Nowadays, new property owners are facing new challenges when thinking of decorating their apartments. The spike in property prices is leading more and more people to opt for smaller apartments. Another reason why others might choose a smaller property is practicality and the need for less maintenance. In any case, furnishing smaller properties comes with its difficulties. Here are some tips to simplify your upcoming furnishing project.
1. Walls
When dealing with small rooms and spaces, white walls are your safest bet. ‘Boring’ I hear you say? Not at all! White walls will give you a clean, blank canvas to create each space and give life and moods to your rooms apart from making your area look bigger than it actually is. You can express your creativity and design ideas through hanging personal pictures, art as well as other decorative items. Mirrors work wonders in creating the illusion of a bigger area and also help reflect any natural light you have entering the room.
2. Colour Palettes
Choosing and sticking to your colour palettes will make or break your interior design project. If you are dealing with small areas, try to stick to two main colours (certainly no more than three). Ideally one of the colours is a neutral one which can be incorporated in a number of items you will be needing in your rooms.
3. Flooring
Having homogeneous flooring across the whole apartment has multiple pros. First of all, there will be more flow between one room and another. Secondly, it will give the impression of a larger space. Thirdly, it will help you stick to the above mentioned colour palettes. After all, if you want to give more warmth and dimension to a certain room, you can always resort to carpets.
4. Storage
No matter how large or small your property is, storage is a problem everyone seems to have to deal with. Think before you purchase and buy your items in a clever way. Floating shelves, poufs and beds with storage space, decorative baskets doubling as containers for throw overs, toys, magazines, remote controls etc.
5. Furniture Placement
Before purchasing any piece of furniture, you need to refer to your color palettes as well as think about the space they will be filling. The way you place your furniture can give structure to your rooms. If you would like to create a divide between your dining and your living room, placing the sofa with its back to the dining room will do the trick.
6. Lighting
The correct artificial lighting can make the whole difference. Disperse lighting according to the rooms you are decorating. Invest in warm light for areas such as the living room and bedrooms. Play around with different types of lighting options such as floor lamps, bedside lamps, ambience light, dimmer hallway lights etc.
7. Clear Furniture
Clear furniture gives the illusion of taking up less space than it actually does. Apart from that, it will not make any area look crammed even if you cannot spare any space. If you have a very small dining area, invest in a glass top table and clear chairs. If you want to liven up the area, opt for a nice punch of colour by hanging a favored piece of art on the wall to give more texture, character and liveliness to the area.