claustrophobic.
Now, decorating a small apartment is not easy at all. You need to follow certain rules to make sure that the apartment looks bigger and more open to the eye. If you are looking for the best tips for small apartment decorating, you are in the right place. Here we have compiled a list of some pro tips from architects, interior designers and real estate experts that will help you decorate your small apartment impressively.
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Table of Contents
Keep Window Treatments to a Minimum
The main idea of decorating a small apartment is to make it feel more open and spacious. For this, you will have to maximize the flow of natural light into the apartment. Most interior designers suggest keeping window treatments to a minimum, and even abandoning them altogether if possible. You should try not to add any curtains or drapes to the windows and if you do, keep them light in color, and keep them open during the day.
Interior designers also suggest that you should have large windows in small apartments. So, follow these rules to have a lot of natural light and an open and spacious looking small apartment. you can also choose the best and perfect floor light for your home to make attractive and beautiful.
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Clutter is Your Worst Enemy
Many interior designers agree that clutter is the worst thing for a small apartment. This is an essential point that is emphasized a lot by interior designers. Even the most elegantly designed apartment can start looking awful if they are full of clutter. And of course, clutter builds up very quickly in small spaces.
So, you should regularly tidy up the place and when you are furnishing the apartment, instead of your old bulky furniture that takes up a lot of unnecessary space, buy some new, sleek and scaled-down furniture.
Adopt a minimalistic approach to the design and decor, getting rid of anything that is unnecessary. You should also get the proper equipment like high-quality vacuum cleaners and pressure washers to keep your home clean. You can check online for additional information and reviews about these items.
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Get Smart with Storage
Storage is a serious problem in small apartments, first of all, you should understand that you can’t fit all the stuff from your home or previous apartment into a smaller one, and it is best to simplify and give some of the stuff you don’t want or need away. Still, if you have a lot of stuff left, you can look into renting a separate storage unit, which is usually very affordable.
As far as the storage space inside the apartment is concerned. You will need to use some unconventional and new methods. Designers suggest creating a lot of shelves to maximize storage, and you can also use unconventional places like under the bed to make dressers and storage areas. Another method is to place some elegant baskets on the floor and use them as storage. There are also some multipurpose furniture pieces available in the market that can double as storage.
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Make Vertical Fixtures
When you are living in a small apartment, you are, of course, low on space and you need to fit a lot of stuff into the apartment while keeping it elegant. A common rule that is used by interior designers is maximizing the use of vertical space. In the kid’s room, you can add a bunk bed instead of two separate beds to save space.
Another great option is to build a platform bedroom, and you can also use the space under it for different reasons. You can create a small working area and a closet under the raised platform bed. You can use a similar method to create raised storage areas and still utilize the space under them. Increasing the use of vertical space is a great way to maximize the potential of a small space and add a lot of stuff to a small apartment without damaging the decor.
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Focus on the Paint of the Walls
The paint of the walls has a very important role to play in setting the ambience and mood of any room regardless of its size, but for a smaller apartment, you have to follow some rules. The main thing that you need to keep in mind is that dark colors have to be avoided at all costs.
Experts suggest using neutral or bright colors. A great wall painting strategy that is very common in a small apartment is to have one accent wall with a sharp and bright color while the other walls are white or neutral.
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Consider Investing in Collapsible and Multipurpose Furniture
If you want the functionality of a larger space in a small apartment without damaging the decor and design, you will have to invest in some smart and collapsible furniture. There are some amazing furniture pieces available in the market that can be collapsed to save space. You should look into getting a murphy bed which can be stored inside the wall when not in use to save a lot of space and have a multipurpose room.
A murphy bed can be really useful if you have some guests over. If you are living in a small apartment, then collapsible furniture is the way to go.
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Designate Separate Areas
When you are living in a decorated a small apartment, you should try to have an open floor plan. This means that you should have minimum walls and as you know, most studio apartments are designed this way. But you still need to have separate areas designated for separate purposes in an apartment.
A great way is to use furniture pieces like bookshelves to separate different areas. You can also install some moveable glass panels to have separate rooms without using up too much space.