9 Tips to Decorate Small Spaces

I love my rental home, but there are certain places in it that I feel like I’m always being back into a corner. You know what I’m talking about? Those really small spaces that tend to come with rental apartments and homes can be difficult to decorate but with a few decorating tips aimed at decorating small spaces you can make a big impact in a tiny space.
1. Many smaller apartments have tiny entry ways or narrow hallways. You can add some character and height to any narrow area by focusing on height. Multiple frames with photographs art or even leaving empty on a wall can fill a space easily.
2.If you’re bedroom is of a smaller size, opt for smaller side tables and instead of putting large lamps on them use the tables for small accents. To replace the missing lamps mount some small scones to the walls on either side of the bed above the side tables.
3. If you want to add more storage to your bedroom but don’t have a lot of extra space, you might choose to not use a traditional table style of nightstand and instead use a chest of drawers or a shelving unit as extra storage. This could be in addition to what you have already or it can be complete replacement storage for clothing, books, TV remotes, magazines, etc. This can be a bit more bulky than a regular nightstand but many times you can replace your dresser with these if they are large enough.
4. Storage doesn’t always have to be so obvious by using shelves or a cabinet. You can create some real space saving storage by grabbing up pieces that have removable lids with storage hidden inside it. You can find these types of pieces as ottomans, benches and even cubes.
5. Due to their obvious reflective nature, mirrors are a great way to really open up a space and make smaller areas appear larger. Fireplace mantles are a perfect place to display a large decorative mirror as well as in darker locations like hallways or entryways.
6. A great way to make a large room feel larger is by adding height to our windows. We can do this by using extra long window treatments and hanging the curtain road at the ceiling level instead of just at the top of the window. This adds the illusion of height to any room and gives the room a large airy feeling.
7. When dealing with small spaces, it’s important to think how you can use items in your home in multiple ways. For instance, instead of a large sofa, you could get a futon instead that can be used as a couch, but can also be turned into a bed when guests come over.
8. When space is limited, you want to make sure you are making use every possible vertical space for storage and decor display as you can. Make use of spaces you might not have thought about like playing an over the faucet shelf in the bathroom to hold shaving items or soaps. Use the back sides of cabinet doors or pantry doors to attach baskets for storage or even wire shelving to hold lightweight objects like wraps, parchment paper and tin foil. You could even mount your spice rack to your pantry door.
9. Most of the time when decorating a smaller space you will want to keep your paint colors on the lighter side. Dark colors tend to close a room up and make it feel more cramped. There are instances where a darker color is called for, but you can’t go wrong with a lighter color when it comes to opening up a room.
No matter how big or how small your room is, with a few tips you can decorate your small space like a pro!
If you’re a renter dealing with small spaces, don’t forget to check out our new book The Renter’s Decorating Guide for even more tips on decorating small spaces and much more.