How to decorate a small apartment

[quimby]

good to hear that you're pleased with your space. it's important to love coming home!

some things that i've gathered in all my years of small-apartment living:
- futons never work out. waste of money. if i had to do a sofa/bed combo, i'd go for a captain's bed (drawers underneath) or a daybed with a trundle, both of which could be dressed up with pillows in the day.
- when i lived in a studio, i never got around to getting a screen, but dividing up the space visually was important. using different colors, groupings, and rugs helped to create a "bedroom" area and a living area.
- second the advice on live plants. they're relatively cheap and make a space come alive.
- i never bothered with painting the walls since i was always renting. i much prefer to group paintings and photographs to create a focal point.
- make your space personal with all the things you love, for whatever reason, on display and it won't matter so much how crowded things are. in college i lived in the loft area of an apartment i shared with a roommate. the ceiling was sloped, and the area was pretty small. but i strung some white christmas lights in a spiral on the ceiling, cut out travel pictures from the new york times and national geographic and taped them to my file cabinet and at the high corners of the ceiling, and it felt like home--dreamy and whimsical.

[SHSH]

Im painting my small flat this weekend i will post all the pictures! Its going to be all white but later im going to do feature walls of indian ivy green

[Fashtastic]

I am also moving to a small apartment or a room in a flat (depending on where I choose to move to) soon so I really appreciate this thread! I'll be living on a budget either way so inexpensive alternatives are always great. I know IKEA is a heaven sent for people on a budget and I personally love the chain. Okay, I live in Sweden so maybe I'm a bit biased.

A favorite of mine is Anthropologie, they've got some really nice items that'll spice up any room! They are rather pricey though. Check out their Home Decor-section. I love their clothes too!

And I know someone already mentioned Apartment Therapy in this thread. A friend of mine was actually just talking about that website the other day, I haven't had the time to check it out that much but now that I saw it mentioned here I surfed on in and love it!


From Apartment Therapy


I put together this for my blog, all items are from Anthropologie.

[Swallowtail]

Originally Posted by LoveBug

Hello ladies,
Thanks for all the advices !! My place is less than 400 sq ft, it's really really small but at least I will have a nice view from 17th floor! I am planning to bring in plants! I only have 1 small closet basically for coats and shoes so I need to find a space for the rest of the clothes. That worries me! Also I have bunch of books! Should I take a full size bed, instead of a queen? My bf will visit me too ! I think I won't buy a couch, instead I was thinking of a futon. No way I have space for a couch ! haha
That book wall from the flickr is an awesome idea ! I might try that! But I am not sure if to divide my space, or leave it open.What should I put on the walls? I was thinking to buy some frames and put some black and while pictures of my family.Oh and by the way, I bring nothing with me from the old place, but a tv, books and clothes!
I am anxious ! Never lived in such a small space, never lived in a high rise,and never in a big city !!

Thank you !!

What I did was buy some very pretty clear plastic boxes and I put all my clothes in that don't need to be hung up, and sorted them out by season. I bought a tinier plastic tub and lined it with soft fabric and use that for my undergarments and other delicates. What makes them convenient for me is that they stack and I can see exactly what is in them, and they have flat tops so I can put things on top of them when I need to shift things around or for whatever other reason. Everything feels much spacier now, because it's so much easier moving these around then a dresser, and the dresser can block sunlight and be so bulky.

Also it makes me feel a little more secure about dust and spiders and other things, I am a bit of a neat freak about my clothes. My bedroom is oddly shaped because of the age of the building, which means I have sloping walls, so it makes where I store my clothes adjustable to the situation and easier to transport since in a sense they're already packed. I'm sure if I had a larger room with flat walls I would use a dresser, but this is much more convenient and I love being able to see my clothes while they're in the boxes. My mother thinks it's trashy of course, but I like it, it gave me room to put in another bookshelf for all my books

Quimby -- I have that with the bed, my bed is on top of a used water bed base made of wood that I found secondhand, and it has large drawers on the side facing out, and a large space on the other half - I don't use that back half because I only would access it once a year at most, but the other side is enormously helpful for me, I store most of my art supplies there within easy reach, and random miscellaneous and it keeps it off the floor and put away. Those bed bases with drawers I would recommend to anyone with a small space for their bedroom, they are great.

