When money is tight or minimalism the goal, many live in small spaces that are tough to decorate and personalize. Usually a ton of stuff ends up making it feel more cramped. But with these tips, making a small apartment into your own personal castle is easy and affordable.
Use color to your advantage
Color is one of the great tools we have for making spaces look and feel a certain way. In small spaces, the conventional wisdom is to use light colors to make spaces feel more airy and open. But wait! White walls can give an apartment a serious case of the blahs, so try to evaluate what hues you're working with (in the upholstery on your furniture, the paintings you want to hang and the carpet/flooring) and work from there. Light hues like pinks, baby blues or light greens can be good neutral backdrops that offer a little more pop than a standard white and still keep the ceiling from feeling like it'll cave in.
Another way to give some pop to the room is to choose an accent wall. Paint all your walls white (or leave them that way) and then paint one a bright hot pink or a mid-shade blue. That gives your room a focal point and in effect, makes the rest of the room disappear and feel wider and more open.
Scale is important
A one-bedroom apartment is not the place to house a massive sectional sofa. You'll end up with a sofa room instead of a living room, and no one wants to look like they've been downsized. Pick furniture that works on a scale with the size of the room. In a living room, you should be able to fit two couches, so if that means ultra-skinny loveseats, that's what it'll be! Also keep in mind that just because you can fit two tiny couches doesn't mean you have to. A lovely side chair or great rug can fill up the space without actually filling it up so people can't fit.
Everything in its place
One of the most essential ways to make an apartment seem clean, big and open is to make sure it stays organized. You don't have an extra storage room to your benefit, so that means that everything (and I do mean everything) needs to have its place. Your closet should be able to fit all your clothes and shoes. If you're at the limit, it's time to lose some.
Your books should all fit on a bookshelf, your pots and pans should all fit in a cupboard, etc. This way, everything has its place and there are no piles filling up the corners of your rooms. Thus they stay clean and tidy, and that has a huge effect on how big a space feels.
Make it your own
Small-space living can be soul-deadening, especially if you're renting and can't make changes to the place. So don't be afraid to make what changes you can, whether that means changing the light bulbs to create a softer light or changing out the doorknobs (keep the old ones for when you move out!) to make it feel like a more characteristic space. Overall, remember that the more time you spend making your space your own, the more time you'll want to spend there!
