Small Living Room and Small Bedroom Decorating Ideas

As more people migrate to the country's larger metropolitan areas, it would seem that they're happy to forego living space for a chance to be closer to the action. As luck would have it, these urban dwellers can actually have both, in spite of the fact that apartments are being built smaller than ever before. The single caveat here is that you've got to be up to the challenge of making the space you do have, work. This article aims to give you some small living room and small bedroom decorating ideas on how to get the most out of a small apartment.

Get Furniture that Doubles as Storage Containers

As you might imagine, finding an apartment with enough storage space is going to be one of the biggest challenges to the prospective city dweller. One of the best solutions for this type of problem is finding furniture that will serve more than one function. For example, opting for a set of storage ottomans can help you remain clutter free in your living room while giving you a comfortable place to put your feet up after a long day. Likewise, an accent storage ottoman can be incorporated into your entryway to store out of season apparel or at the foot of your bed to store unused bedding and pillows.

Strategically Rearrange Your Furniture

Anyone who has lived in a tiny apartment will tell you that it is very easy to add clutter to a room simply by overfilling it with furniture. Fortunately, you can mitigate this clutter simply through the strategic placement of your favourite pieces.

1. Arrange furniture so that it does not impede high traffic areas.
2. If purchasing new furniture, select pieces that are sized appropriately for your space. Take measurements before deciding which pieces you'll purchase.
3. If all the seating pieces are close together, one solitary coffee table should be able to serve all the seats; there's no need to eat up floor space with end tables if they aren't needed.
4. Opting for wall mounted lamps rather than floor or end table based alternatives will help to preserve limited floor space.

Add Corner Bookcases

Corners tend to be underutilized in many living spaces, but if your floor plan is on the diminutive side, corners should be seen as valuable real estate that needs to be taken advantage of. Bookcases allow you to display prized possessions, decorative pieces, and your favourite works of literature without getting in the way. Best of all, matching bookcases in opposing corners are a great way to frame a room and can help tie it together.

Incorporate Floating Tables

Strange as it might sound, the right piece of furniture can actually fool your brain into thinking you have more space than you actually do. Pieces like a floating table, while taking up the same amount of square footage, give the impression that it takes up less space due to its minimalist physical profile. Other accents, like floating shelving, provide the same effect; they may offer the same storage space as conventional shelving, but since floating shelving is mounted directly to the wall without offputting visual protuberances, they appear to offer more in terms of saving space.  

Use Neutral Colours to Create the Illusion of More Space

The artful use of colour is another way to create the illusion of space where there really isn't all that much. By applying a neutral colour palette and carrying it through the living space, you make it easier for the eye to scan the room without getting hung up on loud colours of complex patterns. Neutral colours make a room seem more expansive, much in the same way a wall mounted mirror will. Before deciding that neutral colours aren't really your style, consider picking up some swatches from your local home improvement store to see how some of these colours might jive in your living space.

Incorporate a Storage Bed

When people are picking out a new bed, they often consider  how good of a night's sleep it will provide, and not necessarily how much storage space it will provide. For those dwelling in a city apartment, taking a single functional approach to their sleeping quarters is a luxury they can't afford. A floating bed offers quite a bit of space to keep low-profile storage boxes out of sight, but so too will storage beds with built-in and easy to access drawers. Storage beds come in a wide variety of styles and storage configurations so there's a storage solution for any bedroom, no matter the size.

Emphasize Vertical Lines

If you can change the plane of the eye as it takes in a room, you can actually make the room appear as though it is more spacious than it is in reality. For example, floor to ceiling window treatments is a great way to draw the eye's attention to the vertical, as are wall panels, and vertically dominant pieces of art. In short, the key takeaway here is to incorporate a design element in the space that will make it easy for the eye to transition from the horizontal to the vertical plane.

Remember, tiny apartments can be more than just a place to crash at the end of a long day, it can be more than a concession for living in a vibrant, populous city. By adopting the right decorating strategy, it can be a place you're happy to call home. Use these tips when you plan to redecorate your space or before you move into your next apartment and be proud of your space.