Creative Ways to Decorate a Small Apartment

27 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, The Home

Tags

benches, bright colors, coffee tables, home, interiors, mirrors, ottomans, painting, small spaces, Storage, Vertical Space

Making a smaller space look great is hard enough if you own it. You have to bend over backwards finding creative ways to get things to fit without making it look cluttered. Now imagine having to do this as a renter since when you’re essentially borrowing someone else’s living area. That can place limits on your ability to express yourself.

Ultimately, you have to remember two things when trying to make your small apartment livable: 1) it’s okay to cheat a little, and 2) as much as possible, everything should serve more than one purpose. Here are several great decorating ideas to make your space shine.

Secret storage
It almost seems like a cruel joke, but the smaller an apartment is, the less storage it tends to have. What those people with huge apartments need with all that extra storage space is a mystery (give some of it to us!) but that’s the way it is, and it means that you have to get clever by finding ways to store things in plain sight.

Fashionable ottomans and benches that open up are great places to put your blankets, books, and even things like board games if you have enough room. Stores like IKEA have fantastic-looking hidden storage options, like a coffee table for the living room with large drawers on each end—perfect for hiding away the two dozen remotes, iPods®, and other portable electronics you have.

Photo Credit: Ballard Designs

Photo Credit: Home Decorators

Photo Credit: Ikea

Reflections of you
A big part of successfully decorating a smaller area is tricking you into feeling like it’s bigger than it really is. One easy way to achieve this effect is through a clever use of mirrors. To give the illusion of an open space, larger mirrors in standard shapes are best because they do a good job of sucking you in. Most renters can probably get away with hanging a large mirror or two and simply patching the holes when they leave, but if that idea scares you, it’s not completely out of the question to find tall mirrors that you can carefully prop against the wall.

Photo Credit: West Elm

Photo Credit: Pottery Barn

When painting, go light and bright.
Lighter, brighter colors tend to make a space feel bigger than it really is, so you should always stick with them over darker hues that can create the feeling of being trapped in a cave. But wait a minute; you’re wondering how can you paint the walls as a renter? Who said anything about the walls? If you don’t own the space, redecorate by painting what you do own—your furniture! You’ll be shocked by how different your room looks when you repaint that black entertainment center an electric blue, or change your bed frame from oak to white. Just make sure you do a little bit of research on the best ways to paint furniture before you jump into the project.

Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

Think tall
When your square footage is limited, the best way to get the most use out of it is to look up and try to find furnishings that do a good job of taking up the vertical space. Not only will this help you to store more while making your living areas feel more open, designers say that big furniture often serves to create the sense that a room is larger than it really is. Nice!

Photo Credit: What is Home Improvement

Photo Credit: Remodel

Photo Credit: Free Home Decorating Ideas

Robert Mansions writes for Apartments Management Group. When Robert is not writing or reviewing apartment rentals, you can find him at home working on his garden and landscaping.

Guest Post: Designing a New York Child’s Oasis

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

alexsjourneys, apartments, bunks, children, city, design, interior design, modular, new york, playground, small spaces, urban

There are some brilliant new design trends in 2012 that would be a great addition to any home. Because New York real estate is the most expensive in the nation, some of the more affordable spaces are small compared to other regions. Therefore, New York designers show homeowners how to maximize their spaces and make the most of what they can afford. Let’s take a look at one of the latest trends in home design, most particularly, how to take a swanky New York City space and build a children’s oasis.

Many families living in the city want to improve the quality of life for their children. With that said, designers are helping families build mini-playgrounds in the home to make indoor city living more fun and enjoyable for children.

The designers usually tend to try and utilize many existing elements in the home to create an urban oasis. For instance, a supporting beam can be used as the base for an abstract tree in the child’s room. Bright colors, such as baby blues, are also suggested to make the space appear more spacious and inviting.

Modular bunks are created with geometric cutouts for the stairs and the beds. Each modular space allows for enough room to install small shelving for a nightstand, light and of course a mattress. Since the unit is built into the wall, it is safer than that traditional unit. Again, whites and pastels can be used to keep the room open and spacious.

