Big Ideas for Small Apartment Design

The interior of a small apartment requires compromises. But the right furniture, color, light, and accessories can work wonders. These tips will make your apartment cozier and visually more spacious.

Base in Light Colors

One of the easiest and most effective ways to expand your apartment is to use light and neutral colors when decorating the walls, ceiling, and floor. White, gray, beige, and all sorts of pastel shades reflect light well and add lightness and airiness to the interior.

Dark and saturated colors, on the contrary, absorb light and eat up precious space. This doesn’t mean that you urgently have to get rid of your favorite orange chair or brown dining table. It’s about creating a light base.

Warm Lamp for Rest, and Cold for Work

In small spaces, it’s recommended to dilute the main light with spotlighting. The chandelier above the table would be good to complement the lamps on the walls, floor lamps, garland, and accent lighting of cabinets or shelves.

When choosing light sources, you should consider the color temperature. Cold light (white or blue) is optimal for working areas, such as the kitchen and office.

Warm light (yellow or orange) is suitable for relaxing areas such as the living room or bedroom. You will notice how this light works perfectly while you’re resting, like playing online pokies NZ real money or watching movies. For social areas, such as the dining room or corridor, neutral light (beige or pink) is recommended.

Your Mirror

Mirrors in small apartments often have a purely utilitarian role. They are placed in bedrooms, corridors, and bathrooms so that residents can make sure that everything is in order. But mirrors perfectly increase the space, reflecting light and creating the illusion of depth and volume. By placing a mirror on the wall opposite the window, you can double the natural light and duplicate the view of the street.

Glass is another material that transmits and diffuses light without overloading the interior. You can choose a glass table, chandelier or limit yourself to a beautiful vase.

Laconic Forms

Clean shapes and clear geometry in the interior also visually increase the area. Furniture with straight or slightly rounded corners, graceful legs and without wide armrests, carpets of simple shapes, and a minimum of textures.

Too boring? This is where the orange armchair or another bright accent comes in handy, which will emphasize the geometry of the space and give additional volume.

Play of Scales and Proportions

Many people believe that a small apartment needs small furniture. But this isn’t always the case. A large sofa will allow you to divide the room into two parts and designate a recreation zone.

A large carpet will help unite different elements of furniture in one ensemble. And a large painting or mirror will become a focal point that will dilute the interior and attract attention.

Everything in Its Place

Storing things is a pressing problem in a small apartment. What solutions will help effectively use the compact space?

• Multifunctional furniture: a bed with drawers or a sofa bed.
• Vertical storage: shelves, hangers, hooks, and cabinets to the ceiling. The latter visually pulls out the space, and on the topmost and inconvenient shelves of the closet can be placed rarely used things.
• Baskets and containers of different shapes and sizes. They can be stored on a shelf, on a table, in a closet, or under a bed. Containers that are hidden inside can be plastic. For those on the outside, natural materials are preferred: rattan, jute, and cotton.

Textures With Character

Limited space isn’t a reason to refuse beautiful carpets, decorative pillows, paintings, photos on the walls, and other accessories responsible for coziness in the apartment. The main thing isn’t to go overboard with the quantity and to choose textures and prints more carefully.

If possible, it’s better to avoid too-dense materials and fabrics that absorb light and weigh down the room. Flax is a great example of a material that will create a sense of lightness in the room.

When choosing prints, consider the color scheme of the entire interior. Monochromatic textures will bring calmness to the interior. Bright accents will make the interior more energetic.