Let’s be honest, styling small space can be frustrating and less desirable! The limited space to play around and renovating could be a nightmare! Most of the Millenials are now living in an apartment or small house. Here are my easy 5 tips on styling a small space that will not break your bank!
1. Let there be light!
Keep things light, and bright will be the first step. Darker colour has the tendency of making space appear smaller, whereas lighter colours open things up. White colour paint is always the best option. You can choose between off white, beige or bright white with a hint of blue tone that we could warm it up with the right LED light. Be careful not to choose ‘neutral’ colour that is too cream or too grey because in time the colour would look tired and wash off. Avoid pop of colour wall paint, we do not want that dark purple, bright magenta and especially red on the wall.
Not only that a white painted wall is the key to the bright room but also soft coloured furniture too. It will help to lighten up space. I recommend white or beige colour furniture, especially for female clients. If you like to incorporate black or dark coloured furniture for a monochrome look, try to have an open shelf and slimline furniture instead of heavy build-in cabinet.
An open wall shelf is great for a narrow small kitchen, it opens up the area and looks clean. Try to avoid showing too much of your glassware and dish, it could look clutter and dusty. Just showcase the things you used the most in your daily life.
2. Invest in Multifunctional Furniture
Multifunctional or multipurpose furniture is a game-changer when it comes to styling a small space. A table that can be easily rolled out for use or tucked away if unneeded. IKEA range has a lot to offer when it comes to multipurpose furniture, from a 4 seater dining table onto a 6 seater, or a folding wall table that is perfect for a studio apartment’s workspace area. The most common one is to have a sofa bed for an unexpected guest house, or bench storage. Personally, I would use a round table for both dining and workspace in a small space! Minimise the space and yet still sophisticated.
3. Zoning the Area/Space
Styling on small space requires a certain level of definition to avoid things looking messy. Furniture and rug are both great ways to create zones. It is important to have a room divider to create a sense of space, so it looks like every piece belongs to their space. For example, putting the right size rug in the living room creates its zone even though it is placed next to the study desk or workspace area. We could use a console table to divide the room by putting it behind the sofa or next to the end of the armchair.
4. Look Up Above!
One of the tricks to make small space look bigger is to create an illusion of a higher ceiling. Adding curtain and artwork to your home that stretches from the floor to the ceiling will distort the perception of the height, making space feel larger. Avoid using too much of colourful artwork and heavy frames, it will create an unwanted focal point that makes the space looks narrow. Avoid over draping curtains and heavy patterns. Stick with a neutral colour and proportional length curtains.
Another great tip shown on the image: A mix and match artworks that frame up the television would create a perception of height and also an illusion to make the television is part of the gallery wall.
5. Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Another tip I learned back in my interior styling days is to put a mirror! It could be stand-alone or hanging a mirror on the entranceway, mirrored furniture to reflect back the lights, mirrored wardrobe door (which most of the apartment’s in Australia has this), and my favourite of all is mirrored splashback!
6. Less is More
Make time to go through your possessions regularly, you’ll be surprised at what a difference it can make to space once you clear the junk out. Do you really need those stacks of folders you had back in the Uni days? or those old magazines and colourful plastic drawers? Keep it simple, keep it clean!
I hope these easy tips would help you to style your apartment. Let me know what else we can do to style a small space, leave a comment below!
