If there’s one thing that everyone can agree on, it’s that people like living in pretty, bright, open, and welcoming spaces. We all like living in large and luxurious spaces, but sometimes either money or location makes this impossible. Fortunately, there are ten pretty simple things that everyone can do when decorating to make even the tiniest studio apartment feel like the home you’ve always wanted.
1. Keep it clean!
This is probably the single most important piece of advice for making the most of any space. No matter the size of your apartment, nothing is more stressful to look at than clutter and mess. Not only is clutter unsightly, it takes up extremely valuable space in a smaller home that could be better used to express your personality and style.
2. Invest in hidden storage
Furniture that double as other furniture is the best friend of someone living in a tiny studio apartment. If you have a lot of important papers or sentimental souvenirs that don’t really contribute to your aesthetic or have anywhere to be put on display, an ottoman that has storage space or a bed with multiple shelves under it can be beautiful and useful at the same time.
3. Use light, bright colors
We highly recommend painting your room in cheery and bright colors such as white, light blue, and pretty light green if you want to create the illusion of more space. All light colors will contribute to how open a room feels, but these particular ones will subconsciously remind you of being outside under the wide-open blue sky. Although, remember to ask your landlord about your plans before you start painting. Not all landlords allow their residents to make changes to the rented apartment. So to avoid conflict, ask before you take out the paint brush (or make any other major changes).
4. Include mirrors
Mirrors are an incredibly handy decorating tool for those working with limited space. A well-placed mirror can create the optical illusion that a room is twice as large as it really is!
5. Use a collapsible dining table
Dining room tables are important, particularly in tiny homes. Your dining room table can substitute as a computer desk, and it also keeps you from having to eat meals on makeshift dining room tables such as coffee tables or tray tables, which is just depressing. Even if you think you don’t have room for a dining room table, look for one that allows you to collapse it into a much smaller table when you’re done with needing that much space.
6. Use a few large pieces of statement furniture
It might seem counterintuitive, but using one or two large pieces of furniture as centerpieces will make a room feel much more open than stuffing it with smaller furniture. Lots of smaller furniture will just feel cluttered, and a couple of great statement pieces will give a room purpose and a dramatic flair.
7. Paint the ceiling a unique color
This one only applies if you live somewhere that allows it, but painting your ceiling a color different from your walls will draw the eye upward and create the illusion of length. If you can’t do this, hanging tapestries near your ceiling or installing shelves high up will do the same trick of artificially raising the height of the room. Same applies to this tip as painting your room in general. Ask your landlord about restrictions to make changes before implementing them.
8. Buy raised furniture
Furniture that’s raised off the ground will allow for the same amount of comfortable couches and chairs, but the visible space underneath will really open up a room and let it breathe.
9. Don’t cover your windows
Natural light is incredibly important, no matter what sort of space you’re dealing with, and is especially important when you’re breathing light and room into a smaller home. Lots of lovely natural light will make any room look soft, open, and peaceful, which is the ideal sort of living situation for anyone.
10. Separate your space with rugs
This trick is an absolute life saver! To give an example of why this works, imagine that you’re living in a house with a moderately sized bedroom, but you cannot stand your awful roommates. You can use rugs to turn your bedroom into a combination living room and bedroom to avoid all interaction with them. A bed and nightstand can go in one corner, and in the other, you can put a large rug on top of which might go things like a tiny couch, TV, bookshelf, or coffee table. This visual separation will help you feel like you have two rooms in one, which is important when sitting down in a makeshift living room to focus on something.