[fashionista-ta]

^ I love differently-shaped rooms & walls in old buildings

[minor keys]

it certainly isn't for everyone, but I love minimalism. if the space is small or oddly shaped, it might be becoming to avoid clutter and instead emphasize shape and proportion in a muted palette.

[Feline]

Being an avid hoarder and having lived in small places, I found making storage a feature worked for me. I got really nice storage boxes & hat boxes to keep things in I didn't want seen, but the boxes looked decorative. I also made a feature in the bedroom of some of my clothes & accessories, like I had scarves draped over the curtain pole & dresses I loved hung on the picture rail etc.

[dsq]

having lived in a relatively small apartment for the past few years, the best thing i found was to have decorations and furniture that are very unique, and not to have a lot of them around to clutter up the small space that you have.

[fashionista-ta]

^ I think your unique idea is great for spaces small and large

I love an uncluttered look, and yet somehow find it relatively unachievable One thing I do manage is not to have too much furniture. The previous owners of my house (which is relatively small--the original 1927 footprint of 1380 sq ft) crammed way more into it than I do. It's nice to see an expanse of hardwood floor ... and to have corners that can breathe rather than having furniture stuffed into every one.

[renegadelovers]

I have a pillar in the middle of my studio and so we had it painted as a palmtree, the "branches" spread over the ceiling. Its really practical as a background for my blog photos.. but now Im thinking of re-doing the room and painting the ceiling a pale blue.. around the palm tree of course. I also live on the beach so it fits =)

[Meg]

^
that's a great way to work an otherwise bothersome feature in. I think ultimately, there are no 'rules', just what you like and what you don't. I lived in a very small apartment, and used the standard Ikea Billy bookcases as a room divider by stacking 3 of them horizontally one on top the other to keep my bed separate from my desk area, and also to give me extra storage for books and things. And I totally believe in painting rentals. It's cheap and can be quick and makes such a huge difference. People will spend $60 on a round of drinks but not on painting the place they might live in for the next year or so? I think it would be harder to live in a small space though if I didn't have hardwood floors or some interesting quirky details. then it would just feel cramped.

[pasha]

How to decorate a small apartment?

...very carefully.

[fashionista-ta]

Originally Posted by Meg

^
that's a great way to work an otherwise bothersome feature in. I think ultimately, there are no 'rules', just what you like and what you don't. I lived in a very small apartment, and used the standard Ikea Billy bookcases as a room divider by stacking 3 of them horizontally one on top the other to keep my bed separate from my desk area, and also to give me extra storage for books and things. And I totally believe in painting rentals. It's cheap and can be quick and makes such a huge difference. People will spend $60 on a round of drinks but not on painting the place they might live in for the next year or so? I think it would be harder to live in a small space though if I didn't have hardwood floors or some interesting quirky details. then it would just feel cramped.

Agreed ... love the palm!

I lived in a 590 sq ft apartment for 7 years before I bought my house, and it had great details. Angled walls, moldings, big open kitchen, big dressing room ... and I added my own wallpaper and fixtures. It's definitely worth it to add some of your own touches ... especially if you're staying awhile.

[Kora]

I think the key to decorating a small apartment is finding furniture that is to scale with the size of the rooms. You don't want to over power any room and make it seem even smaller.

[Meg]

I agree. I am about to tackle re-decorating my room in my dad's (very small - 980 sq feet) house. Unfortunately, the room is small and has a LOT of furniture in it. Not sure how to work it just yet. I've got this AWESOME art-deco style dresser that needs to be re-finished, and another art-deco style dressing table that was function as my desk but with the bed, it feels very small. However, I need a desk area or something in my room.....