Kids growing up in city apartments may not get the same outdoor living experience as suburban or country kids, but their urban oasis is something most kids would want regardless of their location.

Designers often take a single element that the homeowner loves and incorporate it into the designs with a twist for children, or teens. Having these fun elements bring out the creative suit of your Manhattan home gives a whole new life to home.

{Alexandra is a travel enthusiast who loves to write about fashion, beaches, food, and the wonderful things in the world. She provides her own insights on vacationing to the blogosphere. If you would like to learn more about her, follow her @alexsjourneys or visit her blog alexsjourneys.wordpress.com}

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

balance, color, design, interior design, nature, rugs, small spaces, space, texture

Here is another collection of ideas that will help you redefine spaces in your home. Sometimes it just takes a few tips to get you started and then you are set to go. There are easy and simple ways of accomplishing successful design. You just have to keep the space in mind and figure out what works best.

Have a stairwell in need of some love? Hanging photos or artwork on the walls will usually do the trick but what about the corner of the stairwell? Don’t think you can’t do anything with them just because it is a small space. Shop around for a corner piece of furniture or place a plant on a plant stand. Two ideas that will solve the problem and look beautiful. You can also dress up the stairs! Get creative and have some fun.

Corners in a room are very important. In my previous apartment I had glass bookshelves in the corner which looks great but still seemed a little empty. I happened to have a big branch that I found in my backyard that I felt would be perfect for the spot. I already had it in an oversized vase on the floor but it wasn’t doing much where I originally had it. This corner was the ideal spot. Not only does it fill up the space, it brings a natural and whimsical feel to the room.

Bringing natural elements into your home is one idea I always recommend people do. The Earth is such a beautiful place and it gives us so much to work with. This is one thing you can take for granted because most of the time it’s free and best of all, it enhances your everyday life in the process.

For natural elements, look around your local parks or even around your backyard. Remember not to settle with an item just because you want to get the project out of the way. Bringing in plants and flowers will always brighten up a room. Your home is an extension of who you are so allow it to represent your style and personality to the fullest.

Another problem I feel people have with defining space is understanding ways to open it up. If you have a small room, you shouldn’t bring heavy, dark furniture into the space. It will just make it look smaller. That doesn’t mean you can’t use browns and darker colors, it just means you should watch how you combine the elements in the room. It should always feel balanced. Knowing your measurements should help solve that problem.

You can have a big, lofty room and still have it feel relaxing, airy and warm. If you want to fill up the space nicely and can use large furniture, then go for it. For big spaces you can choose from many colors that are warm or cool. It’s just a matter of how you want the space to feel. Color plays a big part as well. The warmer the hue (reds, oranges and browns) the space will seem cozier. The cooler the hue (whites, creams, blues and grays) the space will feel more open and airy. But as long you have a nice balance between color, furniture and texture, you can create the space of your dreams.

For my living room, I chose a cool blue/gray palette on my walls and included a lot of white. I balanced that out with metal and dark gray furniture. Although its nice to have a lot of light neutrals in the space, there should be some weight to help balance everything out. This is why I chose darker gray metal pieces with a mix of wood to fill in areas.

Textures also play an important role when balancing a space. Again, if you are stuck with a small room, brighten it up with a high textured rug but don’t hide it with a heavy coffee table. To show the rug off you want to purchase a table that you can see through or has a very light feeling.

Try to be creative when it comes to furniture. You don’t always have to buy something already made. Make it yourself! A year ago I purchased several crates from Etsy and stacked them to make shelves. Once I placed some of my vintage accessories on them, it stood out brilliantly. Keeping a collection together is more dramatic than spreading it around so try to pair up pieces by style, form or color.

For vintage crates and things of that nature, stop by garage sales in your neighborhood. You never know what you will find. There are a lot of things in my home I found at yard sales and for a very good price. Don’t forget about antique shops too! Get creative and work with the space you have. It’s all up to you to make it functional and beautiful.

Hope you all have fun playing around with some of these ideas. Remember, it’s easy to design your space and balance it out. Just keep these tips in mind and DIY your way to brilliance.