January 14, 2019
By: Richard Zarrilli, Jr.
Small living spaces make reaching your new homes potential problematic. Marie KondŌ, tidying up guru, follows the notion, “The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.” The right furniture combined with critical placement reinvented from traditional design is the key.
Everyone has a trick of the trade they swear by; but these simple and easy to follow tips will turn your small living spaces from tight and cramped to bright, light, and comfortable.
First things first: Furniture.
The first thing new owners or renters try when decorating a new small living space is filling the space up with smaller décor. Big mistake.
Instead, bring in bigger, more versatile pieces as both functional living space and decorative. Open-shelving is a great way to incorporate room for both decorative storage bins with any plants, frames, etc.…
Mount it.
For a more advanced approach, wall-mounting pieces such as a TV, entertainment center, or open-shelving add a layer of open floor concept. The idea of power tools and ruining your walls forever may frighten some away from this best solution. Luckily, there is always the options of a crafty friend or local craftsman.
For anyone concerned about not getting their security deposit back; most wall-mounting holes can be filled as good as new with a $5 can of spackle.
Functional seating.
Filling the room is another story when considering seating, eating, and functionality. This is where bigger, more versatile furniture pieces can transform your small living space. The importance of versatile functional furniture in the living room spaces of studios is crucial given that kitchens spaces, built-in storage, and bed sizes are usually predetermined or fixed.
Companies such as Ikea, Burrow, and Big Lots offer couch variety with home assembly. This may sound scary but stick with it. Ikea offers couches which you can rearrange, pull out into beds, and offer apartment residents options of larger sofas or sectionals with home delivery and assembly.
Now I know what you’re thinking, “I have a big car and can bring home furniture right from display to my door.” While homeowners with larger doorways and multiple entrances have a better chance of this being true, renters mostly have one, narrow entrance. The last thing you want is to have to spend a day buying loading, moving, failing, reloading, returning, and probably crying.
To avoid all fuss, using a company which offers home assembly and delivery completely eliminates the chance of doorway hell. I can say I am proudly writing this while sitting on my home assembly sectional, which would never fit through the doorway fully assembled.
Convertible Coffee Tables.
Next, coffee tables have become more essential than ever with almost zero use for coffee. The downside of small living spaces like studio apartments is the lack of rooms for a more organized approach to living. However, turning a coffee table into a home office is easy with convertible tables. These can also offer more storage using the inside of the table.
These final touches can then be applied to make the most of your small living space along with the new versatile furniture to achieve any homes potential. Techniques which can be simply applied will maximize the use of individual spaces while still creating the ambiance of traditional home layout in a small living space.
Space it out.
To start, your furniture pieces can be used to create the sensation of wall division. Creating conversation driven living room seating at the foot end of one’s bed can easily create social and living space with dual use of any living room entertainment systems. For added privacy, decorative curtains can be hung with ease for a more sectioned division.
Colors.
Lastly, the best way to maximize the results from all the tips and tricks of creating a whole home feeling within a small living space is based on monochromatic themes. Neutral or earth tones create a light feeling around your furniture pieces while not distracting away from décor or shrinking the room.
Sources: Amazon Apartment Therapy HGTV IKEA Lowes