10 Tips For Decorating Small Spaces
Dorm rooms, first apartments, first condos – they're usually a little on the small side. Decorating smaller spaces can be a challenge, but not if you take note of these design tips from Carmen Dragomir, principal designer at esQape Design, and Andrea Guerriero, owner of Dre Designs. Here both designers share some of their storage and style secrets for decorating small places.
1. Prioritize What You'll Need
“What are the most important things that have to be there?” Guerriero asks her clients. Ask yourself this question and once you have those essentials figured out you can work around them to see how much space you have remaining for additional items.
2. Size Matters
A giant leather couch and a big screen TV won't work in a small space. “Choose furniture in the proper scale and proportion,” Dragomir says. It’s best to avoid trying to cram a lot of stuff into a small space. If a large TV is important to you, try to get a flat screen that can be hung on the wall to maximize space. If a large couch is something you really want, then skip the side tables.
3. Double Duty Furniture
An ottoman that doubles as storage, a chair that flips out to a twin bed, a table with leaves to make it big enough for a dinner party – these are all great pieces to use in a small space. Items that can be used for several different purposes are a great way to maximize function using minimum space.
4. Light Up Your Life
Natural and artificial light brighten a space and can help make it look bigger. A space that is dark can look smaller than it actually is. Guerriero has a space saving lighting tip. “Pop a few pot lights in the ceiling on dimmers so you can create mood lighting,” she says. Pot lights in the ceiling, wall sconces and track lighting don't take up the floor space that lamps do, leaving you more space for furniture or room to move.
5. Take It to the Wall
Walls are a great place not just for lighting, but also for small accessories and pictures. The walls can also be layered with built in bookcases or shelves. “Use full-height built-ins for storage. You can display your photos on them, too,” Dragomir says. This trick adds valuable storage space without taking up prime real estate on the floor.
6. Window to the World
Small windows can draw attention to the size of the space. There might not be anything you can do about the physical size of the window, but you can make it appear bigger by adding a window treatment. Panels on either side of a window can make it look double the size.
7. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Consider adding mirrors. “It tends to double the size of space from a psychological perspective,” Guerriero says. They need to be placed properly and be careful not to over do it. In a small space, too many reflections could create the illusion of a maze, which isn’t quite what you want when you’re trying to sit down to watch TV.
8. Keep It Simple
Too much of anything in a small space can give you a headache. “Go easy on patterns as they run the risk of creating an overly busy space,” Dragomir says. “Instead, use contrasting textures throughout the living area to create a less distracting form of visual interest.” Also avoid any unnecessary clutter. The multi-purpose ottoman, built-in bookshelves or coffee table with drawers can help with that.
9. Measure and Plan
The best way to make sure everything you want to put in the space will fit in the space is to have a plan. Sketch it out on graph paper – making sure everything is to scale – or measure out your desired items and then mark their place on the floor using masking tape. Once the bigger pieces have been arranged, you can figure out if you'll have room to manoeuvre in the space. “Be cognisant of the size of everything,” Guerriero says.
10. Let It Flow
Arrange the furniture to optimize space and traffic flow. Even if all your pieces fit the scale of your space, if they’re arranged in a way that isn't functional you won’t be able to work or relax comfortably. Test your layout to see how smoothly you can walk around. If you can’t move around the room easily your space will feel smaller than it actually is.
10 Best Feng Shui Tips for Your Home
The ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui has been embraced by the Western world as a way of creating the best flow of Chi (life force energy) through our living spaces.
There are nine categories in the Feng Shui Bagua, a map which outlines the life categories and the directions associated with each. The areas are: Prosperity, Reputation/Fame, Love/Relationships, Creativity/Children, Family, Health, Travel, Knowledge and Career.
Much thought and detail goes into this art form, but you can start with these tips in your home.
1. Install an Indoor Water Fountain
Chi is attracted to water.
2. Rearrange Your Furniture
Not only do you get a new perspective, but it alters the energy flow. Less is better as having too many pieces of furniture makes a room cluttered and prevents the flow of new and positive opportunity. Refer to a Bagua guide or a detailed book on specific placement suggestions.
3. Avoid Placing Mirrors Opposite Beds
Having a mirror opposite your bed may attract a third individual to the relationship or cause problematic sleep.
4. Face the Door While You're Asleep
Avoid having the foot of your bed directly in line with your doorway. In Chinese culture, the dead are laid with their feet towards the door as it provides an easier access to Heaven.
5. Don't Take the Cook by Surprise
If your stove is positioned in such a way as to have the cook’s back to the doorway when working, put a mirror above the stove.
6. Feel the Abundance in Your Life
A well-stocked kitchen helps us to feel more abundant in our lives.
