Makeover Small Spaces

There is possibly no greater interior design challenge than a small space urban are tending to move into smaller apartment sized dwellings and first time home buyers are having to settle for less than the sprawling dream home and having to meet. With a “small” change in perspective and some minimalist creative flair, though, you may find that you enjoy a small space even more than the big space you thought you wanted.

Small is Beautiful

            There’s a lot to be said for small space. For one thing, they are easier to keep clean than large spaces, since you have fewer cubic meters to heat or cool. They can also be more cosy and comfortable than large, yawning spaces; but you have to make the best use of the space you’ve got.

            Start by thinking about what you need to feel comfortable. In the living room, it is probably just a couch and perhaps a table occasionally. But do two coffee cups? Do you need side tables for table lamps? Consider these possibilities:

● Go to your lighting supplier and find wall sconces instead of table lamps. Decorative and functional, they can also create great ambiance in the room.

● Now that you don’t need side tables for lighting you can bring the side tables out when you want them for coffee and put them back when you want more space.

            The living room is also an entertainment room in most homes. Today’s flat screen TVs and digital entertainment centers are ideal for small space living. Hang a flat screen TV on the wall and install compact shelf, wall or ceiling speakers and you can have a full home theater even in the smallest living room.

            Hanging a flat screen TV on the wall is just one way to make use to wall space that otherwise would just be wasted space. In larger living spaces, walls are often filled simply so they don’t look bare. A small space gives you the opportunity to create a focal point that can be much more aesthetically pleasing than walls filled with hangings that get lost in the crowd. A modern painting with a white background and a subject that has depth and perspective can make a room look larger and provide an artistic focal point. A strategically placed mirror can do wonders for a small space. Place at the end of a long, narrow room, the room’s reflection will make it appear even longer and if the mirror reflects the view through a window, it effectively doubles your view and makes the room feel much larger.

Storage

            Finding storage areas for small space living is not necessarily as challenging as it may seem. The trick to it is making better use of your vertical and “dead” spaces. Take the space underneath the wall mounted TV, for instance. A local cabinet make can make an inexpensive window seat out of MDF (medium density fiberboard) for you. Paint it the color of the walls; top it with colorful cushions for extra seating; and use the space behind the doors for storage. There is no rule that says bookcases must be no higher than 1.8 meters, but that is as high as many bookshelf units are. Look for taller book shelves and store the things you need daily on the easier to reach shelves and those you need less often on higher shelves.

            In a small bedroom, combine a low platform bed with under bed storage. The low bed will help prevent the room from appearing even smaller and you will find that there is an enormous amount of storage space under the bed.

            In the small kitchen, you need to make use of every inch of available space in most kitchens, there’s a great deal of wasted space behind the cupboard doors. Inexpensive kitchen fitting such as drawer inserts, lazy susans for corner cabinets and wire baskets for hanging on the insides of doors can nearly double your kitchen storage space and make it much more efficient, as wall.

Colorful Small Spaces Makeover Ideas

            There are two schools of thought when it comes to color in small spaces. Most interior decorators agree that white and off-white are the safest choices, but an emerging trend in painting small spaces is the use of unusual colors to make the room more interesting. If the bold approach to wall coloring does not appeal to you, use splashes of vibrant color against a white backdrop to create an air of spacious excitement. This combined with area lighting and dimmer switches can allow you to change the character and ambiance of a room at will.

Don’t Forget Your Floors

            Nothing makes a room look smaller than a wall-to-wall carpet. Replace the carpet with floor tiles and it will seem as if you’ve added meters of extra space to the room. Avoid busy patterns and stick with paler colors. If you have low ceilings, gloss flooring will make the ceilings seem higher.

            As more Australians move into smaller living spaces, manufacturers are coming up with clever and stylish shelving & storage solutions and multifunction retail furniture, such as couches with storage areas in the dead space underneath. See consider getting custom furniture that will fit perfectly into place without wasting space.