Decor, Interior Design Ideas

Small Space, Big Style

Bree here, from Home Zone Furniture.

No matter how big or small your home is, you’re entitled to major style. If you’re faced with the task of decorating a petite space, look at it as an opportunity to be creative and inventive. When you’re decorating a large space, there is room (literally) for error. In a small space, you’re challenged to analyze your square footage and architectural proportions in order to make the most of what you’re working with.

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Instead of doing the expected and decking out a small room with equally small furniture, go bold with these five steps.

Proportion

As contradictory as it might sound, a small room can be made to feel larger with large-scale furniture and decor. Forget what you’ve heard about small furnishings complementing small rooms. On the contrary, a large piece of furniture makes a statement in a small room and opens up the space.

If you choose small pieces of furniture, you’ll end up using more pieces in the space. Selecting one large piece of furniture as opposed to three smaller pieces will look less cluttered. The same goes for decor. Instead of using a handful of small items to decorate a table, mantle or shelf, go for fewer, larger pieces. When it comes to decor, a good rule of thumb is to always select items larger than a cantaloupe.

Color

It’s a tip as old as time: use light colors to make a room appear larger. While white may be the classic go-to for walls and furniture alike, don’t be afraid to stray away from comfortable neutrals and experiment with color. A particularly chic choice for small rooms is a palette of different shades of the same color. Light blue walls, royal blue furniture and cerulean pillows work together to expand the space and create a sense of continuity. While dark shades do have a tendency to make a space feel more compact, pastels add a dose of personality without the visual restrictions.

Style

There are a number of small style edits you can make throughout a room to create the illusion of space. One easy fix is to eliminate heavy window treatments. You’ll be surprised at what a big difference this can make. Remove the blinds and consider swapping out thick, darkly colored curtains in exchange for something light and gauzy, or nothing at all. The purpose of this is to maximize the amount of light in the room and eliminate incongruent, dark décor in favor of space.

Another easy way to create space is to choose furniture with exposed legs. This trick maximizes both floor space and light. If you’re shopping for new furniture for your small room, consider lucite. This clear, easy-to-clean material is a must-have in every contemporary home. Practically invisible, lucite is an easy choice for rooms lacking in space.

Decorative storage

If you have a small home, you know that storage in disguise is a top priority. For those buying new furniture to decorate a small room, always choose pieces that have capacity for storage. Does that coffee table open to reveal hidden storage? It’s a must!

If you’re decorating with furniture you already own, use every drawer available to you in a thoughtful way. Consider drawer organizers to get the most out of the space you have, and enact a system to make sure everything ends up back in the same spot. Another technique is to work storage into your decorating scheme. No one has to know that the ornate box sitting on the side table in the family room is full of knickknacks for the TV!

Manipulate the eye

A tried-and-true way to make a small space seem bigger is to manipulate the eye and make the room seem taller. The easiest way to do this is to draw attention to the ceiling and invite the eye to look up. If your decor allows and if you’re feeling daring, try putting an interesting wallpaper on the ceiling. Go for something with a large, bold pattern, ideally in a light color palette.

Not your style? Hang book shelves at the very top of the wall, almost touching the ceiling. This technique will add pops of color and foster a homey feel. If you’re not convinced yet, hang art in a gallery style, stretching the frames all the way up to the ceiling, or suspend hanging vine plants from the ceiling to create visual length.

What are your techniques for decorating a small space on a budget?

Bree

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