7. Hide Brooms and Mops
Store them upside-down and hidden from sight so they don't negatively affect your livelihood.
8. Clear the Clutter
Have a garage sale. Give away unwanted clothing to charity. The cleaner and clearer your space, the more energy can flow.
9. No Shoes Beside the Door
The doorway to your house is where Chi comes in. Try to avoid keeping shoes right beside the main door as the Chi picks up the smell and brings sickness into the house.
10. Selecting Colours
Each colour represents emotions and moods. For example, red represents strength and promotes happiness. Colours should compliment the nature of a room as well as its direction. For example, white works in a kitchen because purity supports healthy food preparation.
Decorating with Colors
Color effects how we feel and react just as much as the way something looks and each color has its own mood and influence in decorating color schemes.
Red - Symbolizes passion, empowers, stimulates, warms, dramatizes, promotes movement and activity. Red is often used in halls, play rooms and dining rooms. Red makes rooms look smaller.
Orange - Stimulates appetites, conversation, charity, warm, cheerful and lively. A good choice for highly active and social areas such as kitchens, play rooms and family rooms.
Yellow - Increases energy, expands, adds a fresh lively feel to the room. Yellow is often used in kitchens, living, family and dining rooms.
Green - Encourages emotional growth, balances, refreshes, cooling, calming, tranquil. Often used as a neutral shade to bind different colors, as they do in nature. Often used in kitchens, bedrooms, study and in hot rooms.
Blue - Produces peaceful moods, relaxes, enlarges, cools, soothes. Useful for hot or highly active rooms, small rooms, and often used in bedrooms and nurseries for its relaxing sedative quality.
Brown - Nurturing, safe, earthy. Often used as an accent color.
White - Purifies, energizes, cooling, airy, clean. Often used as an accent color, in hot sunny rooms and kitchens.
Color selection is an important element that effects people emotionally and mentally on the subconscious level. Note color combinations you find naturally occurring in nature that you find pleasing to the eye. Also look at the colors other people have used and ask yourself what it is you find appealing about them or what you don't like about them and you will soon get a feel for color and color combinations for your own decorating schemes.
Paint or Wallpaper?
When it’s time to add a new look to your home’s walls, you usually have two choices – paint or wallpaper. This can be pretty depressing, but the good news is there are a lot of new paints and textures you can try to make your home look much more interesting. There are a few guidelines to remember however, as well as some tips that will make the choice a lot easier. Let’s look at the strengths and weaknesses of both.
Wallpaper
With today’s new peel and remove wallpaper, the old days of standing with a steamer and a scraper for days are pretty much over. If you haven’t looked at wallpaper in the past few years, take the time to rediscover it. There are so many new textures and options that wallpaper has become fun again.
The main problem with wallpaper however is that it tends to look dated. It’s really easy to go with a trendy color or pattern and then end up hating it in just a few years. While it’s easier than ever to remove, it’s still a lot of work that can be avoided with the right selections. Pick colors that you know you’re going to like for a long time and avoid the trendy trap. Go with classical textures and patterns, or stick with a solid that will wear for a lot longer.
When it comes to borders, they are pretty much done, unless you’re working on a child’s room. If you plan to sell your home, borders can really throw a buyer off and they just aren’t current enough to warrant the time and money it takes to install them. If you must have a border, go with one in a very timeless pattern that won’t look dated or chintzy.
Paint
Painting your home’s interior has become a lot easier thanks to better paints, and a whole lot more tools. There are new rollers and sprayers that will get the job done in half the time and produce much more professional results. The newer paints also have a lot less odor and you won’t have to worry about passing out on a ladder thanks to the fumes. Low or No VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) paint has little or no volatile organic compounds. VOC’s are known carcinogens and cause most of the paint fume smells.
When it comes to picking paint, go with one that is rated for your type of room. That sounds pretty elementary, but many people make the mistake of choosing the wrong kind of paint. Go with a medium gloss finish for walls, and leave the ultra gloss for the trim. Matte tends to look dull and dirty after awhile, so it really is best to have a medium gloss for most walls.
Accent walls are pretty tired now when it comes to design, so if you’re going to have one, use a paint color that is timeless and avoid the bright and bold colors. Again, if you’re planning on selling your home, it’s best to stick with colors that will not turn off your buyers.
As for texture painting – it’s done, dated and completely over. Don’t waste your time.
Asian Style Interior Design
Asian style interior design, sometimes called Oriental, showcases the cultures of Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, and other prominent Eastern societies. Some room designs are true to one style, while many Asian themed rooms are a combination of two or more cultural influences. The most recognizable design styles are Chinese and Japanese.
Chinese Design
Chinese inspired interiors display bold colors along with ornate furniture and accessories. The furniture pieces tend to be carved wooden designs with hand-painted details and high-gloss lacquered surfaces.
