Whether you're decorating a room, an apartment, or a whole house, there are many opportunities to let your creativity shine. If you're working within a smaller space, however, you may feel as though your creativity is stifled a bit. That's not the case! When you're decorating there are many ways to make your modest home look like a sprawling mansion.
Furniture
When picking out furniture for a smaller area remember to keep it proportionate. The key to fitting any room is to measure and this is especially important in a tight space. A small bedroom is not going to have room for a California king sized bed. Instead, pick a full bed and have room for a dresser and a nightstand.
In spaces like living rooms, having one substantial sized piece of furniture against a wall is perfectly fine. A large entertainment center or bookcase draws the eye in and serves as focal piece. It can tie the whole room and it also serves as storage. The entertainment center can hold your television, DVD player, CD player, and some smaller decoration items.
Just like with the entertainment center, multi-use pieces are a great way to create space in a small area. For example, having a dining room table that can be arranged to fit additional people work wonderfully in a tight space. You can add leaves to the table when expecting company, but remove them to create more floor space once the guests go home.
Bookshelf Toy Storage
Walls
Decorating a small space isn't just dealing with the furniture. You can use the walls to your advantage in order to make the room look bigger as well. Painting the walls light colors will make the room appear larger. If you do want to add a pop of color, vertical stripes will elongate the walls and make the ceiling look higher. Another painting trick is to paint one accent wall a bright color while leaving the remaining walls a lighter, complimentary hue.
Putting mirrors on the wall will seem to double the size of your room. Larger mirrors, especially sheet mirrors, play a trick on the eye into making the room seem twice its size. Strategically placed mirrors, like above the fireplace, can serve as a wall decoration as well.
Color
We have already mentioned painting the walls a light shade to make the room appear larger, but there are so many other tricks you can do with colors. Decorating using monochromatic colors, or different hues and textures of the same color, will offer variety to the eye.
You can also use complimentary colors to brighten up a room. Accent colors work best if you want to add a splash of color to a predominately neutral space. This color can be used to liven up the room and tie adjoining rooms together. For example, if you have a joint kitchen and living room, choose one or two accent colors that can make the rooms look harmonious.
Remember, your ceiling and floor are the fifth and sixth wall. Keep them light or neutral as well with just a small splash of color. Having a lighter color wood floor with a bright area rug will also help lengthen the room, and a neutral or light ceiling will make the room look taller.