Tips For Small Homes: Diagonal Shelves
On the blog Annaleena's Hem I spotted these Diagonal Shelves -- that she designed herself. I love how they're almost invisible from one side of the room (and thus makes your room appear more spacious) and yet still offer some storage space for cups etcetera. It could even pass for a piece of art on the first photo :)
Also make sure to read my other posts about compact living! :)
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8 Decorating Tips for Small Apartments
As mentioned in one of my previous posts I live in a tiny apartment. Luckily I don't need a lot of space, but it requires some inventive decorating. My (first world) problem is that I love things like black walls -- which makes a room appear smaller. But don't let that stop you if that's what you want of course :)
#1 White, White, White!
If you have a small home, you need as much light in your home as you can possibly get! The best way to obtain light is by painting your walls white and using light furniture.
#2 Get a high sleeper
If you only have one room in your home you'll need to sleep in your living room. You could get a sofa bed but my own experience is that these are rarely pretty and get weird bumps and holes within no time ;) I know your first association with high sleepers might be the bunk bed from your youth that you shared with your little sister -- or perhaps the high sleeper during your college years, but today you can find several beautiful minimalistic loft beds that will increase your living room space and look great at the same time!
#3 Multifunctional furniture
Make sure items in your home have more functions. You could opt for a sofa bed (if you're sure.. ;) or get an ottoman with hidden storage space within. I own a fold-out table which comes in very handy when entertaining guests. There's some incredible multifunctional furniture for sale online, like murphy beds that transform into home offices during the day, but these are very, VERY, expensive :(
#4 Closed cabinets
Open cabinets are a great way to display your books and other little treasures. Unfortunately, they also look crowded -- especially if your books aren't all-white ;) Closed cabinets, preferably white (or even better: with mirror doors!) make your apartment appear larger! Added bonus: If you live in a small apartment then you know that your home is messy about five minutes after you cleaned up -> behind closed doors your piled up mail is invisible :) Buying cabinets on legs is even better!
#5 Mirrors
I probably don't have to tell you that a large mirror does wonders in creating a seemingly large space :)
#6 Room dividers
If you live in a studio apartment and you only have 1 room, you can create the illusion of having several rooms by placing room dividers. It will negate some of the openness of one large room, but it will give you some more privacy and it makes your home more cosy :) You could also get a curtain, but a cupboard also offers extra storage, something you're always in need of when you live compact ;)
#7 Scaled-down furniture
Of course I'd kill to get the beautiful but large HAY Mags Sofa. But think of the right proportions for your home: you don't want your small living room to be 50% sofa ;) Make sure your furniture is the right size for your apartment. Think about that when buying pieces like a coffee table as well. I own a very narrow office desk (the Farringdon Laptop Desk) that folds out. It doesn't take up a lot of space, yet I still have all the desk space I need :)
#8 Use your space!
This last tip might be very obvious, but use the space you have! That includes the space underneath your bed and stairs, that small area between your washing machine/refrigerator and the wall etcetera!
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Well I hope these tips were useful!
Make sure to also check out this fantastic video of a lego-style apartment!
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Architecture: Compact Living
I grew up in a city and I will always be a city girl. That automatically means that I'll have to be content with a smaller living space. Below I'll show you some incredibly effective small apartments, architecture-wise.
Beautiful nordic apartment (50m2) (click title for the original source)
I could live here! This apartment is a little larger than my home but we sleep in a ceiling nook as well. It think the fact that you can't actually see the bed while sitting downstairs makes all the difference. The apartment as a whole feels so spacious!
Paris is one of the most crowded cities in the world, so architectural agency Betillon / Dorval Bory designed this effective little apartment using a lot of white. It's a little too minimalistic for me, but fact remains that this home seems larger than it actually is :)
I really like this 45m2 Camden (London) apartment, with a suspended bed and a roof terrace. Although I must say: I'm not really sure whether a bathtub in the kitchen is very convenient ;)
This former Madrid office was transformed by Beriot Bernardini Architects into this very compact (28m2!) living space. Behind the closed cabinets you'll find a kitchen, a wardrobe etcetera! This is a very efficient use of space!
This apartment (created by studio MYCC) isn't actually that small but it is mostly very narrow; only 21m2 per storey. Because of that it's orientated vertically. The bed slides under the 'living room' and is invisible when it has to be :)
In my next post I'll give you some tips on how to make your own home appear larger :)
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