Accessories continue this dramatic style by featuring animal motifs and mythological beasts, such as monkeys and dragons. Porcelain ginger jars, large vases, and fish pots painted with complex patterns in multiple colors or in classic blue and white are also fashionable in Chinese interiors. Other stylish items frequently seen are large wall murals, plaques, and folding screens which depict historical characters and legendary scenes in vibrant or striking color palettes.
Red is a prominent color in this Asian style interior design, perhaps because it means good luck in Chinese culture. Other bright colors such as yellow and green are used as accents as well. Colorful paper lanterns are often made in very vibrant colors. Wood tones tend to be dark and rich in color.
Chinoiserie is an art form where furniture and accessories are patterned after the detailed embellishments and complex decoration of Chinese designs. While Chinoiserie is very much sought after today, it was originally popular in mid-1800’s Europe. This Chinese influence can also be seen in the architectural style used in many pavilions and garden pagodas.
Japanese Design
The calming, Zen-like feel of Japanese style interiors is accomplished through the use of natural materials and subdued colors. These natural elements include indoor water fountains and using tatami mats as floor coverings. Tatami are supple straw mats edged in cloth which measure 3’ by 6’ and help establish room sizes.
Bamboo, stone, and other natural materials provide the basis for a soothing color palette of brown, gray, and green. Soft floral patterns and colors are incorporated with decorative pottery and embellished textiles.
Furniture and accessories tend to be clean-lined and geared towards living near the floor of the room. The simplicity of Japanese style is particularly appealing to modern and minimalist design fans. Uncomplicated futons are traditionally used for bedroom furniture while low tables and floor cushions are used for dining. Simple, elegant floral arrangements such as orchids and bonsai add a graceful touch.
Natural fibers like silk are a must, and some silken fabrics are artistically embroidered with intricate designs (such as a beautiful kimono, which can also be used as wall art).
Translucent fusuma or shoji screens are the choice for room dividers and doors. Shojis are also used as window treatments, along with fiber shades, which both allow for plenty of natural light to fill a Japanese inspired room. Rice paper lamps provide a soft glow at night.
Interior Decorating on a Budget
Looking for some relatively inexpensive interior decorating tips that will have a big impact but won’t break the bank? Here are some great ideas that can help.
I’ve found that making sizable interior design updates in my own home can be quite expensive. Often my exciting plans and the reality of my budget are not in sync with each other. It can be frustrating!
You might be experiencing this now. Don’t give up. Here is some interior design advice to help freshen and rejuvenate some key rooms in your home for less than you might think. Try some or all of these interior decorating tips and impress your friends with your room makeover skills.
KITCHEN AND DINING ROOM
- Revitalize Your Kitchen Cabinetry
The kitchen can be one of the most expensive areas of the home to update. New cabinetry can cost a fortune. If a complete remodel is not in your budget for now, get some more mileage out of your current cabinets by painting them and updating the hardware. These interior decorating tips can have a wonderful, transforming effect on your kitchen space.
If you're not sure on paint color, consider white. It's timeless, clean-looking, and continues to be a popular choice in current kitchen trends.
And don’t forget this important interior design tip: replace your outdated door and drawer pulls with new ones. You’ll be surprised at how much better your kitchen will look with up to date hardware and a beautiful, new paint finish.
If you have more money in your scaled down budget consider glass panel inserts for the doors on the upper cabinets. This can really give you a look that is beautiful and sophisticated. It’s a popular feature in current kitchen design. The glass can be fluted, frosted, or clear. There are many options.
Have appliances that work well but are stuck in colors that date into the past? Update them, too, with paint. There is appliance spray paint that can work wonders in this situation. You don’t have to be saddled with that “Harvest Gold” refrigerator from the 1970's while the rest of the kitchen has a new, updated feel.
- Transform Your Walls
Don’t stop with the cabinetry and appliances. A updated color on the walls will go a very long way to updating your look. I think paint gives you the most “bang for your buck” when it comes to a basic makeover. It's one of the most effective interior design tips for any room of your home.
- Re-imagine Your Lighting
Is that over-the-sink light from the 1970’s making your kitchen look “uncool” these days? What about in the dining room? The 1980’s chandelier not looking as “bodacious” as it used to? You can swap these for new models to update your room’s look.
Take it a step further if you’ve got a little room in your lower cost budget and add some recessed lighting and under cabinet lighting to bring even more depth and style to the room. This will make it more functional at the same time.
- Enhance Your Dining Room Chairs
You can do this with slipcovers. Try this home decorating tip to help take attention away from that worn dining room furniture and elevate it with a stylish, new look. Regardless of whether your taste is contemporary or traditional, there is a style to complement that. Dining chair slipcovers can be purchased from many department stores, or you could choose specific fabric and make them yourself if you have the sewing skills.
