Small space living presents a few challenges and can be tricky fitting everything in, let alone making it look good.
Eclectic Creative has worked on numerous small spaces and white-box apartments helping to bring function, soul, and personality.
Having a bit of a plan of attack and thought process around your layout is a good idea, so you aren’t purchasing things that won’t fit or clutters the space.
Here are our top tips for styling small spaces.
You don’t need CAD or the fancy software we use to create your floor plans for this exercise. It’s about getting an idea of the space you have so you can select the right size furniture.
Sketch out the footprint of the room and measure all the walls. What are you working with?
There’s a few online tools you can use to draw a floor plan, but a simple sketch will do the trick.
Remember you want to allow some breathing space around your furniture and not have the space feel cramped and even smaller than it is.
If you are investing in a new key piece such as a sofa or floor rug you need to ensure you are purchasing the right size piece (and that it can fit through the door.) Measure twice and we recommend laying out newspaper that would match the footprint of the furniture piece. It all helps with visualising and ensuring the size is right.
Choosing furniture with legs or a sofa that sits off the ground will give the illusion of space. Having a slimmer profile or silhouette and items that are within proportion to the overall space, creates the feeling of space as opposed to heavy, bulkier, and chunky furniture that take up a lot of space and feel too heavy. For dining tables opt for a pedestal style design, like the tulip table, with only one base as opposed to many legs that take up space.
Storage is always lacking in small spaces, so when choosing your furniture pieces opt for versatile pieces that are multipurpose. For instance a bench seat with hidden storage that acts as a coffee table, footrest and extra seating when guests come and visit. Or a coffee table with a small ottoman that neatly tucks underneath.
Nesting tables are also a good option for small spaces. Neatly tucked away when not in use, but then the ability to be used separately as you need them for a side table, or when entertaining.
If you are wanting a completely resolved and functional space, we recommend investing in custom joinery for your small space.
If you plan on living in your home for a while or off the shelf furniture is not cutting it, having pieces especially designed and crafted for your specific space is the best option. You can add storage and the pieces will be designed to fit perfectly so every mm of space can be used providing custom solutions.
In our Little Art Deco apartment, we designed a shelf that solved a few issues my client had about her apartment. It camouflaged the view to the bathroom door, added much-needed #shelfie styling space for plants, objects and books and it also provided an anchor for the sofa to sit against on this small open plan living area.
Don’t forget to take advantage of the wall space in small spaces and apartments. Simply by adding open shelves or a paint colour and artwork you can instantly personalise a small space.
Just because your space is small, it doesn’t mean you have to choose small artworks. Bigger and oversized is sometimes a good idea and design feature.