- Update Your Accessories
By replacing some dated accessories with some fresh, new items it can add a reviving touch to a tired room. How about some new wall art? Black and white framed photos can add a distinguishing look to any room style. Of course, fresh, cut flowers always add a nice accessory touch. Don’t overlook this simple interior decorating tip.
LIVING ROOM
- Slipcover Your Furniture
Instead of spending a fortune on a new sofa and chairs, try this interior decorating tip - cover them. With a slipcover you can instantly transform an outdated relic of some bygone era into something chic and expressive of current trends. There are a variety of styles available now in fantastic fabrics. You can save hundreds and really update your look this way.
Even if the upholstery of your current seating is in fine shape, slipcovers are a great way to change the look of your living room space by season. For example, maybe your current sofa fabric is a deep, rich color which looks warm and inviting during fall and winter, but you'd like something fresh for spring and summer.
Try this solution. Slipcover the chair and sofa in a light colored fabric for the warmer months and swap out a few room accessories. Voila! You have a new, cooler look instantly and you didn't have to buy new furniture to do it.
- Add an Area Rug
Here’s an interior design decorating tip you might consider, too. An area rug can be a unifying factor for your color scheme. Try tying together the main color elements of your room with a patterned area rug. A rug like this works best on wood floors or very low pile carpet.
Eco-Friendly Interior Design
Interior design is all about creating aesthetically pleasing spaces that are safe, practical and in harmony with the rest of the surroundings. In order to carry this out effectively we must source the best materials, furniture and fixtures and fittings for the job, and in doing so, we inevitably have an impact on the environment albeit inadvertently.
These days with so much emphasis being placed on global climate change, reducing consumption, and recycling, interior design can be a bit daunting if we want to limit our carbon footprint and still get the effect we want. However, armed with the right information, it needn't be a big challenge and we can still create beautiful rooms that are stylish, healthy and that are environmentally friendly too. So where do we begin?
First of all it's important to note that every single thing we buy has an impact on the environment somewhere along the line either, from the way they are extracted, manufactured and processed, or from the distances they have to travel to end up in our home. Take for example paint, wood, glass, metal, textiles and furniture, each of which can have a negative impact if we don't know what to look out for but with a little effort and forethought, we are able to find eco friendly alternatives.
Paint
Conventional paint contains solvents and lot of other harsh chemicals and toxins but it is possible to source paints that have a reduced effect on the environment and that don't contain solvents, which are not only a much healthier option as they won't release harmful gases into your home and the atmosphere, they can be just as effective.
Wood
If possible, try to buy wood that is grown in a local forest so it doesn't have to travel long distances to end up in your home. Also, choose woods that don't have a negative effect on the environment. Look out for the FSC symbol which stands for Forestry Stewardship Council, an international non-profit organisation that will ensure that when you buy you will not be contributing to global forest destruction and threatening the livelihoods of people who depend on the forest or timber to survive.
Glass and Metal
Glass and metal are fairly easy to recycle and one of the advantages of both is that in most cases they can be recycled over and over again without losing any quality. Using recycled glass and metal helps reduce the amount of resources needed to produce these materials from scratch, also the process of recycling uses a lot less energy than what is required to make new glass and metal.
Textiles
Textile production can include processes like dying and bleaching which uses a lot of energy and will produce toxic gases which are then released into the environment not to mention the harmful pesticides that are often used whilst growing the raw materials. The main things to consider when choosing an eco friendly option is how renewable the product is, in other words, can it be replenished quickly, whether the product is dyed or if natural dyes are used, and whether a lot of chemicals are required to produce it. Some of the more eco friendly choices include organic cotton, wool and hemp although there are many others available too.
Furniture
How eco friendly your furniture is will depend on the material it is made from, how it is processed and what finishes have been used, so choose carefully. Consider buying second hand furniture or items made from recycled or reclaimed materials and doing them up as this helps to keep existing items in circulation and reduces the amount of perfectly useful items ending up in landfill.
When sourcing eco friendly materials for your interior design project, try to stick to the following guidelines:
- Buy from local producers and suppliers as much as possible as the less distance an item has to travel, the lower the impact on the environment
- Consider the type of materials you choose and whether they come from renewable and sustainable energy sources
- Avoid materials that contain chemical additives or that use a lot of energy during manufacturing processes
- When buying new items, try as much as possible to choose products that can be readily recycled after use or that can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner
- Consider low energy or energy saving devices and buy as much as you can from recycled or reclaimed materials
Finally, as a result of the massive amount of publicity given to global warming and the need for conservation of energy, many producers make claims about their products that are misleading or even false so check out the credentials of any suppliers claiming that their products are certified as natural, organic or eco friendly.
